New International Version
Exodus 21:16
16“Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.
Exodus 21:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.
Context of Exodus 21:16
14But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death. 15“Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death. “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession. 17“Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. 18“If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed,
Read all of Exodus 21Exodus 21:16 word by word
וְגֹנֵ֨ב אִ֧ישׁ וּמְכָר֛וֹ וְנִמְצָ֥א בְיָד֖וֹ מ֥וֹת יוּמָֽת׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 21:16
- Genesis 40:15I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”
- Deuteronomy 24:7If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.
- 1 Timothy 1:10for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
- Revelation 18:12cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;
- Genesis 37:28So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
- Exodus 22:4If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.
Commentaries on Exodus 21:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16He that stealeth a man - By this law every man-stealer, and every receiver of the stolen person, should lose his life; no matter whether the latter stole the man himself, or gave money to a slave captain or negro-dealer to steal him for him.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 God, who by his providence gives and maintains life, by his law protects it. A wilful murderer shall be taken even from God's altar. But God provided cities of refuge to protect those whose unhappiness it was, and not their fault, to cause the death of another; for such as by accident, when a man is doing a lawful act, without intent of hurt, happens to kill another. Let children hear the sentence of God's word upon the ungrateful and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-17The crimes of murder, kidnapping, and cursing or striking one’s parents were punished by death. A person who committed murder gave up his own right to live. Human life is very precious in God’s sight. Even when a death was accidental, it could not simply be ignored. However, the law made a difference between murder and accidental killing. God provided places of refuge (see Numbers 35:6–28). These were special towns where a person who killed someone by…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-367-11. if a man sell his daughter--Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her condition as his intended wife, or her freedom instantly granted.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 21:16
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
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