English Standard Version
Deuteronomy 19:21
21Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Deuteronomy 19:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
- New International Version (NIV)Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
- New Living Translation (NLT)You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Context of Deuteronomy 19:21
19then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Read all of Deuteronomy 19Deuteronomy 19:21 word by word
וְלֹ֥א תָח֖וֹס עֵינֶ֑ךָ נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּנֶ֗פֶשׁ עַ֤יִן בְּעַ֙יִן֙ שֵׁ֣ן בְּשֵׁ֔ן יָ֥ד בְּיָ֖ד רֶ֥גֶל בְּרָֽגֶל׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 19:21
- Deuteronomy 19:13Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you.
- Exodus 21:23But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life,
- Leviticus 24:17"Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death.
- Matthew 5:38"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 19:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Life - for life, eye for eye, etc. - The operation of such a law as this must have been very salutary: if a man prized his own members, he would naturally avoid injuring those of others. It is a pity that this law were not still in force: it would certainly prevent many of those savage acts which now both disgrace and injure society. I speak this in reference to law generally, and the provision that should be made to prevent and punish ferocious and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19-21Verses 19-21 See the marginal references.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-21Verses 15-21 Sentence should never be passed upon the testimony of one witness alone. A false witness should suffer the same punishment which he sought to have inflicted upon the person he accused. Nor could any law be more just. Let all Christians not only be cautious in bearing witness in public, but be careful not to join in private slanders; and let all whose consciences accuse them of crime, without delay flee for refuge to the hope set before them…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21The legal principle described as life for life is known as lex talionis (“law of retaliation”). This means the punishment must match the crime (see Exodus 21:23; Leviticus 24:20). It should not be too weak or too harsh. Appropriate punishment is a necessary function of government (compare Romans 13:1–7). It helped maintain Israel’s spiritual integrity as God’s people (see study note on Deuteronomy 17:7). But vengeance belongs to God, not individuals (see…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-2116-21. But if convicted of perjury, it will be sufficient for his own condemnation, and his punishment shall be exactly the same as would have overtaken the object of his malignant prosecution. (See on Ex 21:23; see also Le 24:20).Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 19:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 19
- 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
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