God's command in Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17, You shall not murder, reveals how precious life is to Him and should be to us. Immediately following commandments that honor God and parents, this sixth commandment rules against the taking of human life, placing it high among laws governing human relationships. The Hebrew word used, raṣāḥ, broadly conveys the concept of taking human life, suggesting the commandment could be understood as, You shall not take human life. This highlights the sanctity of all human life as a fundamental principle. Just after the Flood, God emphasizes to Noah that murder shows the greatest disdain for life, as it cuts a victim off from their future, growth, accomplishment, and joy, contemptuously stealing their time and potential. God sees this as a grave transgression, reflecting a condescending attitude toward both the victim and Himself. Because humans are made in God's image, the murder of a person requires a reckoning, a steep price for such an act. Even King David, despite his zeal to build a Temple for God, was refused due to having shed too much blood as a man of war, indicating that God would not associate His Holy Place with a reign stained by taking lives, perhaps suggesting a callousness to life's value. In the New Testament, Jesus expands on this commandment in His Sermon on the Mount, teaching that not only does taking life violate it, but so does anger without cause, insult, or demeaning others, as these actions express a lack of value for their lives and can expect adverse judgment. Jesus illustrates this broader scope with examples of broken relationships, showing that words and actions that sully or sever ties—whether through anger, contempt, or failing obligations—violate the spirit of the law against murder by devaluing another's worth. The sixth commandment, therefore, emphasizes the value of human life both physically and spiritually, urging us to constrain our nature and value others at least as much as ourselves.