Numbers 35:33
in Numbers 35Do 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that 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.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
5 notes on this verseFor blood it defileth the land - The very land was considered as guilty till the blood of the murderer was shed in it. No wonder God is so particularly strict in his laws against murderers, 1. Because he is the author of life, and none have any right to dispose of it but himself. 2. Because life is the time to prepare for the eternal world, and on it the salvation of the soul accordingly depends; therefore it is of infinite consequence to the man that his life be lengthened out to the utmost limits assigned by Divine Providence.
This site's exposition
for blood it defileth the land
on Numbers 35:33-34
Blood defileth the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of it but by the blood of him that shed it, which is Genesis 9:6 stated as a property of the ground itself. Genesis 4:10-11 had already put it that way, the ground opening its mouth to receive Abel's blood and the blood crying out of it. Verse 34 gives the reason for the whole chapter in one clause, wherein I dwell, so the law rests on who lives in the country rather than on public order. Deuteronomy 21:1-9 takes up the case this verse leaves standing, a body found and the killer unknown, and gives a rite for a land that cannot reach the man.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If murderers escape punishment from men, those that suffer them to escape will have a great deal to answer for, and God will nevertheless not suffer them to escape his righteous judgments. Upon the same principle it is provided that no satisfaction should be taken for the life of a murderer (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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
The words behind it
24 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 |
| תַחֲנִ֣יפוּ | tachanifu | you will pollute | H2610 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֗רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתֶּם֙ | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בָּ֔הּ | bah | [are] in <the> it | ||
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַדָּ֔ם | hadam | <the> blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יַחֲנִ֖יף | yachanif | it pollutes | H2610 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְלָאָ֣רֶץ | velaaretz | and for the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְכֻפַּ֗ר | yekhupar | it will be atoned | H3722 → | 102 times |
| לַדָּם֙ | ladam | to the blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שֻׁפַּךְ־ | shupakh- | it was shed | H8210 → | |
| בָּ֔הּ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִ֖ם | ʾim | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| בְּדַ֥ם | bedam | by [the] blood of | H1818 → | 360 times |
| שֹׁפְכֽוֹ׃ | shofekho | [the] [one who] shed it | H8210 → |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַחֲנִ֣יפוּyou will pollute
tachanifuH2610 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֗רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אַתֶּם֙you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
בָּ֔הּ[are] in <the> it
bah
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַדָּ֔ם<the> blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
ה֥וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יַחֲנִ֖יףit pollutes
yachanifH2610 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְלָאָ֣רֶץand for the land
velaaretzH776 →2504 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יְכֻפַּ֗רit will be atoned
yekhuparH3722 →102 times
לַדָּם֙to the blood
ladamH1818 →360 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
שֻׁפַּךְ־it was shed
shupakh-H8210 →
בָּ֔הּin <the> it
bah
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אִ֖םexcept
ʾimH518 →1069 times
בְּדַ֥םby [the] blood of
bedamH1818 →360 times
שֹׁפְכֽוֹ׃[the] [one who] shed it
shofekhoH8210 →
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
Genesis 9:6Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
it leads to
- Leviticus 24:17
And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.
- Matthew 26:52
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
- Revelation 13:10
“If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and…
- Exodus 21:12–14
Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
- Genesis 1:26–27
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the…
- Leviticus 24:17
Through
Isaiah 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.
it leads to
- Isaiah 13:11
I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless.
- Jude 1:14–15
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
- Revelation 6:9–11
And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.
- Isaiah 13:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.