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Then they must proclaim, “Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we[a] witnessed the crime.[b] Do not blame[c] your people Israel whom you redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person.”[d] Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed. In this manner you will purge the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before[e] the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 21:7 tn Heb “our eyes.” This is a figure of speech known as synecdoche in which the part (the eyes) is put for the whole (the entire person).
  2. Deuteronomy 21:7 tn Heb “seen”; the implied object (the crime committed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. Deuteronomy 21:8 tn Heb “Atone for.”
  4. Deuteronomy 21:8 tn Heb “and do not place innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel.”
  5. Deuteronomy 21:9 tn Heb “in the eyes of” (so ASV, NASB, NIV).