If a thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and he is beaten to death, no one is guilty of bloodshed.
Numbers 35:27 - Christian Standard Bible Anglicised and the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills him, the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed, Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 and the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: Amplified Bible - Classic Edition And the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge and kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood American Standard Version (1901) and the avenger of blood find him without the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood slay the manslayer; he shall not be guilty of blood, Common English Bible and the close relative finds him outside the boundary of his refuge city and kills him, he will not be responsible for his blood. Catholic Public Domain Version and he has been struck by him who is avenging blood, he who killed him shall not be harmed. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version And be struck by him that is the avenger of blood: he shall not be guilty that killed him. |
If a thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and he is beaten to death, no one is guilty of bloodshed.
‘If the one who kills someone ever goes outside the border of the city of refuge he fled to,
for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses.
In this way, innocent blood will not be shed, and you will not become guilty of bloodshed in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Otherwise, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger might pursue the one who committed manslaughter, overtake him because the distance is great, and strike him dead. Yet he did not deserve to die, since he did not previously hate his neighbour.