The Meaning of Numbers 35:31 Explained

Numbers 35:31

KJV: Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.

YLT: And ye take no atonement for the life of a murderer who is condemned -- to die, for he is certainly put to death;

Darby: And ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly be put to death.

ASV: Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, that is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Moreover ye shall take  no satisfaction  for the life  of a murderer,  which [is] guilty  of death:  but he shall be surely  put to death. 

What does Numbers 35:31 Mean?

Context Summary

Numbers 35:16-34 - The Penalty For The Murderer
For murder the penalty was death, Numbers 35:30-31; but for accidental homicide there was freedom within the city limits until the death of the high priest, when all these refugees might return to their homes with impunity. The institution of the blood-avenger was almost a necessity in those lands of scattered population and without communal organization. Here, without destroying the practice, it has been placed under careful limitations. We are our brethren's keepers, and instead of passing on a slander, we should stand for them against those who have wrongfully maligned them.
What an exquisite promise is contained in Numbers 35:34! To think that Jehovah actually dwelled in the Holy Land! He dwells also in each assembly of His saints and in our hearts. See Ezekiel 48:35; Matthew 18:20; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Revelation 21:3.
For Review Questions, see the e-Sword Book Comments [source]

Chapter Summary: Numbers 35

1  Forty-eight cities for the Levites, with their suburbs, and measure thereof
6  Six of them are to be cities of refuge
9  The laws of murder and manslaughter
31  No satisfaction for murder

What do the individual words in Numbers 35:31 mean?

Moreover no you shall take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death but surely he shall be put to death
וְלֹֽא־ תִקְח֥וּ כֹ֙פֶר֙ לְנֶ֣פֶשׁ רֹצֵ֔חַ אֲשֶׁר־ ה֥וּא רָשָׁ֖ע לָמ֑וּת כִּי־ מ֖וֹת יוּמָֽת

וְלֹֽא־  Moreover  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִקְח֥וּ  you  shall  take 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
כֹ֙פֶר֙  ransom 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֹּפֶר 
Sense: price of a life, ransom, bribe.
לְנֶ֣פֶשׁ  for  the  life 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
רֹצֵ֔חַ  of  a  murderer 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָצַח  
Sense: to murder, slay, kill.
רָשָׁ֖ע  guilty 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
לָמ֑וּת  of  death 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
מ֖וֹת  surely 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
יוּמָֽת  he  shall  be  put  to  death 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.