Christian Standard Bible
Exodus 21:24
24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exodus 21:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- New International Version (NIV)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- English Standard Version (ESV)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- New King James Version (NKJV)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Context of Exodus 21:24
22“When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment. 23If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound. 26“When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye.
Read all of Exodus 21Exodus 21:24 word by word
עַ֚יִן תַּ֣חַת עַ֔יִן שֵׁ֖ן תַּ֣חַת שֵׁ֑ן יָ֚ד תַּ֣חַת יָ֔ד רֶ֖גֶל תַּ֥חַת רָֽגֶל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 21:24
- Exodus 21:26“When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye.
- Leviticus 24:19If any man inflicts a permanent injury on his neighbor, whatever he has done is to be done to him:
- Deuteronomy 19:21Do not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
- Judges 1:6When Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
- 1 Samuel 15:33Samuel declared: As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women. Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
- Matthew 5:38“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
- Matthew 7:2For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.
- Luke 6:38Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over — will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
- Revelation 16:6Because they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, you have given them blood to drink; they deserve it!
Commentaries on Exodus 21:24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Eye for eye - This is the earliest account we have of the lex talionis, or law of like for like, which afterwards prevailed among the Greeks and Romans. Among the latter, it constituted a part of the twelve tables, so famous in antiquity; but the punishment was afterwards changed to a pecuniary fine, to be levied at the discretion of the praetor. It prevails less or more in most civilized countries, and is fully acted upon in the canon law, in reference…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22-25Verses 22-25 The rule would seem to refer to a case in which the wife of a man interfered in a quarrel. This law, “the jus talionis,” is elsewhere repeated in substance, compare the marginal references. and Genesis 9:6. It has its root in a simple conception of justice, and is found in the laws of many ancient nations. It serves in this place as a maxim for the magistrate in awarding the amount of compensation to be paid for the infliction of personal…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-36Verses 22-36 The cases here mentioned give rules of justice then, and still in use, for deciding similar matters. We are taught by these laws, that we must be very careful to do no wrong, either directly or indirectly. If we have done wrong, we must be very willing to make it good, and be desirous that nobody may lose by us.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-25her child is born prematurely: It appears that if a child’s birth was caused prematurely and the child died (that is, there was further injury), the penalty for murder was to be enacted. The law of retaliation (the lex talionis) called for a penalty that matched the injury inflicted on a victim. But this law also served to limit the punishment so it was not more severe than the original injury. Compare Matthew 5:38–39.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 23-2523-25. eye for eye--The law which authorized retaliation (a principle acted upon by all primitive people) was a civil one. It was given to regulate the procedure of the public magistrate in determining the amount of compensation in every case of injury, but did not encourage feelings of private revenge. The later Jews, however, mistook it for a moral precept, and were corrected by our Lord (Mt 5:38-42).Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 21:24
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 21
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries