Numbers 35 · Verse 26

Numbers 35:26

But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;
Numbers 35:26, King James Version

Numbers 35:26 in other translations

BSBBut if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled
WEB“‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees,
ASVBut if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, whither he fleeth,
YLT‘And if the man-slayer at all go out from the border of the city of his refuge whither he fleeth,
DARBYBut if the manslayer shall in any way come outside the limits of the city of his refuge whither he hath fled,
BBEBut if ever he goes outside the walls of the safe town where he had gone in flight,
WebsterBut if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he had fled;

What does Numbers 35:26 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 35:22-28

22-28. But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, &c.--Under the excitement of a sudden provocation, or violent passion, an injury might be inflicted issuing in death; and for a person who had thus undesignedly committed slaughter, the Levitical cities offered the benefit of full protection. Once having reached the nearest, for one or other of them was…

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Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 35:9-34

To show plainly the abhorrence of murder, and to provide the more effectually for the punishment of the murderer, the nearest relation of the deceased, under the title of avenger of blood, (or the redeemer of blood,) in notorious cases, might pursue, and execute vengeance. A distinction is made, not between sudden anger and malice aforethought, both which are the crime of murder; but between intentionally striking a…

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Numbers 35:26 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאִם\־ve.'im-and ifH518
יָצֹ֥אya.Tzo'ever <to go out>H3318
יֵצֵ֖אye.Tze'he will go outH3318
הָרֹצֵ֑חַha.ro.Tze.achthe killerH7523
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
גְּבוּל֙ge.Vul[the] border ofH1366
עִ֣יר'ir[the] city ofH5892
מִקְלָט֔וֹmik.la.Torefuge hisH4733
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhereH834
יָנ֖וּסya.Nushe will fleeH5127
שָֽׁמָּה\׃Sha.mahthere towardsH8033

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
After the manslayer had been received into the city of refuge, the avenger of blood could only act as prosecutor; and the magistrates, in the presence of the people, were appointed to decide the cause according to the rules here laid down. Probably the accused person was tried at or near the place where the deceased had been slain, and where evidence could most easily be brought: and in case he was acquitted by the decision of the judges, and with the approbation of the people, he was conveyed back to the city of refuge, where he was protected as a kind of prisoner at large, till the death of the high priest; when the public loss, and the grief occasioned by it, might be supposed to swallow up all personal regrets and resentments: and then he was permitted to return to his house and estate. But if, in the mean while, he ventured to leave the city, and the avenger met him and slew him, he was supposed to merit his doom by thus neglecting the appointment of God for his preservation, and the avenger must not be punished. This shews that in other cases, if the avenger slew an innocent man on surmise, he was liable to the punishment of a murderer; but if, by the testimony of two credible witnesses, the man who had fled to the city of refuge was adjudged guilty, he must without fail be put to death.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 35:25

    And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.

  • Numbers 35:26

    But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;

  • Numbers 35:27

    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:

Read all of Numbers 35

Numbers 35:26 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y si el homicida saliere fuera del término de su ciudad de refugio, á la cual se acogió,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Mais si l’homicide vient à sortir des limites de la ville de son refuge, où il s’est enfui,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wenn aber der Totschläger über die Grenze seiner Zufluchtstadt, wohin er geflohen ist, irgend hinausgeht,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Si interfector extra fines urbium, quæ exulibus deputatæ sunt,