Bible Strands
Numbers 35:32
Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings, codifying the legal procedure for those who have committed manslaughter. The words — כֹפֶר (khofer) translates literally as ransom or price, and לָנ֫וּס (lanus) means to flee or take refuge. The thread — The ban on monetary substitution for homicide runs through Numbers 35:31 and 35:33, while the New Testament echoes the irreplaceable nature of atonement in Acts 4:12, Galatians 2:21, and Galatians 3:10. Why it lands — The text explicitly prohibits accepting payment to release a fugitive from a city of refuge before the high priest dies. Readers must apply the principle that legal accountability and divine atonement cannot be purchased or expedited.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
Cross-references
- Acts 4:12 Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
- Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
- Galatians 3:10 All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.