'Innocent' in the Bible

Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

“When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent.

Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.

In this way, innocent blood will not be shed, and you will not become guilty of bloodshed in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

You must not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper.

Lord, forgive Your people Israel You redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.’ Then they will be absolved of responsibility for bloodshed.

You must purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, for you will be doing what is right in the Lord’s sight.

“If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court, and the judges will hear their case. They will clear the innocent and condemn the guilty.

‘The one who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person is cursed.’And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his blood will be on our heads.

He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”

David heard about it later and said: “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.

Then the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and my father’s house, and may the king and his throne be innocent.”

The next morning when he went out and stood at the gate, he said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all these?

Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another. This was in addition to his sin that he caused Judah to commit. Consequently, they did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.

and also because of all the innocent blood he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not forgive.

Consider: who has perished when he was innocent?Where have the honest been destroyed?

When disaster brings sudden death,He mocks the despair of the innocent.

The upright are appalled at this,and the innocent are roused against the godless.

The righteous see this and rejoice;the innocent mock them, saying,

he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,and the innocent will divide up his silver.

He waits in ambush near the villages;he kills the innocent in secret places.His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;

who does not lend his money at interestor take a bribe against the innocent—the one who does these things will never be moved.

Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;do not let them rule over me.Then I will be innocentand cleansed from blatant rebellion.

shooting from concealed places at the innocent.They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.

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

They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughterswhom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;so the land became polluted with blood.

If they say—“Come with us!Let’s set an ambush and kill someone.Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!

arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,hands that shed innocent blood,

It is certainly not good to fine an innocent personor to beat a noble for his honesty.

It is not good to show partiality to the guiltyby perverting the justice due the innocent.

A guilty man’s conduct is crooked,but the behavior of the innocent is upright.

Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent”—people will curse him, and tribes will denounce him;

who acquit the guilty for a bribeand deprive the innocent of justice.

Their feet run after evil,and they rush to shed innocent blood.Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.

Moreover, your skirts are stainedwith the blood of the innocent poor.You did not catch them breaking and entering.But in spite of all these things

you claim, “I am innocent.His anger is sure to turn away from me.”But I will certainly judge youbecause you have said, “I have not sinned.”

if you no longer oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves,

because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their fathers, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Don’t exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place.

But you have eyes and a heart for nothingexcept your own dishonest profit,shedding innocent bloodand committing extortion and oppression.

But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its residents, for it is certain the Lord has sent me to speak all these things directly to you.”

My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths. They haven’t hurt me, for I was found innocent before Him. Also, I have not committed a crime against you my king.”

Egypt will become desolate,and Edom a desert wasteland,because of the violence done to the people of Judahin whose land they shed innocent blood.

So they called out to the Lord: “Please, Yahweh, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For You, Yahweh, have done just as You pleased.”

Or haven’t you read in the Law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?

If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.

“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.“What’s that to us?” they said. “See to it yourself!”

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!”

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of everyone’s blood,

The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good, yet innocent about what is evil.

For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.