Does the Bible allow for the death penalty / capital punishment?

from the old testament

• The Old Testament presents the death penalty as the suitable punishment for murder, showing the value God places on human life: "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man" (Genesis 9:6) and "You shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it" (Numbers 35:33).
• But at least twenty-one other specific crimes had the death penalty in the Old Testament. Besides murder (Exodus 21:12), rape (Deuteronomy 22:25), causing a woman to miscarry a baby (Exodus 21:22-25), and kidnapping (Exodus 21:16) required that the offender be put to death.
• Some critics of capital punishment claim it serves as no real deterrent to crime. Those who hold the retributionist position (pro-death penalty) counter that the problem is not the punishment, but the delays and loopholes that prevent it from being properly administered. As Solomon said, "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
• God did not always enforce the death penalty for each capital crime, even in the Old Testament. David was not put to death for his adulterous affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11–12), and Cain was not killed for murdering Abel (see Genesis 4:15).

from the new testament

• The New Testament never calls for believers to follow Old Testament law. For example, when the church of Corinth had to deal with an adulterer, Paul did not call for execution, but excommunication (1 Corinthians 5:5).
• The rehabilitationist position believes offenders should be reformed, and execution makes reformation impossible. From a biblical perspective, rehabilitationist arguments focus on the following: God does not rejoice in the death of the wicked (2 Peter 3:9), Christians are told to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-39), loving our enemies bars us from killing them, and Christians should not pay back evil for evil, but leave room for God's vengeance (Romans 12:19). But these would apply to individuals seeking their own justice, not to government’s applying the death penalty. There is a difference between what an individual decides to do towards a felon and what a country or state must do to preserve justice and protect society.
• Scripture clearly says that God has given human governments the responsibility of meting out punishment that fits the crime (Romans 13). Anyone–even murderers—can confess their sins and be forgiven by God. But that doesn’t absolve them from earthly punishment for their crimes. The thief on the cross didn’t ask Jesus to save him from death on the cross; in fact, he acknowledged that he and the other thief were receiving their “due reward” for their crimes (v. 41). But he asked Jesus to remember him, and Jesus responded by promising to see him in paradise that very day (Luke 23:39-43).

implications for today

The topic of capital punishment, or the death penalty, evokes strong and often conflicting opinions both within and outside the church. Some argue that certain crimes are so grave that forfeiting the offender’s life is a just and necessary response, while others maintain that taking a life under any circumstances is morally unacceptable.

From the major viewpoints regarding capital punishment, the retribution viewpoint–the idea that murder deserves the death penalty—appears to be the most scriptural. Retributionism answers the charge that capital punishment is cruel with the observation that it is also cruel to murder an innocent person; the punishment fits the crime. As to the concern that innocent people may be executed, the retributionist points out the great care the justice system takes to prevent such tragedies. In this age of DNA testing, the likelihood of a person being wrongfully convicted has dramatically decreased.

Biblically, the principle of justice often reflects the seriousness of the offense and the value of the life affected. Because humans are made in God’s image, life is sacred, yet God also established capital punishment as a means of upholding moral order. He entrusted governments to “bear the sword” to execute justice and protect society while reflecting His moral standards (Romans 13:4). This framework suggests that capital punishment is not merely a human decision but a divinely sanctioned tool to maintain justice, deter wrongdoing, and uphold the sanctity of life.