Bible translation...?

Question

Fellow Christian friends of mine are always trying to defend Bush and his cohorts by insisting that the sixth commandment reads "Thou shalt not murder," rather than "thou shall not kill." The revised standard version i have reads "kill." What version of the Bible says "murder" and what does the original hebrew say?

Answer 1

First, the verb used in the Torah commandment is "ratsah," which generally is translated as murder and refers only to criminal acts of killing. The word "kill" generally refers to the taking of life for all classes of victims and for all reasons. This
generalization is expressed through a different Hebrew verb "harag."

Please, try to remember though that murder is the criminal act of killing. I would agree that Bush is a criminal in that regard. The only act of killing that is not criminal is accidental or in self-defense.

PS- The story of Moses and the Ten Commandments is in the Old Testament, or the Torah--while they might be referenced by the apostles in their writings--the root is the Torah.

Answer 2

Thou shalt not kill is the original Hebrew version of this commandment. The commandment "thou shall not kill" (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17), is better understood to mean "you shall not murder," most modern translations of the Bible rendered it this way. According to the Bible not all killing, the taking of a life, is murder. Murder is the unlawfully taking of human life.The command not to murder applies to human beings. The primary reason God hates murder is that out of all creation, only human are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:4-6). Even before the codification of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai the murder of other human beings was wrong (Genesis 4:8-12; 4:23-24; 9:4-6; Exodus 1:16-17). While on earth, Jesus spoke out against murder (Matthew 5:21-26; Mark 10:17-19). We also see in the writings of Paul (Romans 1:18, 29-32; 13:8-10; Galatians 5:19-21), James (James 2:8-11; 4:1-3), Peter (1 Peter 4:15-16) and John (Revelation 9:20-21; 21:7-8; 22:14-15) that murder is wrong.

Answer 3

The answer is a simple translation of the original Hebrew. The word is murder, "you shall do no murder."

Now for all the fine folks who have insisted that the translation is kill, let me pose a question to your logic.
In the Old Testament the Hebrews are preparing to enter the 'promised land.' The message from the Lord was to enter the land and take it and to kill every living thing in the land. The purpose for this was to remove the heathen gods and worshipers to keep the Hebrews from 'whoring after other gods.'
The Ten Commandments were given before the battle order. So why would a God who YOU CLAIM commanded people Not to KILL follow that Command with the order to KILL every Living thing?
When interpreting the Bible, you can't apply this interpretation to one item without using that interpretation through out the Bible. That's the problem with many cults, they tend to apply willy-nilly as they see fit....

Answer 4

alal
Are you saying that if a person becomes christian then all is magically revealed? There are many groups of people out there who call themselves christian who disagree on what the bible says. Maybe you are saying that if a person joins your particular christian group and is told what to believe then all is revealed. So much for independent thought.


If you want to pull in other biblical sources, check this one out.

Matthew 19:18
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

and
Mark 10:19
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.


Hmm, the bible says both. Do not kill and do not murder. I would say then that both murdering and killing are wrong according to the bible.

Answer 5

The Bible says to pray for your leaders, so therefore, pray for Bush. Because whether you are "for" him or "against" him, he is still in office and therefore has power. Avoid getting caught up into debates because they are a waste of your valuable time. Instead, determine whether are you living your life according to scripture. Your soul and where it will spend eternity is so much more important than the original Hebrew or revised standard version of a word. You can really all agree on one thing and let it rest...and that is, that no one should be murdering "or" killing. Hope this helps and God bless you all! **Study to show thyself approved** :-)

Answer 6

Is this a translation question or an anti-Bush comment?

Let me ask you a question. If someone was trying to kill your family and you had a gun available would you kill that person?
Would that be murder or would it be killing?

Answer 7

Well to be honest Muder is still killing some one there is no differance. Rather it be in war or taking a life and eye for and eye.
We as human try to justify killing someone by saying they deserved it they killed my son or they killed my sister.
They killed the son of God and yet he forgave us, Yes some men that butcher and kill and cut up people like you would an side of beef yeah they desever death. BUT let God judge them that way your hands will remain clean.

Answer 8

NO version of the bible says "murder"
and the version I read is king James , Which is directly translated from Hebrew. The king James version says "kill"

Answer 9

Christians are not pacifists. It is the duty of a Christian to defend others against the horrors of evil people. No matter what word you use, war is sometimes needed and justified according to the Word of God. Not "holy wars", mind you, but defending people from true evil, yes.

Answer 10

Well i am Christian.. And i never defend Bush..I think he is a terriable president..

Lines Exodus 20:2-17

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13 You shall not murder.