1 Kings 2:31

²⁹ It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD and is now beside the altar.” So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down!”

³⁰ And Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah relayed the message to the king, saying, “This is how Joab answered me.”

And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed.

³² The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.

³³ Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed.
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.
WEB: The king said to him, “Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him, that you may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father’s house.
ASV: And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father`s house.
DARBY: And the king said to him, Do as he has said, and fall upon him, and bury him; and take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me and from the house of my father.
BLB: And the king said to him, “Do as he has said and strike him down and bury him, that you may take away the innocent blood that Joab shed from me and from the house of my father.

ÅB: Da sa kongen til ham: Gjør som han sier, og hugg ham ned og begrav ham! Så frir du meg og min fars hus fra det uskyldige blod som Joab har utøst.
OTB: Da sa kongen til ham, "Gjør som han har sagt, og slå ham ned og begrav ham, så du kan fjerne fra meg og fra min fars hus skylden for blodet som Joab utøste uten grunn.
B1930: Da sa kongen til ham: Gjør som han sier, og hugg ham ned og begrav ham! Så frir du mig og min fars hus fra det uskyldige blod som Joab har utøst.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Deuteronomy 21:8–9
Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.
Read in context
Numbers 35:33
Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Read in context
Exodus 21:14
But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.
Read in context
2 Samuel 3:28
Afterward, David heard about this and said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.
Read in context
Proverbs 28:17
A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit; let no one support him.
Read in context
Acts 28:4
When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
Read in context
2 Kings 9:26
‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, declares the LORD, so will I repay you on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.’ Now then, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”
Read in context
Genesis 9:5–6
And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
Read in context