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 Living Translation (NLT)an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,

Context of Exodus 21:24

22“If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. 26“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his 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 21:26“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye.
• Leviticus 24:19‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him—
• Deuteronomy 19:21Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
• Judges 1:6Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
• 1 Samuel 15:33But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
• Matthew 5:38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
• Matthew 7:2For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
• Luke 6:38Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
• Revelation 16:6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”

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