A Case of Blasphemy

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father was^[a] among the Israelites. A fight broke out in the camp between the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man. ¹¹ Her son cursed and blasphemed the Name,^(A) and they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, a daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan.^(B)) ¹² They put him in custody^(C) until the Lord’s decision^(D) could be made clear to them.

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁴ “Bring the one who has cursed to the outside of the camp and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole community stone him.^{(E) 15} And tell the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will bear the consequences of his sin. ¹⁶ Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death;^(F) the whole community is to stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the resident alien or the native.

¹⁷ “If a man kills anyone, he must be put to death.^{(G) 18} Whoever kills an animal is to make restitution for it, life for life. ¹⁹ If any man inflicts a permanent injury on his neighbor, whatever he has done is to be done to him: ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Whatever injury he inflicted on the person, the same is to be inflicted on him.^{(H) 21} Whoever kills an animal is to make restitution for it, but whoever kills a person is to be put to death.^{(I) 22} You are to have the same law for the resident alien and the native, because I am the Lord your God.”

²³ After Moses spoke to the Israelites, they brought the one who had cursed to the outside of the camp and stoned him. So the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses.