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“you shall not murder”

Hebrew Old Testament Exodus 20:13

The Hebrew ratsach is a specific verb for unlawful taking of life — distinguished from the general verb harag (to kill) and from muth in the Hophal stem (to be put to death judicially). The same legal corpus that contains 'do not ratsach' also prescribes capital penalties using different verbs. The KJV's 'thou shalt not kill' obscures the specific legal force of the Hebrew.

The word itself

רָצַח ratsach

Lexicon citation

HALOT s.v. רָצַח (ratsach): to murder; to kill (unlawfully). Distinguished from harag (to kill, more general) and muth (to die / be put to death). The verb appears in the Decalogue and in laws specifying penalties for unlawful killing.

The Hebrew distinguishes

Biblical Hebrew uses several distinct verbs for the taking of life:

VerbRangeTypical use
ratsach (רָצַח)Unlawful taking of lifeThe Decalogue’s prohibition; Numbers 35 on the manslayer
harag (הָרַג)To kill, more generalCain killing Abel (Gen 4:8); kings killing in war
muth (מוּת) HophalTo be put to death (judicially)Capital sentences in the legal corpus
shachat (שָׁחַט)To slaughter (animals, sacrifices)Sacrificial language

The sixth commandment uses ratsach. The same legal corpus that contains “you shall not ratsach” also contains laws prescribing capital punishment for various offences — which use different verbs (muth in the Hophal stem, “shall be put to death”). The Hebrew vocabulary distinguishes between the act prohibited and the lawful judicial penalty.

What ratsach covers

HALOT s.v. ratsach documents the verb’s range:

  • Intentional unlawful killing (what English would now call murder)
  • Negligent killing that meets a certain threshold of culpability (Numbers 35:11 uses ratsach of the unintentional killer who flees to a city of refuge)
  • Killing by ambush or treachery

The word is the legal term for the offence that is not lawful taking of life in war, judicial execution, or self-defence. It is the term used in the Decalogue precisely because it is specific.

The general verb harag covers all killing — by soldiers in battle (1 Samuel 17:50), by judicial executioners, by murderers, by accident. The Decalogue does not use harag; it uses the narrower ratsach.

The KJV’s “kill”

The KJV (1611) renders Exodus 20:13 as “Thou shalt not kill.” This translation has shaped English-language Christian and Jewish ethical reflection for four centuries. The choice was probably influenced by the Latin Vulgate’s non occides — “you shall not kill” — using the Latin verb occidere in its general sense.

The KJV’s “kill” is broader than the Hebrew ratsach. Modern translations (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB, NRSV, CSB) almost universally render the verse as “You shall not murder” — reflecting the specific legal force of ratsach.

This is one of the most consequential translation choices in the entire Bible. Different ethical applications follow from each rendering:

  • “Thou shalt not kill” can be read as a universal prohibition on all taking of life — in war, in capital punishment, in self-defence. Some pacifist traditions have read the verse this way.
  • “You shall not murder” specifies the unlawful taking of life. It does not address war, judicial execution, or self-defence directly.

Both readings have been defended at length. The Hebrew vocabulary itself supports the narrower reading; the KJV translation tradition supports the broader application.

What this site does not do

We do not adjudicate the wider ethical question of whether the broader or narrower application is correct. The Hebrew word is ratsach — a specific term for unlawful taking of life. The same Hebrew Bible uses different vocabulary for war, sacrifice, and judicial execution. What this means for modern ethical questions (the death penalty, war, abortion, self-defence) is the work of theological reflection drawing on much more than this one word.

For the broader topic, see our death penalty topic entry.