Genesis 9:4-6 -- Blood must be shed
But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
Deuteronomy 21:1-9 -- Blood must be shed in cases of Unsolved Homicide
7 Then they shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. 8 Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.” And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood. 9 So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
Numbers 35:33 -- Blood must be shed in cases of Solved Homicide
33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.
Hebrew law requires the shedding of blood. Roman law requires the ending of a life. These are two very different approaches to "capital punishment." The purpose of "capital punishment" in the Bible is to cleanse the land by the shedding of blood (Numbers 35:33). The emphasis in the Bible is not simply on eliminating evidence of brainwaves, or whatever your medical indicator of end-of-life might be. The emphasis in Biblical law is on blood. To take a man's life is to take his blood. "Life" is not in the brainwave. Look up all the verses which have the words "life" and "blood" in them. Most of these verses shed light on this issue.
Most Bible-believing advocates of "capital punishment" say we must obey the laws in the Bible requiring the shedding of blood, but say we are not obligated to obey the laws prohibiting the eating of blood. Even though those verses might be right next to each other.
Genesis 9:4
But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Genesis 9:5
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
The overwhelming majority of Christians who defend "capital punishment" also believe in "natural law," which is a Greco-Roman concept, not a Biblical concept.
Natural Law: Jerusalem vs. Athens
There is a reason for shedding blood in "capital punishment" cases. The stated reason is to "cleanse" the land of the guilt of innocent blood (Numbers 35:33). The word "cleanse" is the Hebrew word for "make atonement." The Book of Hebrews says that in our day the only blood which is efficacious in the eyes of God is the blood of Jesus. There is no Biblical reason to shed any other blood. Anyone attempting to obey Biblical Laws such as Deuteronomy 21 and Numbers 35 by killing either an animal or a human being is not obeying those laws, but is in fact disobeying the Covenant and rejecting Jesus as the Christ and as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29
Hebrews 9
7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people‘s sins committed in ignorance; 8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience— 10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation [definitively ended, AD 70 with the destruction of the earthly Jerusalem temple].
11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood . 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” 21 Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
23 Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
10 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Hebrew law is not Roman law or "natural law."
Many laws which are labeled "Judicial Law" or "Civil Law" are actually priestly law, or "ceremonial law." If there is any modern applicability to these laws, they are patriarchal, or market laws. They are not socialist laws.
Suppose in a fit of anger, I murder your son.
You cite Genesis 9:4-6 for the proposition that my blood should be shed:
Genesis 9:4-6 -- Blood must be shed
But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
But suppose you don't know that I was the one who murdered your son. Nobody knows this. It's an "unsolved homicide." Should you urge your civil government -- and its Levitical priests -- to follow Deuteronomy 21:1-9?
Deuteronomy 21:1-9 -- Blood must be shed in the case of an Unsolved Homicide
5And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the Name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried: 4And the elders of that city shall bring down a heifer unto a rough valley, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley: 7Then they shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. 8 Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.” And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood. 9 So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
To my knowledge, no Christian advocates the literal observance of this law. Here's why.
Suppose I confess to the murder, and can supply evidence to back up my confession.
Should Numbers 35:33 be followed?
Numbers 35:33 -- Blood must be shed in cases of a Solved Homicide
33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.
Should my blood be shed?
Who should shed my blood?
You?
You and your neighbors?
People calling themselves "the civil government?"
People calling themselves "priests the sons of Levi?
Since I provided the evidence against myself, and testified against myself, should I shed my own blood?
What if people calling themselves "the civil government" refuse to prosecute me, or a jury of my peers refuses to convict me, but I believe my blood needs to be shed to cleanse the land (Hebrew, כָּפַר kaphar, make atonement, Strong's #3722) Should I shed my own blood? Should the victim's family shed my blood?
What if you believe that only the blood of Jesus can cleanse the land of the shedding of innocent blood (which I shed).
Should people calling themselves "the civil government" threaten to hurt you if you don't pay (be taxed) for "executioners" to shed my blood, even if you don't want my blood shed?
Suppose I murder your son and I am Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest man in the world, and I promise to become your slave for life, and pay you $100 million a year for the rest of my life out of the money I earn at Amazon.com. Suppose you want the proceeds of my forced labor more than my shed blood? Should people calling themselves "the civil government" threaten to hurt you if you don't pay (be taxed) for "executioners" to shed my blood, even if you don't want my blood shed?
These are the questions every society must answer: