1 Kings 2:31 · KJV
“And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.”
— 1 Kings 2:31
And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing {thereof, to wit}, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
1 Kings 2 — Context
And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, {he is} by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.
30And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
31And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.
32And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing {thereof, to wit}, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
33Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.
Cross References
Deuteronomy 21:8-9
Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. {unto thy people of: Heb. in the midst, etc}
Numbers 35:33
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye {are}: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. {the land cannot...: Heb. there can be no expiation for the land}
Exodus 21:14
But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
2 Samuel 3:28
And afterward when David heard {it}, he said, I and my kingdom {are} guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner: {blood: Heb. bloods}
Proverbs 28:17
A man that doeth violence to the blood of {any} person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.
Genesis 9:5-6
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
2 Kings 9:26
Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take {and} cast him into the plat {of ground}, according to the word of the LORD. {blood: Heb. bloods} {plat: or, portion}
Acts 28:4
And when the barbarians saw the {venomous} beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.