Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 21:8
Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Israelite elders address Yahweh after recovering a murdered victim in open country, concluding their ritual declaration that their hands did not shed the blood. They petition God to accept a substitute atonement and refuse to hold the guilt of innocent blood against the nation.
The words — כַּפֵּר (ka.pēr) means "make atonement," and פָּדִיתָ (pa.di.ta) means "you ransomed." The elders ground their plea in God's prior act of redeeming Israel while asking Yahweh to accept ritual atonement in place of judicial execution.
The thread — The plea to avoid being charged with innocent blood appears in Jonah 1:14, while the principle that bloodshed pollutes the land and demands specific atonement appears in Numbers 35:33. David later claims similar guiltlessness regarding bloodshed in 2 Samuel 3:28.
Why it lands — The text demands that the community actively remove the moral and ritual pollution of unatoned murder from its midst. It requires readers to recognize that divine redemption does not erase communal responsibility for justice.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Jonah 1:14 So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”
- Numbers 35:33 Do 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.
- 2 Samuel 3:28 Afterward, David heard about this and said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.
- 2 Kings 24:4 and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.
- Psalms 19:12 Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
- Jeremiah 26:15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing.”
- Ezekiel 23:3 and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.
- Ezekiel 23:24 They will come against you with a host of peoples, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards.
- Matthew 23:35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,