In the Bible, murder is always considered a sin, yet killing is permitted. For example, suppose you wake up in the middle of the night while someone breaks into your home. You have no idea what they’re carrying or why they’ve come, so you shoot them in self-defence. This is a justified murder.
It constitutes murder if someone breaks into your house during the day, is unarmed, and either raises his hand or flees, and you shoot and kill that person. Just because you have the ability to murder someone does not imply you should.
Soldiers in combat and police officers must kill at times, but there are also moments when they kill in the wrong way. Always keep in mind that we must be intelligent in all circumstances. There is a time for everything, and there is also a time for killing.
What does the Bible say?
1. Exodus 21:14 “If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die.”
2. Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
3. Exodus 21:12 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.”
4. Leviticus 24:17-22 “And whoever kills another person must be put to death. Whoever kills an animal that belongs to another person must give another animal to take its place. “And whoever causes an injury to their neighbour must be given the same kind of injury: a broken bone for a broken bone, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. The same kind of injury a person gives another person must be given that person. Whoever kills an animal must pay for the animal. But whoever kills another person must be put to death. “The law will be the same for foreigners and for people from your own country. This is because I am the Lord your God.”
5. James 2:11 For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
6. Romans 13:9 The commandments, “Never commit adultery; never murder; never steal; never have wrong desires,” and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
7. Deuteronomy 19:11-12 “But suppose someone is hostile toward a neighbour and deliberately ambushes and murders him and then flees to one of the cities of refuge. In that case, the elders of the murderer’s hometown must send agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over to the dead person’s avenger to be put to death.
8. Revelation 22:15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
9. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
10. 1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
11. 1 Peter 4:15 If you suffer, it should not be a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even a meddler.
12. Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
13. James 4:2 You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.
Accidental
14. Deuteronomy 19:4 “If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety.”
15. Deuteronomy 19:5 For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbour to cut wood. And suppose one of them swings an ax to chop down a tree, and the ax head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer may flee to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety.
Also Read:
- Forgiveness: 25 Bible verses about forgiving yourself
- 30 Powerful Bible verses for spiritual warfare
- The Armor of God prayer for protection
Justifiable killing in the Old Testament
16. Exodus 22:19 “Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.
17. Leviticus 20:27 “‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.'”
18. Leviticus 20:13 “If a man practises homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offence.
19. Leviticus 20:10″‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife–with his neighbour’s wife–both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.
Self-defence in the Bible.
20. Exodus 22:2-3 “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.
Biblical examples
21. Psalm 94:6-7 They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless. They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
22. 1 Samuel 15:3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'”
23. Genesis 4:8 One day, Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.
24. Joel 3:19 “Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edom a desolate wilderness, Because of violence against the people of Judah, For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
25. 2 Kings 21:16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end–besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit so that they did evil in the eyes of the LORD.
Cannibalism is a sin. It is murder!
Jeremiah 19:9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.
