Exodus 21:24

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

22When two men fight together, perhaps one of them may hit a pregnant woman. As a result of the fight, she may give birth to her child before the right time. If the man has not hurt the woman very much, he must pay money to her husband. He must pay the amount of money that the husband demands. A judge must agree that the money for his punishment is fair. 23But if the man has hurt the woman a lot, you must punish him as he deserves. Take a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot. 25You must give him a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. 26If a master hits the eye of his male slave or his female slave, he might destroy it. Then he must let the slave go away as a free person to pay for the loss of their eye.

Exodus 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.

• Eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• toothשֵׁןshên · toothH8127
• handיָדyâd · handH3027
• footרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272

Cross-references for Exodus 21:24

• Exodus 21:26If a master hits the eye of his male slave or his female slave, he might destroy it. Then he must let the slave go away as a free person to pay for the loss of their eye.
• Leviticus 24:19If a man hurts another person, you must punish him as he deserves. Hurt him in the same way that he has hurt the other person.
• Deuteronomy 19:21Do not be sorry for people who are guilty. Punish people as they deserve: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.
• Judges 1:6The king ran away, but the Israelites caught him. They cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
• 1 Samuel 15:33But Samuel said to Agag, ‘You have used your sword to kill the children of many mothers. Now your own mother will have no children that are still alive.’ Then Samuel cut Agag into pieces at the Lord's altar in Gilgal.
• Matthew 5:38Jesus then said, ‘You also know that God's Law says: “If somebody destroys your eye, then you should destroy that person's eye. If somebody destroys your tooth, then you should destroy that person's tooth.”
• Matthew 7:2God will think about you in the same way that you think about other people. He will use the same rules for you as you use for other people.
• Luke 6:38Give to other people and God will give to you. He will give to you even more than you gave. He will fill your pocket until no more will go in. It will be so full that it will come out over the top. Think about how you give to other people. God will give in the same way to you.’
• Revelation 16:6They have killed your people and your prophets. They have caused your servants to bleed and to die. So now you have given these bad people blood to drink. That is what ought to happen to them. It is right.’

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

• Assault and Battery
• Quotations and Allusions
• Retaliation

In the dictionaries

• Book
• Crucifixion
• Determine
• Gore
• Push
• Quit
• Ransom
• Tooth
• Wont
• Bible, the

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