Dear Geoph the Biblical scholar.

The Sixth Commandment does NOT read : 'Thou shalt not kill'.

The correct translation from the Hebrew or the Greek is: 'Thou shalt not murder'.

In the Latin Vulgate translation. The author of that translation, Saint Jerome (died in 420), spent much of his career in the Land of Israel, where he consulted frequently with Jewish scholars whose interpretations he often cites with great respect. Even the Septuagint, the old Greek translation of the Bible, translated the commandment with a word that means "murder" rather than "kill." St. Augustine, basing himself on the standard translations, made it clear that the commandment does not extend to wars or capital punishment that are explicitly ordained by God.

Try these sites for explanations of this greatly misunderstood commandment. The agreement is plain amongst Jews, Catholics and Protestants, the meaning is "MURDER."

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/001102_ThouShaltNotMurder.html

http://dcwi.com/~faithch/sermons/1998/98.3.1.htm

It is clear within the Bible that there times for killing and war.

Your Humble Servant,
Gargoyle