What Does Joshua 2:19 Mean in the King James?
And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The doorway decides who bears the blood: outside, the person who leaves; inside, those who pledged protection.
THE MEANING
The house is a refuge with a clear boundary: when you leave it, the responsibility for your blood rests on you; when you stay inside, it rests on those who pledged to protect you. The repeated phrase “on the head” makes that transfer of responsibility explicit.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that a promise of protection follows you beyond the place it names; here, leaving the house returns the blood-liability to the person who leaves.
THE ROOT
נְקִיִּם
neqiyyim
GROWS FROM
נקה
N-Q-H
To be clean, clear, or free of liability.
This root can describe both being clear and clearing someone, giving “guiltless” the added sense of a liability removed. The rescuers claim that clearance only when the person who leaves bears the blood on their own head.
ALSO GROWS
naqiy: Clean, innocent, free of guilt.
נָקִי
This adjective shares the root’s sense of being clear; here, the speakers say they remain clear of the blood-liability if someone leaves.
yenaqqeh: Clear or acquit.
יְנַקֶּה
The same root appears in Exodus 34:7, where the KJV says God will not “clear the guilty,” directly echoing the question of who bears guilt.
יֵצֵא
yēṣēʾ
GROWS FROM
יצא
Y-Ṣ-ʾ
To go out, come forth, or emerge.
“go out” in this verse is yēṣēʾ. The same verb can describe going out or coming forth from a source. Here, leaving the house is the decisive crossing: once the person emerges into the street, the pledge no longer places their blood on the rescuers.
ALSO GROWS
yotze: One who comes or goes out.
יוֹצֵא
In Genesis 15:4, it describes the one who will “come forth” from Abram, showing the root’s sense of emerging from within.
motsa: That which proceeds or comes out.
מוֹצָא
In Deuteronomy 8:3, it describes what “proceedeth out of the mouth” of the LORD; the root marks what passes outward from its source, as the person passes from house to street.
THE PATTERN
Scripture pictures refuge as a real sheltering place, with protection attached to dwelling within or being gathered under its cover.
For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!THE THREAD
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.The word translated “guiltless” in Joshua and the verb translated “clear” here share the root נקה (naqah), meaning to be clear or acquitted. Joshua ties that clearance to the house’s boundary, while Exodus states that the guilty are not cleared.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us