46 Bible Verses about Killing

Most Relevant Verses

Genesis 9:5-6

Also, I will certainly demand an accounting regarding bloodshed, from every animal and from every human being. I'll demand an accounting from every human being for the life of another human being. "Whoever sheds human blood, by a human his own blood is to be shed; because God made human beings in his own image.

Leviticus 17:11

because the life of the flesh is in the blood itself, and I myself have given it to you all so that atonement may be made for your souls on the altar, since the blood itself makes atonement through the life that is in it.

Exodus 22:18-20

"You are not to allow a sorceress to live. "Whoever has sexual relations with an animal is certainly to be put to death. "Anyone who sacrifices to a god, except the LORD alone, is to be utterly destroyed.

Deuteronomy 17:8-13

"If a case is too difficult for you to decide with respect to bloodshed, civil claims, assault and battery, or other matters of dispute within your courts, bring it to the place that the LORD your God will choose. Present the case to the Levitical priest or the judge at that time. When you have inquired and they have announced the verdict, carry out the verdict that was declared to you at the place that the LORD will choose. Carefully observe all of their instructions to you read more.
in accordance with what the Law says, and in accordance with the verdict that will be handed to you. You must not deviate from the verdict that they declare to you either to the right or to the left. If a man presumptuously disregards the priest who is serving the LORD your God there or the judge, that person must die so you will purge evil from Israel. Then all the people who hear will be afraid and will not act presumptuously again."

Deuteronomy 21:18-21

"If a man has a stubborn son who does not obey his parents, and although they try to discipline him, he still refuses to pay attention to them, then his parents are to seize him and bring him before the elders at the gate of his city. Then they are to declare to the elders of their city: "Our son is stubborn and rebellious. He does not obey us. He lives wildly and is a drunkard.' read more.
Then all the men of his city are to stone him with boulders so that he dies. This is how you will remove this evil from among you. Then all Israel will hear of it and will be afraid."

Deuteronomy 22:21-27

they are to bring her to the door of her father's house. Then the men of the city are to stone her with boulders until she dies for doing a detestable thing in Israel acting like a prostitute while in her father's house. By doing this, you will remove this evil from among you. "If a man is caught having sexual relations with a married woman, then both of them must die the man who had sex with the woman and the woman herself so that this evil will be removed from Israel. "If a man meets a young virgin lady in the city who is engaged to be married and has sexual relations with her, read more.
then the two must be brought to the city gate and there they must be stoned to death the girl because she was in a city but did not cry out for help, and the man who abused a woman who was engaged to another man. By doing this you are to remove this evil from among you. "If a man meets a girl in the country who is engaged to be married and then rapes her, the man alone the one who had sexual relations with her must die. As for the young lady, don't do anything to her. The young lady did nothing worthy of death. This case is similar to when a man attacks his countryman and kills him. Since he found her in the country, the engaged girl may have cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.

Deuteronomy 21:23

his body must not remain overnight on the tree. You must bury him that same day, because cursed of God is the one who has been hanged on a tree. Don't defile your land that the LORD is about to give you as your inheritance."

Exodus 21:13

If he didn't lie in wait, but God let him fall into his reach, then I'll appoint for you a place to which he may flee.

Deuteronomy 4:41-42

Then Moses designated three cities on the east side of the Jordan, where a person who accidentally killed someone could flee, if he killed his neighbor without having enmity toward him in the past. He may flee to one of these cities and live:

Deuteronomy 19:2-13

You must reserve three cities within the land that the LORD your God is about to give you to possess. Build roads throughout the land that the LORD your God is providing as an inheritance, and then divide it into three districts so that any killer may flee there. "Now this is the situation for any killer who flees there to live: suppose he strikes his friend unwittingly, not having hated him previously. read more.
For instance, he may have accompanied his friend to go to a forest to cut trees. Then he swung his axe to cut some wood, but the ax head flew off the handle and hit his friend, so that he died. The killer may flee to one of these cities to live. Since hile the distance may be great, the angry avenger may overtake the killer he is pursuing and kill him, in which case there will be no justice in his death, because he did not hate his friend previously. Therefore I am commanding you to reserve three cities." "Now if the LORD enlarges your territories just as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land that he promised, and if you are careful to observe all these commands that I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God and to walk daily in his ways then add three more cities in addition to these three cities. You must not shed innocent blood on your land that the LORD your God is about to give you as an inheritance. Otherwise, you'll be guilty of murder." "However, if a person hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and attacks him so that he dies, and then he flees to one of those cities, then the elders of his own city shall send for him, remove him from there, and deliver him to the related avenger for execution. Have no pity on him, but totally purge the shedding of innocent blood from Israel so that life may go well with you."

Joshua 6:17

The city along with everything in it is to be turned over to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone who is with her in her house may live, because she hid the scouts we sent.

Deuteronomy 20:10-15

"When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms of peace. If it agrees to peace and welcomes you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers. But if they refuse to make peace with you and instead choose war, then attack it. read more.
The LORD your God will deliver it into your control, and you must execute every male. The women, children, all the livestock in the city, and all of the spoil and plunder will belong to you. Appropriate the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God will give you. Do this to all the cities that are distant from you that is, to those cities that are not in neighboring nations."

Leviticus 17:3-7

When a person from the house of Israel slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat (whether in the camp or outside the camp), but fails to bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting as an offering in the presence of the tent of the LORD, that person will incur bloodguilt. Because he has shed blood, that person is to be eliminated from contact with his people." "This statute is required so that the Israelis may bring their sacrifices that they have been sacrificing to the LORD in the open field to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, where they are to slaughter their peace offering to the LORD. read more.
The priest is to sprinkle the blood on the LORD's altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and incinerate the fat, making a pleasing aroma to the LORD. They are no longer to slaughter their sacrifices to the goat demons, with whom they have been committing prostitution. This will be a perpetual statute for you throughout your generations.

Deuteronomy 12:15-16

"You may slaughter and eat as much meat as you desire, according to the blessing of the LORD your God, when he provides for you in all your cities. Both ritually unqualified and qualified people may eat it as they would gazelle and deer. Only, you must not consume the blood; instead, pour it out on the ground as you would water.

Deuteronomy 22:6-7

"When you encounter a bird's nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and the mother bird is sitting on its chicks or eggs, don't take the mother along with its young. You may take the young, but be sure to release the mother, so that life will go well for you and that you may have a long life.

Topics on Killing

Accidental Killings

Joshua 20:1-9

Then the LORD told Joshua,

Animals Killing

1 Kings 13:24

Not long after the man of God had left, a lion met him along the road and killed him. His body was left lying in the middle of the road with the donkey standing beside it and with the lion also standing next to the body.

Famine Killing

Jeremiah 38:2

"This is what the LORD says: "Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague, but the one who goes over to the Chaldeans will live. His life will be spared, and he will live.'

God Killing

Deuteronomy 32:39

"Look now! I AM, and there is no other god besides me. I myself cause death and I sustain life; I wound severely and I also heal; from my power no one can deliver.

God Killing All People

Genesis 6:7

So the LORD said, "I will annihilate these human beings whom I've created from the earth, including people, animals, crawling things, and flying creatures, because I'm grieving that I made them."

God Killing Individuals

Genesis 38:7

But the LORD considered Er, Judah's oldest son, to be wicked so he put him to death.

Killing Brothers

Judges 8:18-19

Afterwards, he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What were the men like whom you killed at Tabor?" They answered, "Like you, each one like the son of a king""

Killing Domesticated Animals

Exodus 12:29

And so at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

Killing Israelites

Esther 3:6

Because they had told him who the people of Mordecai were, Haman found it unacceptable to kill only Mordecai. So Haman sought to destroy all of Mordecai's people, the Jewish people, who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Killing Kings

2 Samuel 1:14

At this David asked him, "How is it that you weren't afraid to raise your hand to strike the LORD's anointed?"

Killing Many People

Ezekiel 9:9

"The house of Israel and Judah is guilty and theirs is a stubborn guilt, at that!" he replied to me. "The land is filled with blood, and the city overflows with injustice, because they keep saying, "The LORD has abandoned the land,' and "The LORD isn't watching.'

Killing One Another

Judges 7:22

As the 300 trumpets were being sounded, the LORD turned the swords of the Midianite soldiers against one another throughout the entire army, and the army ran away as far as Beth-shittah in the direction of Zererah. They got as far as the outskirts of Abel-meholah, near Tabbath.

Killing Priests

1 Samuel 22:17

The king told the guards, who were standing beside him, "Turn and kill the priests of the LORD because they supported David, and because they knew he was fleeing, but didn't inform me." But the officials of the king did not want to lift their hands to attack the priests of the LORD.

Killing Sacrifices

Exodus 12:6

It is to remain under your care until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the entire assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight.

Killing Sons And Daughters

2 Samuel 13:30

While they were still on the road, this rumor came to David: "Absalom has struck down all of the king's sons and none of them has survived."

Killing The Innocent

Lamentations 4:13

Due to the sins committed by her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests who shed in her midst, the blood of the righteous,

Killing Whole Families

Genesis 32:11

Deliver me from my brother Esau's control, because I'm terrified of him, and I'm afraid that he's coming to attack me, the mothers, and their children.

Killing Wild Animals

Nahum 2:13

"I am against you," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I will send your chariots up in smoke. A sword will devour your young lions, I will eliminate your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard."

Killing Will Happen

2 Samuel 17:9

Look! He's probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, "Absalom's army is losing!'

Killing Within Israel

Judges 8:17

He also demolished the tower in Penuel and killed the men of the city.

Mercy Killings

Psalm 136:17-20

to the one who struck down great kings, for his gracious love is everlasting

Restraints From Killing

Genesis 4:15

The LORD told him, "This won't happen, because whoever kills you will suffer seven times the vengeance." Then the LORD placed a sign on Cain so that no one finding him would kill him.

Rules About Killing Animals

Exodus 13:13

You are to redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you don't redeem it, you are to break its neck. You are to redeem every firstborn among your sons.

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