Lost Stories Gem #43
What Does The Bible Really Say About Killing?
One of the most effective ingredients in a great biblical misconception is the human tendency to ignore the paradoxical nature of Scripture. The Sermon on the Mount offers tremendous wisdom, yet Jesus Himself disqualified His entire audience with statements like “You’ve heard it said… but now I say to you.” We miss the real purpose when we fail to grasp this paradox: Scripture’s lessons were never meant to be performed in our own strength but, rather, to shatter the illusion that we could ever obey God’s word on our own.
This confusion is nowhere more evident than when examining the Sixth Commandment. The number six carries spiritual significance here: on the sixth day, God created Adam from the ground. Fittingly, the Sixth Commandment states: “You should not kill” (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17). But here lies the problem. This verse has been invoked so zealously that it confuses rather than clarifies biblical truth. The media wields it as a dramatic device. Society applies it so broadly that soldiers defending their nation, police protecting civil order, and executioners enforcing justice are all painted as sinners. Yet something is clearly missing from this interpretation.
The Hebrew Word Changes Everything
When we examine what The Bible actually says about killing, we must start with translation. The word used in the original Hebrew for “to kill” is ratsach—but ratsach doesn’t just mean “to kill.” Its more correct meaning is “to murder.” In context, Hebrew demands this distinction because the language contains far fewer words than English, requiring each to hold multiple meanings determined by surrounding passages.
For over four hundred years, English-speaking Christians relied on The King James Bible, which translated ratsach as “to kill” rather than “to murder.” This choice shaped how nations built on Christian values understood the Sixth Commandment. Born in revolution, colonial America enforced capital punishment, fought wars, and yet remained haunted by moral questions about the taking of human life. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that biblical translators began examining the contextual setting more carefully, finally rendering the Sixth Commandment as “You should not murder”—a translation that changes everything.
Consider the implications: If God ordered the destruction of populations in Canaan, commanded capital punishment for various offenses, and sanctioned war, then why would He simultaneously forbid all killing? The answer reveals the paradox at the heart of Scripture.
God’s Pattern Throughout Scripture
The Bible shows no hesitation about God ordering killing when circumstances warrant it:
God destroyed an entire world through the Great Flood
Moses and Joshua orchestrated the killing of three thousand people at the Golden Calf
The Israelites eradicated seven nations occupying Canaan
God mandated capital punishment for specific transgressions
God called soldiers, judges, and executioners to their roles
So, if God Himself condemned all killing, then obviously these actions would make no sense. However, if we understand ratsach as “to murder,” then the contradiction dissolves. What we see from this, then, is that God forbids the unlawful, premeditated taking of innocent life. He doesn’t forbid killing done in conformity to lawful authority.
Jesus Redefines What Really Matters
When Jesus addressed the Sixth Commandment in the Sermon on the Mount, He went deeper: “You’ve heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You should not murder,’ and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”
Notice what Jesus did here. First, He confirmed that the Commandment is speaking of murder, and not killing in general. Then He shifted the focus entirely. The real issue isn’t the physical act itself but the underlying attitude. The Greek word for "angry," orgizo, depends on the context in which it’s used. In short, it’s positive when inspired by God and His principles but sinful when inspired by the flesh and the human desire for revenge.
Jesus Himself repeatedly illustrated this principle. He spoke of an angry master delivering the unforgiving servant to the jailer, and an angry king sending armies to destroy those who murdered his servants. As such, anger is only sinful when we’re angry without just cause.
This distinction matters enormously. A soldier defending the nation, a police officer protecting the community, an executioner enforcing judgment—none of these kill in anger apart from the just cause that compells them to act. They act according to law and duty. Therefore, they stand exempt from the judgment Jesus warned us about.
Why Translators Made This Choice
The question remains, then: So why did King James translators choose the word “to kill” when they knew ratsach meant “to murder”?
One possibility lies in understanding human moral development. Just as children eventually perceive nuance where they once saw only black and white, humanity has only gradually progressed in its understanding of life’s sanctity. In general, the ancient world treated life with great disregard and callousness. Perhaps translators intentionally broadened the prohibition, hoping to sensitize a brutal world toward more humane values. If teaching that all killing is wrong encouraged greater respect for human life, the slight translation adjustment served a higher purpose.
But this, of course, is only speculation. What is certain, however, is that Scripture contains an inherent paradox. On one hand, God reveals a profound concern for human life, while on the other hand, He also permits—and sometimes commands—the taking of life. Is it any wonder, then, that attempts to resolve such obvious contradictions always fail when examined through one-dimensional thinking.
The Paradox Requires Maturity
From Adam until Moses, although it wasn’t yet explicitly forbidden, people knew murder was wrong through the power of the conscience. But when the Law was handed down on Mount Sinai, a clear prohibition was made explicit. Then, from Moses until Jesus, humanity vacillated between their understanding of the right and wrong of murder and killing in general. Then Jesus arrived and pushed the limits of that understanding further still, revealing the ultimate verdict in the matter: the real transgression is the anger that drives any given act of killing.
Since that time, we’ve wrestled with the difference between the physical act of murder and the underlying attitude that produces it. Jesus said anger without just cause brings judgment. This reframes everything. A soldier’s anger at an enemy aggressor, a police officer’s anger at a criminal threat, an executioner’s anger at a heinous murderer—these aren’t sins. They’re responses to injustice.
When we finally understand that Scripture doesn’t condemn killing done in conformity with the rule of law, we can free those who kill in duty from unnecessary guilt and shame. Soldiers, police officers, and executioners answer a call higher than themselves. Without them, there’s no civil order, no safety, no peace.
Moving Toward Peace
The ultimate lesson, then, lies not in justifying killing but in understanding anger. When we grasp that being angry without just cause is the real transgression, we move closer to embracing others in peace. We become less consumed with immediate justice and more trusting in God’s eternal justice.
The Sixth Commandment doesn’t forbid all killing. It forbids murder—the unlawful, malicious taking of innocent life. This distinction has been lost in translation and clouded by cultural assumptions. Yet Scripture remains consistent: God permits killing when exercised lawfully, justly, and without personal malice. The paradox resolves only when we mature beyond simplistic thinking and embrace the nuanced truth of God’s word.
More to Explore
The Lost Stories Channel invites you to explore these deeper layers of Scripture where faith, history, and reason converge. When you examine what The Bible really says, you discover that long-lost truths about God’s character and intention can transform how you understand both His justice and His grace.
