Deuteronomy 25:1-3

Expanded Bible

25 If two people have an argument and go to court, the judges will decide the case. They will ·declare one person right [acquit the innocent] and ·the other [convict the] guilty. ² If the guilty person has to be ·punished with a beating [struck; flogged], the judge will make that person lie down and be ·beaten [struck; flogged] in front of him. The number of lashes should match the crime. ³ But don’t ·hit [strike] a person more than forty times, because more than that would disgrace ·him [your relative/neighbor] before others [2 Cor. 11:24].