Exodus 22:3

Exodus 22:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
• New International Version (NIV)but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. “Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft.
• English Standard Version (ESV)but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
• New King James Version (NKJV)If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

Context of Exodus 22:3

1“If a man steals an ox or sheep and kills or sells it, he shall make restitution of five oxen for an ox or four sheep for a sheep. 2“If a thief is caught breaking in [after dark] and is struck [by the owner] so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him. But if the sun has risen, there will be bloodguilt for him. The thief [if he lives] must make [full] restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold [as a slave to make restitution] for his theft. 4If the animal that he stole is found alive in his possession, whether it is ox or donkey or sheep, he shall pay double [for it]. 5“If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed bare or lets his livestock loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

Exodus 22:3 word by word

אִם־זָרְחָ֥ה הַשֶּׁ֛מֶשׁ עָלָ֖יו דָּמִ֣ים ל֑וֹ שַׁלֵּ֣ם יְשַׁלֵּ֔ם אִם־אֵ֣ין ל֔וֹ וְנִמְכַּ֖ר בִּגְנֵבָתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• be risenזָרַחzârach · to riseH2224
• bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• he should make fullשָׁלֵםshâlam · to completeH7999
• if he have nothing, then he shall be soldמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
• for his theftגְּנֵבָהgenêbâh · theftH1591

Cross-references for Exodus 22:3

• Exodus 21:2“If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing.
• Judges 2:14So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands (power) of plunderers who robbed them; and He sold them into the hands of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer stand [in opposition] before their enemies.
• Judges 10:7So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites,
• Isaiah 50:1The Lord declares this; “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]? Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]? In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing], And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

Commentaries on Exodus 22:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2-4Verses 2-4 If a thief, in breaking into a dwelling in the night, was slain, the person who slew him did not incur the guilt of blood; but if the same occurred in daylight, the slayer was guilty in accordance with Exodus 21:12. The distinction may have been based on the fact that in the light of day there was a fair chance of identifying and apprehending the thief.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-15In cases involving loss of property, the responsible person had to pay compensation equal to the value of what was lost. If the person had actually stolen the property, the compensation was multiplied (22:1, 4, 7). Where there was a question of responsibility, the parties were to appear before God for adjudication (22:8). The means by which the judgment was reached is not reported.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation was all that was required, because it was presumable he (the thief) was not a practised adept in dishonesty…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 22:3

• Animals
• Bullock
• Restitution
• Servant
• Theft and Thieves

In the dictionaries

• Book
• Cause
• Curse
• Feed
• God
• Put
• Restore
• Revile
• Theft
• Torn

Commentaries on Exodus 22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings