נָקִי

And when you go to my kindred, if they refuse to give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’

“As you say,” replied the steward. “But only the one who is found with the cup will be my slave, and the rest of you shall be free of blame.”

If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.

Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.

…then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the LORD.

Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.

You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you.

Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.

So you shall purge from among you the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the wife he has married.

‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

The men said to her, “We will not be bound by this oath you made us swear

If anyone goes out the door of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if a hand is laid on anyone with you in the house, his blood will be on our heads.

And if you report our mission, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”

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

Afterward, David heard about this and said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.

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

Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.

Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

…and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.

Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?

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

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

The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them:

He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”

…what he lays up, the righteous will wear, and his silver will be divided by the innocent.

He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.

…who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.

They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.

If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,

…haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.

Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, though you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things

…if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,

…because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever 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. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.

“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”

But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing.”

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

So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.”