Numbers 35:31
in Numbers 35You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, that is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.
KJV
Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
No satisfaction - Rather, ransom (see Exo 21:30). The permission to demand pecuniary compensation for murders (expressly sanctioned by the Koran) undoubtedly mitigates, in practice, the system of private retaliation; but it does so by sacrificing the principle named in Num 35:12, Num 35:33.
This site's exposition
ye shall take no satisfaction for the life
on Numbers 35:31-32
Two payments are forbidden in two verses, one for the murderer's life and one for the manslayer's exile. The word rendered satisfaction is kopher, the ransom that Exodus 21:30 does allow where an ox has gored a man, which Albert Barnes points out, so the law prices some losses and refuses to price this one. Verse 32 closes the other door, since money cannot buy the fugitive home a single day early either.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The redemption of the life is so precious that it cannot be obtained by the multitude of riches ( Ps. xlix. 6-8 ), which perhaps may allude to this law. A rule of law comes in here (which is a rule of our law in cases of treason only) that no man shall be put to death upon the testimony of one witness, but it was necessary there should be two (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations--The law of the blood-avenger, as thus established by divine authority, was a vast improvement on the ancient practice of Goelism.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer - No atonement could be made for him, nor any commutation, so as to save him from death. All the laws of the civilized world have either adjudged the murderer to death, or to a punishment equivalent to it; such as perpetual imprisonment, in a dungeon, under ground, on a stone floor, without light, and to be fed on a small portion of bread and water. In such circumstances a man could live but a short time; and though it is not called the punishment of death, yet, from its inevitable consequences, it only differed from it by being a little longer respite than was usual where the punishment of death was awarded. See the note on Gen 9:6.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִקְח֥וּ | tikchu | you will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| כֹ֙פֶר֙ | khofer | a ransom | H3724 → | |
| לְנֶ֣פֶשׁ | lenefesh | for [the] life of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| רֹצֵ֔חַ | rotzeach | a killer | H7523 → | 47 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| רָשָׁ֖ע | rasha' | [is] guilty | H7563 → | |
| לָמ֑וּת | lamut | to die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מ֖וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמָֽת׃ | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִקְח֥וּyou will take
tikchuH3947 →966 times
כֹ֙פֶר֙a ransom
khoferH3724 →
לְנֶ֣פֶשׁfor [the] life of
lenefeshH5315 →754 times
רֹצֵ֔חַa killer
rotzeachH7523 →47 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
ה֥וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
רָשָׁ֖ע[is] guilty
rasha'H7563 →
לָמ֑וּתto die
lamutH4191 →839 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מ֖וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
יוּמָֽת׃he will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
2 Samuel 12:13Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- Psalms 51:4
Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
- Zechariah 3:4
So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.”
- 2 Samuel 24:10
After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away…
- Luke 15:21
The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
- Proverbs 28:13
Through
Psalms 51:14Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:9
Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have…
- Psalms 35:28
Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.
- Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
- 2 Samuel 12:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.