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Deuteronomy 19:4

in Deuteronomy 19

Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past;

KJV

And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

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This verse in Deuteronomy 19

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

When the LORD your God has cut off the nations

on Deuteronomy 19:1-7

Numbers 35:9-15 had already set these cities apart. This chapter adds the roads, with the land divided in three so that distance never decides a case. Verse 6 gives the reason, that the avenger might overtake the manslayer “if the distance is great”.

This site's exposition

having killed his neighbor accidentally

Jerome reads the law as teaching that even a sin of ignorance is still a sin. The man who killed his neighbor unknowingly must still flee to save his life.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

(3.) It is provided that, if an avenger of blood should be so unreasonable as to demand satisfaction for blood shed by accident only, then the city of refuge should protect the slayer. Sins of ignorance indeed do expose us to the wrath of God, but there is relief provided, if by faith and repentance we make use of it.

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְזֶה֙and this

    vezehH2088 →1180 times

  • דְּבַ֣ר[will be] [the] case of

    devarH1697 →1440 times

  • הָרֹצֵ֔חַthe killer

    harotzeachH7523 →47 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־who

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • יָנ֥וּסhe will flee

    yanusH5127 →159 times

  • שָׁ֖מָּהthere towards

    shamahH8033 →834 times

  • וָחָ֑יand he will live

    vachaiH2421 →282 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֨רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • יַכֶּ֤הhe will strike

    yakehH5221 →499 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙companion his

    reehuH7453 →188 times

  • בִּבְלִי־with not

    bivli-H1097 →58 times

  • דַ֔עַתknowledge

    daatH1847 →

  • וְה֛וּאand he

    vehu'H1931 →1879 times

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • שֹׂנֵ֥א[was] hating

    sone'H8130 →146 times

  • ל֖וֹ<to> <the> him

    lo

  • מִתְּמֹ֥לfrom yesterday

    mitemolH8543 →23 times

  • שִׁלְשֹֽׁם׃[the] third day

    shilshomH8032 →24 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 35:15–24These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.5 worksDeuteronomy 4:42to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:3 worksJoshua 3:4But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark. Do not go near it, so that you can see the way to go, since you have never traveled this way before.”2 worksDeuteronomy 19:6Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm.2 works1 Chronicles 11:2Even in times past, while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And the LORD your God said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”2 worksIsaiah 30:33For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 31:2And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed.2 works2 Kings 13:5So the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel lived in their own homes as they had before.2 worksDeuteronomy 17:8If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.2 worksLeviticus 4:2“Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commandments and does what is forbidden by them:2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 11:2

    Even in times past, while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And the LORD your God said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you…

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 5:2

      Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the LORD said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel,…

    • John 10:4

      When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

    • Psalms 78:71

      from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

    • 1 Samuel 18:13

      Therefore Saul sent David away and gave him command of a thousand men. David led the troops out to battle and back,

    • 1 Samuel 16:13

      So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…

  • Through

    Joshua 3:4

    But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark. Do not go near it, so that you can see the way to go, since you have never traveled this…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 89:7

      In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 19:6

    Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not…

    it leads to

    • Numbers 35:12

      You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 4:42

    to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 19:1–10

      When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land He is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their cities and houses,

Where this verse is studied

About Deuteronomy

Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Deuteronomy: the study guide →Read Deuteronomy 19 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 1.33; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Deuteronomy 19 →