'Guilty' in the Bible

And they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty regarding our brother [Joseph], because we saw the distress and anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us [to let him go], yet we would not listen [to his cry]; so this distress and anguish has come on us.”

keeping mercy and lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers upon the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].”

‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they have done any one of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty;

‘When a ruler or leader sins and unintentionally does any one of the things the Lord his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty,

‘If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing any of the things the Lord has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty,

Or if someone touches any [ceremonially] unclean thing—whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal or the carcass of an unclean domestic animal or the carcass of unclean creeping things—even if he is unaware of it, he has become unclean, and he will be guilty.

Or if he touches human uncleanness—whatever kind it may be—and he becomes unclean, but he is unaware of it, when he recognizes it, he will be guilty.

Or if anyone swears [an oath] thoughtlessly or impulsively aloud that he will do either evil or good, in whatever manner a person may speak thoughtlessly or impulsively with an oath, but he is unaware of it, when he recognizes it, he will be guilty in one of these.

So it shall be when a person is guilty in one of these, that he shall confess the sin he has committed.

“Now if anyone sins and does any of the things which the Lord has forbidden, though he was not aware of it, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment.

It is a guilt offering; he was certainly guilty before the Lord.”

then if he has sinned and is guilty, he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost thing which he found,

The priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt.”

The man who lies [intimately] with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall most certainly be put to death; their blood is on them.

“Say to the Israelites, ‘When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind [against other people], thus breaking faith with the Lord, and that person is guilty,

Further, the husband will be free from guilt, but that woman [if guilty] shall bear her guilt.’”

‘The Lord is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving wickedness and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting (avenging) the wickedness and guilt of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].’

You will bear no sin because of it when you have offered the best of it; but you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the children of Israel, or you will die [because of it].’”

and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills the offender, the blood avenger will not be guilty of murder,

Moreover, you shall not accept a ransom [in exchange] for the life of a murderer guilty and sentenced to death; but he shall certainly be put to death.

“If there is a controversy between men, and they go to court, and the judges decide [the issue] between them, and they judge in favor of the innocent and condemn the guilty,

then it shall be that if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with a [certain] number of stripes in proportion to his offense.

When their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them, ‘Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take a wife for each man of Benjamin in battle, nor did you give wives to them, for that would have made you guilty [of breaking your oath].’”

David fled from Naioth in Ramah and he came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? What is my sin before (against) your father, that he is seeking my life?”

The woman said, “Now why have you planned such a thing against God’s people? For in speaking this word the king is like a guilty man, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.

and said to the king, “Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart.

Whenever any dispute comes to you from your brothers (relatives) who live in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, or between statutes and judgments, you are to warn [and instruct] them so that they may not be guilty before the Lord; otherwise [God’s] wrath will come on you and your brothers. Do this and you will not be guilty.

And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. But are you yourselves not guilty of transgressions against the Lord your God?

and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here; for we are guilty before the Lord already, and what you intend to do will add more to our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is so great that His burning anger is against Israel.”

Further, he did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh [finally] had done, but Amon multiplied his guilt and his sin.

Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been exceedingly guilty; and on account of our wrongdoings we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to complete shame, as it is today.

They vowed to send away their [pagan] wives, and being guilty, they each offered a ram of the flock for their offense.

“I am accounted wicked and held guilty;Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]!Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.

‘Although You know that I am not guilty or wicked,Yet there is no one who can rescue me from Your hand.

“And now, because He has not [quickly] punished in His anger,Nor has He acknowledged transgression and arrogance well [and seems unaware of the wrong of which a person is guilty],

Hold them guilty, O God;Let them fall by their own designs and councils!Cast them out because of the abundance of their transgressions,For they are mutinous and have rebelled against You.

Evil will cause the death of the wicked,And those who hate the righteous will be held guilty and will be condemned.

The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies,The hairy scalp of one who goes on in his guilty ways.

The way of the guilty is [exceedingly] crooked,But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

Do not slander or malign a servant before his master [stay out of another’s personal life],Or he will curse you [for your interference], and you will be found guilty.

Who justify the wicked and acquit the guilty for a bribe,And take away the rights of those who are in the right!

“Remember this, and take courage;Take it to heart, you rebellious and disloyal people.

“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man;He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck;He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood;He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol.Such people have chosen their own ways,And their soul delights in their repulsive acts;

“Israel was holy [something set apart from ordinary purposes, consecrated] to the Lord,The first fruits of His harvest [in which no outsider was allowed to share].All who ate of it [injuring Israel] became guilty;Evil came on them,” says the Lord.’”

And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself less guilty than treacherous Judah [a land of renegades].

Jerusalem and the cities of Judah [being most guilty because their privileges were greatest], its kings and princes, to make them a horror, a ruin, a hissing and a curse, as it is to this day;

“All who found them have devoured them;And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty,Because they have sinned against the Lord [and are no longer holy to Him], their [true] habitation of righteousness and justice,Even the Lord, the [confident] hope of their fathers.’

You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols which you have made. Thus you have caused your day [of judgment and punishment] to approach and have arrived at [the completion of] your years; therefore, I have made you an object of scorn to the [pagan] nations and a thing to be mocked by all countries.

‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended and has incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,”

Though you, Israel, play the prostitute [by worshiping idols],Do not let Judah become guilty [of the same thing];And do not go to Gilgal [where idols are worshiped],Or go up to Beth-aven (House of Wickedness),Nor swear [oaths in idolatrous worship, saying],“As the Lord lives!”

Their heart is divided (faithless);Now they must bear their guilt and punishment.The Lord will break down [the horns of] their altars;He will destroy their idolatrous pillars.

When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling and terror.He exalted himself [above the other tribes] in Israel;But through [the worship of] Baal he became guilty and died [spiritually, and then came ruin, sealing Israel’s doom as a nation].

The Lord is slow to anger and great in powerAnd He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm,And the clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

whose buyers slay them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them nor protect them [from the wolves].