Leviticus 24:20

Leviticus 24:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
• New International Version (NIV)fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury.
• English Standard Version (ESV)fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.

Context of Leviticus 24:20

18The one who takes the life of an animal shall make it good, life for life. 19If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him. 21Thus the one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to death. 22There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.’”

Leviticus 24:20 word by word

שֶׁ֚בֶר תַּ֣חַת שֶׁ֔בֶר עַ֚יִן תַּ֣חַת עַ֔יִן שֵׁ֖ן תַּ֣חַת שֵׁ֑ן כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יִתֵּ֥ן מוּם֙ בָּֽאָדָ֔ם כֵּ֖ן יִנָּ֥תֶן בּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

• fractureשֶׁ֫בֶרsheber shêber · breakingH7667
• eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• toothשֵׁןshên · toothH8127
• injuredנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• a manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• soכֵּןkên · soH3651

Cross-references for Leviticus 24:20

• Exodus 21:23But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,
• Deuteronomy 19:21Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
• Matthew 5:38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’

Commentaries on Leviticus 24:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Breach for breach - This is a repetition of the lex talionis, which See explained Exodus 21:24; (note).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-23Verses 10-23 This offender was the son of an Egyptian father, and an Israelitish mother. The notice of his parents shows the common ill effect of mixed marriages. A standing law for the stoning of blasphemers was made upon this occasion. Great stress is laid upon this law. It extends to the strangers among them, as well as to those born in the land. Strangers, as well as native Israelites, should be entitled to the benefit of the law, so as not to suffer…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20eye for eye: This legal principle is often called lex talionis (which means “law of retaliation”). This means the punishment should match the crime. When an injured person sought revenge for their family member, excessive revenge often occurred instead of proper justice (see Numbers 35:19–21). This led to even more retaliation, creating a cycle of increasing violence. Lex talionis helped regulate how to prosecute crimes (see also Leviticus 6:2–7; compare…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-2217-22. he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death--These verses contain a repetition of some other laws, relating to offenses of a social nature, the penalties for which were to be inflicted, not by the hand of private parties, but through the medium of the judges before whom the cause was brought.Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 24:20

• Retaliation

In the dictionaries

• Breach
• Tooth
• Blemish
• Criticism
• Ezekiel
• Holiness
• Law in the Old Testament
• Leviticus
• Pentateuch
• Punishments

Commentaries on Leviticus 24

• 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