Verse 33

“You must not pollute the land where you live, for blood defiles the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed there, except by the blood of the person who shed it.

Referenced Verses

  • Mic 4:11 : 11 Many nations have now assembled against you. They say,“Jerusalem must be desecrated, so we can gloat over Zion!”
  • Gen 9:6 : 6 “Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind.”
  • Ps 106:38 : 38 They shed innocent blood– the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted by bloodshed.
  • Isa 26:21 : 21 For look, the LORD is coming out of the place where he lives, to punish the sin of those who live on the earth. The earth will display the blood shed on it; it will no longer cover up its slain.
  • Ezek 22:24-27 : 24 “Son of man, say to her:‘You are a land that receives no rain or showers in the day of my anger.’ 25 Her princes within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows within it. 26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey– shedding blood and destroying lives– so they can get dishonest profit.
  • Hos 4:2-3 : 2 There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. The wild animals, the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish.
  • Lev 18:25 : 25 Therefore the land has become unclean and I have brought the punishment for its iniquity upon it, so that the land has vomited out its inhabitants.
  • Deut 21:1-8 : 1 Laws Concerning Unsolved Murder If a homicide victim should be found lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and no one knows who killed him, 2 your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse. 3 Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked– that has never pulled with the yoke– 4 and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water, to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown. There at the wadi they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 Then the Levitical priests will approach(for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name, and to decide every judicial verdict) 6 and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 Then they must proclaim,“Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we witnessed the crime. 8 Do not blame your people Israel whom you redeemed, O LORD, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person.” Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed.
  • Deut 21:23 : 23 his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
  • 2 Kgs 23:26 : 26 Yet the LORD’s great anger against Judah did not subside; he was still infuriated by all the things Manasseh had done.
  • 2 Kgs 24:4 : 4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the LORD was unwilling to forgive them.
  • Ps 106:28 : 28 They worshiped Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
  • Matt 23:31-35 : 31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 “For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
  • Luke 11:50-51 : 50 so that this generation may be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.