Deuteronomy 19:13

Easy-to-Read Version

Don't feel sorry for him. He is guilty of killing an innocent person, and you must remove that guilt from Israel. Then everything will go well for you.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Do not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper.

Hebrew Names Version
Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent blood from Yisra'el, that it may go well with you.

King James Version
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

Lexham English Bible
Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that good will be directed toward you.

English Standard Version
Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you.

New Century Version
Show no mercy. You must remove from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people so that things will go well for you.

New English Translation
You must not pity him, but purge out the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

Amplified Bible
"You shall not pity him [the guilty one], but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

New American Standard Bible
"You shall not pity him, but you shall eliminate the guilt for the bloodshed of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well for you.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thine eye shall not spare him, but thou shalt put away the crie of innocent blood from Israel, that it may goe well with thee.

Legacy Standard Bible
You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.

Contemporary English Version
Israel, for the good of the whole country, you must kill anyone who murders an innocent person. Never show mercy to a murderer!

Complete Jewish Bible
You are not to pity him. Rather, you must put an end to the shedding of innocent blood in Isra'el. Then things will go well with you.

Darby Translation
Thine eye shall not spare him; and thou shalt put away innocent blood from Israel, that it may be well with thee.

George Lamsa Translation
Your eyes shall not pity him, but you shall kill him, and thus purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

Good News Translation
No mercy will be shown to you. Israel must rid itself of murderers, so that all will go well.

Literal Translation
Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with you.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
thine eye shal not pitie him, and the giltye bloude shalt thou put awaye fro Israel, that thou mayest prospere.

American Standard Version
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

Bible in Basic English
Have no pity on him, so that Israel may be clear from the crime of putting a man to death without cause, and it will be well for you.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thine eye shall not spare hym, but thou shalt put away [the crye of] innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

King James Version (1611)
Thine eye shall not pittie him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may goe wel with thee.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thine eye shall not spare him; so shalt thou purge innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with thee.

English Revised Version
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

Berean Standard Bible
You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he schal die, and thou schalt not haue mercy on hym; and thou schalt do awey gilti blood fro Israel, that it be wel to thee.

Young's Literal Translation
thine eye hath no pity on him, and thou hast put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it is well with thee.

Update Bible Version
Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thy eye shall not pity him, but thou shall remove [the guilt of] innocent blood from Israel, that it may be well with thee.

World English Bible
Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

New King James Version
Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

New Living Translation
Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people; then all will go well with you.

New Life Bible
Do not pity him. In Israel be free from the blood of those that are not guilty. Then it will go well with you.

New Revised Standard
Show no pity; you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
thine eye shall not look with pity upon him, - so shall thou consume the shedding of innocent blood out of Israel and it shah go well with thee.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou shalt not pity him, and thou shalt take away the guilt of innocent blood out of Israel, that it may be well with thee.

Revised Standard Version
Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.

Contextual Overview

¹ "The Lord your God is giving you land that belongs to other nations. The Lord your God will destroy those nations. You will live where these people lived. You will take their cities and their houses. When that happens, ²you must divide the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Divide it into three parts and choose a city in the middle of each part that can be a place of safety. You must also build good roads to these cities. Then whoever kills another person may run to the closest city of safety. ⁴ "This is the rule for someone who kills another person and runs to one of these three cities for safety: It must be someone who killed another person accidentally, not out of hatred. ⁵ Here is an example: A man goes into the forest with another person to cut wood. The man swings his ax to cut down a tree, but the head of the ax separates from the handle. The ax head hits the other person and kills him. The man who swung the ax may then run to one of these three cities and be safe. ⁶ But if the city is too far away, he might not be able to run there fast enough. A close relative of the person he killed might run after him and catch him before he reaches the city. The relative might kill the man in anger, even though he did not deserve to die because he did not mean to harm anyone. ⁷ That is why I commanded you to choose three special cities. ⁸ "The Lord your God promised your fathers that he would make your land larger. He will give you all the land that he promised to give to your ancestors. ⁹ He will do this if you completely obey his commands that I give you today—if you love the Lord your God and always live the way he wants. Then, when he gives you more land, you should choose three more cities for safety. They should be added to the first three cities. ¹⁰ Then innocent people will not be killed in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. And you will not be guilty for any such deaths. ¹¹ "But suppose there is a man who hates his neighbor. That man might hide and wait to kill the person he hates. If he kills that person and runs to one of these cities of safety,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thine eye: Deuteronomy 7:16, Deuteronomy 13:8, Deuteronomy 25:12, Ezekiel 16:5

but thou: Deuteronomy 21:9, Genesis 9:6, Leviticus 24:17, Leviticus 24:21, Numbers 35:33, Numbers 35:34, 2 Samuel 21:1, 2 Samuel 21:14, 1 Kings 2:31

Reciprocal: Genesis 45:20 - regard not Deuteronomy 5:29 - that it might Deuteronomy 19:10 - General Deuteronomy 19:21 - thine eye Matthew 27:25 - His Hebrews 10:28 - without

Cross-References

Genesis 13:13
The Lord knew that the people of Sodom were very evil sinners.

Genesis 18:20
Then the Lord said, "I have heard many times that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are very evil.

Genesis 19:1
That evening the two angels came to the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting near the city gates and saw them. He got up and went to them. He bowed to show respect and said, "Sirs, please come to my house, and I will serve you. There you can wash your feet and stay the night. Then tomorrow you can continue your journey." The angels answered, "No, we will stay the night in the city square."

Genesis 19:5
"Where are the two men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us. We want to have sex with them."

Genesis 19:6
Lot went outside and closed the door behind him.

Genesis 19:8
Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man before. I will give my daughters to you. You can do anything you want with them. But please don't do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them."

Genesis 19:9
The men surrounding the house answered, "Get out of our way!" They said to themselves, "This man Lot came to our city as a visitor. Now he wants to tell us how we should live!" Then the men said to Lot, "We will do worse things to you than to them." So the men started moving closer and closer to Lot. They were about to break down the door.

Genesis 19:12
The two men said to Lot, "Are there any other people from your family living in this city? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any other people from your family here? If so, you should tell them to leave now.

Genesis 19:15
The next morning at dawn, the angels were trying to make Lot hurry. They said, "This city will be punished, so take your wife and your two daughters who are still with you and leave this place. Then you will not be destroyed with the city."

Genesis 19:16
When Lot did not move fast enough, the two men grabbed his hand. They also took the hands of his wife and his two daughters. The two men led Lot and his family safely out of the city. The Lord was kind to Lot and his family.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thine eye shall not pity him,.... This is not said to the avenger of blood, who is not to be supposed to have any pity or compassion on such a person, but to the elders, judges, and civil magistrates of the city to which he belonged, who took cognizance of his case; these were to show him no favour on account of his being a citizen, a neighbour, a relation or friend, or a rich man, or on any account whatever; but without favour or affection were to judge him and put him to death as a murderer; see Numbers 35:21,

but thou shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel; by which they would be defiled, and be liable to punishment for it; see

Numbers 35:33, the Targum of Jonathan is,

"shall put away those that shed innocent blood out of Israel;''

put them away by death:

that it may go well with thee; with the whole land and its inhabitants, and with the city particularly, and the magistrates, and men of it, to which the murderer condemned to death belonged, being continued in the enjoyment of all temporal blessings and mercies.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This and the next two chapters contain enactments designed to protect human life, and to impress its sanctity on Israel.

In Deuteronomy 19:1-13 the directions respecting the preparation of the roads to the cities of refuge, the provision of additional cities in case of an extension of territory, and the intervention of the elders as representing the congregation, are unique to Deuteronomy and supplementary to the laws on the same subject given in the earlier books (compare the marginal reference).

Deuteronomy 19:1, Deuteronomy 19:2

The three cities of refuge for the district east of Jordan had been already named. Moses now directs that when the territory on the west of Jordan had been conquered, a like allotment of three other cities in it should be made. This was accordingly done; compare Joshua 20:1 ff,

Deuteronomy 19:3

Thou shalt prepare thee a way - It was the duty of the Senate to repair the roads that led to the cities of refuge annually, and remove every obstruction. No hillock was left, no river over which there was not a bridge; and the road was at least 32 cubits broad. At cross-roads there were posts bearing the words Refuge, Refuge, to guide the fugitive in his flight. It seems as if in Isaiah 40:3 ff the imagery were borrowed from the preparation of the ways to the cities of refuge.

Deuteronomy 19:5

With the axe - literally, “with the iron.” Note the employment of iron for tools, and compare Deuteronomy 3:11 note.

Deuteronomy 19:8, Deuteronomy 19:9

Provision is here made for the anticipated enlargement of the borders of Israel to the utmost limits promised by God, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18, note; Exodus 23:31, note). This promise, owing to the sins of the people, did not receive its fulfillment until after David had conquered the Philistines, Syrians, etc.; and this but a transient one, for many of the conquered peoples regained independence on the dissolution of Solomon’s empire.