'Innocent' in the Bible

Now Abimelech had not yet come near her; so he said, “Lord, will you kill a people who are righteous and innocent and blameless [regarding Sarah]?

then you will be free of my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will [also] be free of my oath.’

Keep far away from a false charge or action, and do not condemn to death the innocent or the righteous, for I will not justify and acquit the guilty.

so that innocent blood will not be shed [by blood avengers] in your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and blood guilt will not be on you [for the death of an innocent man].

You shall not pity him [the guilty one], but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and do not put the guilt of innocent blood among Your people Israel.’ And the guilt of blood shall be forgiven them.

So shall you remove the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.

“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,

‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

For he took his life in his hand and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then would you sin against innocent blood by killing David without a cause?”

Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah [my sister] did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, [both of] whom he murdered; avenging the blood of war in [a time of] peace. And he put the [innocent] blood of war [of Abner and Amasa] on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals on his feet.

The king said to him, “Do as he has said. Strike him down and bury him, so that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the innocent blood which Joab shed.

The next morning he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are just and innocent; behold, I conspired against [Joram] my master and killed him, but who killed all these?

Moreover, Manasseh shed a very great quantity of innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, by doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

and also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not pardon it.

“Remember now, who, being innocent, ever perished?Or where [and in what circumstances] were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?

For though I were righteous, I could not answer.I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge.

“Though I am innocent and in the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty;Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty.

“When [His] scourge kills suddenly,He mocks at the despair of the innocent.

I am afraid of all my pains and worries [yet to come];I know that You will not acquit me and leave me unpunished.

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

“The upright will be [astonished and] appalled at this,And the innocent will stir himself up against the godless and polluted.

“The righteous see it and are glad;And the innocent mock and laugh at them, saying,

“He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent;And he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands.”

He may prepare it, but the just will wear itAnd the innocent will divide the silver.

‘I am pure, without transgression;I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

“For Job has said, ‘I am righteous [and innocent],But God has taken away my right;

He lurks in ambush in the villages;In hiding places he kills the innocent;He lies in wait for the unfortunate [the unhappy, the poor, the helpless].

He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite],And does not take a bribe against the innocent.He who does these things will never be shaken.

Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;Let them not rule and have control over me.Then I will be blameless (complete),And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

They band themselves together against the life of the righteousAnd condemn the innocent to death.

And shed innocent blood,Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;And the land was polluted with their blood.

If they say, “Come with us;Let us lie in wait to shed blood,Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others], a lying tongue,And hands that shed innocent blood,

So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;Whoever touches her will not be found innocent or go unpunished.

The [malevolent] words of the wicked lie in wait for [innocent] blood [to slander],But the mouth of the upright will rescue and protect them.

Whoever mocks the poor taunts his Maker,And he who rejoices at [another’s] disaster will not go unpunished.

He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”Peoples will curse him, nations will denounce him;

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

Those who cause a person to be condemned with a [false] word,And lay a trap for him who upholds justice at the [city] gate,And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

Their feet run to evil,And they rush to shed innocent blood.Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing];Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

“Also on your skirts is foundThe lifeblood of the innocent poor;You did not find them breaking in [a house].But in spite of all these things [your disobedience, your love of idolatry, your lack of compassion]—

Yet you keep saying, ‘I am innocent;Surely His anger has turned away from me.’Behold (listen very carefully), I will bring you to judgment and will plead my case against youBecause you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

if you do not oppress the transient and the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood [by oppression and by unjust judicial murders] in Jerusalem, nor follow after other gods to your own ruin,

Thus says the Lord, “Execute justice and righteousness, and rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor. And do no wrong; do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

“But your eyes and your heartAre only intent on your own dishonest gain,On shedding innocent blood,On oppression and extortion and violence.”

But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

My God has sent His angel and has shut the mouths of the lions so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also before you, O king, I have committed no crime.”

Egypt will become a waste,And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,Because of their violence against the children of Judah,In whose land they have shed innocent blood.

And I shall avenge their blood which I have not avenged,For the Lord dwells in Zion.

Then they called on the Lord and said, “Please, O Lord, do not let us perish because of taking this man’s life, and do not make us accountable for innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as You pleased.”