“Their feet are swift to shed blood,

for they ¹  are eager ²  to inflict harm, ³  and they hasten ⁴  to shed blood. ⁵ 

haughty eyes, ¹  a lying tongue, ²  and hands that shed innocent blood, ³ 

“Whoever sheds human blood, ¹  by other humans ²  must his blood be shed; for in God’s image ³  God ⁴  has made humankind.”

Then they must proclaim, “Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we ¹  witnessed the crime. ² 

“‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. ¹ 

so that this generation may be held accountable ¹  for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning ²  of the world, ³ 

“You must not pollute the land where you live, for blood defiles the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed there, except by the blood of the person who shed it.

Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

But the Lord said to me: ¹  ‘You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, ²  for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me.

but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent ¹  to present it as ²  an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people. ³ 

You must not shed innocent blood ¹  in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, for that would make you guilty. ² 

But God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple to honor me, ¹  for you are a warrior and have spilled blood.’

They are eager to do evil, ¹  quick to shed innocent blood. ²  Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy. ³ 

מ (Mem) But it happened ¹  due to the sins of her prophets ²  and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous.

Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit.

So I poured my anger on them ¹  because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it. ² 

Egypt will be desolate and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, ¹  in whose land they shed innocent blood.

And when the blood of your witness ¹  Stephen was shed, ²  I myself was standing nearby, approving, ³  and guarding the cloaks ⁴  of those who were killing him.’ ⁵ 

Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them. ¹