You shall not thus pollute the land in which you live: If killings were not handled properly, the land would become ritually impure—unfit for the LORD to live there among his people. This verse and the next one begin in a similar way. It is possible to treat both of them as a concluding comment on the whole passage of verses 9-32. In fact, several versions set these two verses off as a separate paragraph to visually indicate this important discourse function (so New International Version, NET Bible). These verses give a theological rationale for the penalties attached to taking human life (so Ashley, page 656). Revised Standard Version connects this verse to verse 32 with the conjunction thus, and Good News Translation begins with “If you did this,” but these words are lacking in the Hebrew text, which begins simply with the waw conjunction (literally “And”). The verb “defile” (Good News Translation) expresses the ritual meaning of the Hebrew word here better than pollute, which nowadays will only make readers think of environmental pollution. However, if possible, perhaps a verb different from “defile” could be used (for example, “desecrate”) since “defile” is already used in verse 34 for a different, but semantically related Hebrew verb. Instead of the land in which you live, which follows the Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Peshitta, and the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Hebrew text is literally “the land in which you are” (La Nouvelle Bible Segond). Translators may follow whichever reading is more natural in their language.

For blood pollutes the land: Any type of killing, whether deliberate or accidental, caused pollution, a ritual desecration of the whole land. So Good News Translation and New Living Translation are wrong to limit blood to “Murder.” Better renderings for blood are “any killing” or “the taking of a human life.” New International Version keeps the imagery here by saying “Bloodshed.” In order to clarify as well as preserve the image, Bijbel in Gewone Taal translates this whole clause as “For the blood from a murder defiles the land.” Other possible models are “Blood that has been shed defiles the land” and “When blood has been spilled, it defiles the land.” The Hebrew clause here includes an independent pronoun (“it”) that puts emphasis on blood. Thus an accurate translation is “for it is the [shed] blood that defiles the land.”

And no expiation can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed in it: The land must be cleansed of the blood of the victim that has flowed into the earth (so Levine, page 560). The Hebrew verb rendered expiation can be made (kipper) comes from the same root as the noun translated “ransom” in verses 31-32. But it may be difficult to use “ransom” with land as its object. Other translation alternatives for expiation can be made are “purification can be made” or “cleansing can be made.” Good News Translation says “perform the ritual of purification,” which may give the wrong suggestion that this refers to some other existing ritual (other than sentencing the murderer to death). Helpful models for this whole clause are “and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed” (New International Version) and “and the earth cannot be purified of the blood shed on it” (Reina-Valera revisida).

Except by the blood of him who shed it: Good News Translation says “except by the death of the murderer.” Another possible model is “except by the murderer’s own blood,” which keeps the imagery here.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .