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 King James Version (NKJV)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

Context of Exodus 21:24

22“Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve. 23But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, 25a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. 26“If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the 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 hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.
• Leviticus 24:19“Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted—
• Deuteronomy 19:21You 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.
• Judges 1:6Adoni-bezek escaped, but the Israelites soon captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
• 1 Samuel 15:33But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
• Matthew 5:38“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
• Matthew 7:2For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
• Luke 6:38Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
• Revelation 16:6Since they shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, you have given them blood to drink. It is their just reward.”

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