The avenger ¹  of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him.

and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood,

“Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people. They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush. ¹  They set deadly traps ²  to catch people.

I will tear off your headbands and rescue my people from your power; ¹  they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’

The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes!

“After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ¹  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ²  It had two large rows ³  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

So the Lord said, “The outcry against ¹  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ² 

For now ¹  you have become like these streams that are no help; ²  you see a terror, ³  and are afraid.

He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ¹  and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ² 

Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame! Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! ¹ 

I know ¹  that the Lord defends the cause of the oppressed and vindicates the poor. ² 

We will swallow them alive ¹  like Sheol, ²  those full of vigor ³  like those going down to the Pit.

We will seize ¹  all kinds ²  of precious wealth; we will fill our houses with plunder. ³ 

Fools mock ¹  at reparation, ²  but among the upright there is favor. ³ 

Like a fluttering bird or like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause ¹  does not come to rest. ² 

The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels; they go down into a person’s innermost being. ¹ 

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression ¹  of the king ²  is severe upon his victim. ³ 

Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, ¹  those who are always instituting unfair regulations, ² 

“But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword.