Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.
- KJV So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
- NKJV So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.
- NASB So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
- NLT This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Shed blood pollutes the land, and only the blood of the murderer can atone for it. Unpunished bloodguilt defiles the whole nation.
Overview
Murder defiles the land itself, and no atonement is possible except through the just execution of the one who shed innocent blood. This reveals the deep moral pollution that sin and violence bring upon a community and the necessity of righteous judgment. Ultimately the principle that 'without the shedding of blood there is no remission' finds its resolution at the cross, where Christ's blood cleanses what we could never atone for (Hebrews 9:22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Luke 11:50–51As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
- Ps 106:38They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.
- Ezek 22:24–27“Son of man, say to her, ‘In the day of indignation, you are a land that has not been cleansed, upon which no rain has fallen.’
- Matt 23:31–35So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.
- Hos 4:2–3Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
- Gen 9:6Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
- Lev 18:25Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.
- Isa 26:21For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
- 2 Kgs 23:26Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the fury of His burning anger, which was kindled against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke Him to anger.
- 2 Kgs 24:4and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.
- Mic 4:11But now many nations have assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
- Deut 21:23you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
- Ps 106:28They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
- Deut 21:1–8If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 35:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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