Violence, murder and warfare

Passages

• Exodus 20:13 (central)

  You shall not murder.

• Deuteronomy 5:17

  You shall not murder.

• Genesis 9:6

  Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

• Numbers 35:11

  designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

  The accidental killer (rōṣēaḥ) who may flee to a city of refuge.

• Numbers 35:27

  and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed,

  The same verb used of the avenger who kills the manslayer outside the city.

• Numbers 35:30

  If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.

  The same verb used of the lawful execution of a murderer on witnesses' testimony.

• Deuteronomy 4:42

  to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

  Killing 'without knowing'.

• Deuteronomy 19:4

  Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

• Matthew 5:21

  You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’

  Jesus quotes the commandment (οὐ φονεύσεις) and extends it to anger.

• Matthew 5:39

  But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;

• Matthew 26:52

  “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

• Luke 3:14

  Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” “Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

  John the Baptist's instruction to soldiers.

• Romans 13:4

  For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

  The authority 'does not bear the sword in vain'.

• Romans 13:9

  The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

• James 2:11

  For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Scripture quotations: Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. Other translations, the Greek and Hebrew, and word study are in the reader.

What the text establishes, and what interpreters infer

An inference listed here may be well founded; it is listed separately because the passage alone does not state it.

Differences in the text and its translation

• Text differs Greek witnesses order the commandments differently: Codex Vaticanus has adultery – theft – murder; Codices Alexandrinus and Ambrosianus follow the Hebrew order.
• Translation choice “You shall not murder” — Restricts the prohibition to unlawful killing of a person.
• Translation choice “Thou shalt not kill / You shall not kill” — Older English tradition (e.g. King James Version) and some modern scholars, who argue that רצח covers more than murder.
• Numbering Exodus 20:13 in Hebrew and English corresponds to Exodus 20:15 in Codex Vaticanus's Greek numbering (TVTMS). Its commandment number also differs: sixth in the Philonic/Talmudic division (Orthodox, most Protestants, Jewish counting), fifth in the Augustinian division (Catholic, Lutheran).

Historical context

Pre-Constantinian Christian writers (Tertullian, Origen, Lactantius) express strong reservations about Christians shedding blood, including as soldiers, though scholars debate how widely these views reflected practice. After Constantine, Augustine set out exceptions for killing under public authority or divine command; Aquinas systematised just-war and self-defence reasoning. In the sixteenth century the Anabaptist Schleitheim Confession placed the sword 'outside the perfection of Christ', while Lutheran, Reformed and Anglican confessions affirmed Christians' participation in lawful war. In 2018 the Catholic Church revised its Catechism to call the death penalty inadmissible.

Positions

Listed without ranking. Traditions are internally diverse; the notes on each association matter.

How to translate it

Sources

“Source checked” means the work and the point cited were confirmed while building this entry; “partly checked” means only part of it was; “not yet checked” means it is a standard reference awaiting review. None of these is a review of this entry, which remains an unreviewed draft.

• Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, book 1, chapter 21 (c. 413–426). Open sourcesource checked
• Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 64 (on killing; a. 7 self-defence) and q. 40 (on war) (c. 1271). source not yet checked
• Tertullian, On Idolatry 19 (c. 200). source not yet checked
• Origen, Against Celsus 8.73 (c. 248). source not yet checked
• Lactantius, Divine Institutes 6.20 (c. 303–311). source not yet checked
• Basil of Caesarea, Letter 188 (First Canonical Letter), canon 13 (374). source not yet checked
• Swiss Brethren (Michael Sattler), Schleitheim Confession, article 6 (the sword) (1527). Open sourcesource checked
• Martin Luther, Large Catechism, Fifth Commandment (1529). source checked
• Martin Luther, Whether Soldiers, Too, Can Be Saved (1526). source not yet checked
• John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 2.8.39–40 (1559). source checked
• Church of England, Thirty-Nine Articles, Article XXXVII (Christians may serve in wars at the magistrate's command) (1571). source not yet checked
• Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.) (1997). Open sourcesource partly checked
• Religious Society of Friends, A Declaration from the Harmless and Innocent People of God, called Quakers (to Charles II) (1660/61). source not yet checked
• Jiří Moskala, "You Shall Not Kill" or "You Shall Not Murder"? The Meaning of Ratsakh in the Sixth Commandment, Biblical Research Institute (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists). Open sourcesource checked
• Wilma Ann Bailey, "You Shall Not Kill" or "You Shall Not Murder"? The Assault on a Biblical Text, Liturgical Press (2005). source checked
• W. Gesenius, ed. E. Kautzsch, trans. A. E. Cowley, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, 2nd English ed., §107o (lōʾ with the imperfect: categorical prohibition), Clarendon Press (1910). source not yet checked
• F. Brown, S. R. Driver, C. A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), as transcribed by the Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (1906). source checked
• James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Hebrew Bible (1890), as edited by the Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (1890). source checked
• STEPBible / Tyndale House, TVTMS — Translators Versification Traditions with Methodology for Standardisation. source checked
• H. B. Swete (ed.), The Old Testament in Greek according to the Septuagint, vol. 1: Genesis–IV Kings, Cambridge University Press (1901). Open sourcesource checked
• general, Numbering of the Decalogue: Philonic/Talmudic vs Augustinian divisions. source checked