Exodus 22:4

Exodus 22:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
• New International Version (NIV)If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.
• New King James Version (NKJV)If the theft is certainly found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall restore double.

Context of Exodus 22:4

2Perhaps someone may catch a robber as he goes into another person's house. The owner of the house might knock down the robber so that he dies. If this happens at night, the owner of the house is not guilty of murder. 3But if the owner of the house kills the robber after sunrise, he is guilty of murder. Anyone who takes something that belongs to someone else must pay back the owner. If he cannot pay for everything that he has taken, he must become a slave. The owner will receive the money that someone has paid for the slave. You may find an animal that someone has taken for himself. If the animal is still alive, the person who took it must pay back to the owner twice its value. He must do this, whether it was a cow, a donkey, or a sheep. 5A man's animals might go into someone else's field or vineyard to eat what is growing there. Then the owner of those animals must pay back the value of what they have eaten. He must give his best grain and his best grapes to pay back the other man. 6Someone might light a fire in his field to burn thorn bushes. But the fire might grow and it might burn the crops in another farmer's field. It may destroy the crops that are growing there or the grain that is ready for harvest. It might even destroy the whole field. Then the person who lit the fire must pay the farmer for the crops that the fire has destroyed.

Exodus 22:4 word by word

אִֽם־הִמָּצֵא֩ תִמָּצֵ֨א בְיָד֜וֹ הַגְּנֵבָ֗ה מִשּׁ֧וֹר עַד־חֲמ֛וֹר עַד־שֶׂ֖ה חַיִּ֑ים שְׁנַ֖יִם יְשַׁלֵּֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If the theftגְּנֵבָהgenêbâh · theftH1591
• be certainlyמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• in his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• aliveחַיchay · aliveH2416
• whether it be oxשׁוֹרshôr · cattleH7794
• or assחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
• or sheepשֶׂהώeh ώêy · sheepH7716
• he shall restoreשָׁלֵםshâlam · to completeH7999
• doubleשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147

Cross-references for Exodus 22:4

• Exodus 21:16If someone catches another person to sell him, you must punish him with death. Kill him even if you find him when he has not yet sold the man that he caught.
• Exodus 21:1These are the laws that you must put in front of the Israelites:
• Proverbs 6:31But if someone catches him, he must pay back seven times what he took. He may lose everything that he has in his house.
• Isaiah 40:2Speak kindly to the people in Jerusalem. Tell them that their time of trouble has now finished. Their punishment has been enough. The Lord has made them pay for their sins. He has made them pay twice.’
• Jeremiah 16:18I will punish them for their sins. I will make them pay twice for the wrong things that they have done. That is because they have spoiled my land. They have made it unclean with their disgusting idols that have no life. They have filled my special land with the evil things that they have done.’
• Revelation 18:6Yes, punish the people of that city. Do to them the same things that they have done to others. Punish them with twice the bad things that they themselves have done. She caused people to drink pain from her cup. Now make her drink twice as much pain for herself!

Commentaries on Exodus 22:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He shall restore double - In no case of theft was the life of the offender taken away; the utmost that the law says on this point is, that, if when found breaking into a house, he should be smitten so as to die, no blood should be shed for him; Exodus 22:2. If he had stolen and sold the property, then he was to restore four or fivefold, Exodus 22:1; but if the animal was found alive in his possession, he was to restore double.Read the comment
• 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 22:4

• Animals
• Bullock
• Fine
• Restitution
• 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