Deuteronomy 21:8

Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
merciful	כַּפֵּר֩ ka.Per	H3722	to cover (specifically with bitumen) · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
LORD	יְהוָ֔ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
people	לְעַמְּךָ֨ le.'a.me.Kha	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֤ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
redeemed	פָּדִ֙יתָ֙ pa.Di.ta	H6299	to sever · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
lay	תִּתֵּן֙ ti.Ten	H5414	to give · verb, qal jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
innocent	נָקִ֔י na.Ki	H5355	innocent · adjective, masculine singular absolute
blood	דָּ֣ם dam	H1818	blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or… · noun, common masculine singular absolute
people	עַמְּךָ֣ 'a.me.Kha	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Israel’s	יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
charge	בְּקֶ֖רֶב be.Ke.rev	H7130	properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
blood	הַדָּֽם ha.Dam	H1818	blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or… · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
forgiven	וְנִכַּפֵּ֥ר ve.nik.ka.Per	H3722	to cover (specifically with bitumen) · conjunction + verb, sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jonah 1:14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not u…
Numbers 35:33-34 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 t…
2 Samuel 3:28 And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner:
2 Kings 24:4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.
Psalms 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Jeremiah 26:15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the…
Ezekiel 23:3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the…
Ezekiel 23:24-25 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Care had been taken by some preceding laws for the vigorous and effectual persecution of a wilful murderer (Deu 19:11 etc.), the putting of whom to death was the putting away of the guilt of blood from the land; but if this could not be done, the murderer not being discovered, they must not think that the land was in no danger of contracting any pollution because it was not through any neglect of theirs that the murderer was unpunished; no, a great solemnity is here provided for the putting away of the guilt, as an expression of their dread and detestation of that sin. I. The case supposed is that one is found slain, and it is not known who slew him, Deu 21:1. The providence of God has somet…

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John Gill on Deuteronomy 21:8

Be merciful, O Lord, to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed,.... Out of Egyptian bondage, and claimed as his own; and therefore it is requested he would be favourable to them, and show them mercy, and not punish them for a sin they were entirely ignorant of, though done by some one among them, whom as yet they could not discover. The words seem to be the words of the elders continued, who having made a declaration of their innocence, humbly request mercy of God, not only for themselves, but for all the people of Israel; yet, both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan take them to be the words of the priests, and so does Jarchi, and the same is affirmed in the Misnah (z): and lay not in…

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John Calvin on Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Deuteronomy 21:1-9 1. If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him; 1. Quum inventum fuerit cadaver hominis occisi in terra quam Jehova Deus tuus dabit tibi ut possideas eam, prostratum in agro, nec cognitum fuerit quis percusserit eum: 2. Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain. 2. Tunc egredientur seniores tui, et judices tui, et metientur usque ad civitates quae sunt in circuitibus cadaveris hominis illius occisi. 3. And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of…

Dictionary and topics

Ablution — Or washing, was practised, (1.) When a person was initiated into a higher state: e.g., when Aaron and his sons were set apart to the priest’s office, they were washed with water previous to their…
Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
Murder — Wilful murder was distinguished from accidental homicide, and was invariably visited with capital punishment (Num. 35:16, 18, 21, 31; Lev. 24:17). This law in its principle is founded on the fact of…
Blood · Shedding of human: Mode of clearing those accused of — Shedding of human: Mode of clearing those accused of
Heifer · An atonement for mur — An atonement for mur
Homicide · FELONIOUS, OR MUR — FELONIOUS, OR MUR
Inquest · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Murder · Mode of clearing those suspected of — Mode of clearing those suspected of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 21:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 21:1-9

John Gill on Deuteronomy 21:8

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 21:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 21:1-9

John Gill on Deuteronomy 21:8

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 21:6

Rashi on Deuteronomy 21:8