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17 “‘If a man beats any person to death,[a] he must be put to death. 18 One who beats an animal to death[b] must make restitution for it, life for life.[c] 19 If a man inflicts an injury on[d] his fellow citizen,[e] just as he has done it must be done to him— 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth—just as he inflicts an injury on another person[f] that same injury[g] must be inflicted on him. 21 One who beats an animal to death[h] must make restitution for it, but[i] one who beats a person to death must be put to death. 22 There will be one regulation[j] for you, whether a resident foreigner[k] or a native citizen, for I am the Lord your God.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 24:17 tn Heb “And if a man strikes any soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] of mankind.” The idiom seems to derive from the idea of striking a fatal blow to the very “life” (literally, “soul”) of a human being, not just landing a blow on their body (HALOT 698 s.v. נכה hif.2). On the difficulty of the meaning and significance of the term נֶפֶשׁ see the notes on Lev 17:10-11.
  2. Leviticus 24:18 tn Heb “And one who strikes a soul of an animal.”
  3. Leviticus 24:18 tn Heb “soul under soul.” Cf. KJV “beast for beast”; NCV “must give…another animal to take its place.”
  4. Leviticus 24:19 tn Heb “gives a flaw in”; KJV, ASV “cause a blemish in.”
  5. Leviticus 24:19 tn Or “neighbor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); TEV, NLT “another person.”
  6. Leviticus 24:20 tn Heb “in the man [אָדָם, ʾadam].”
  7. Leviticus 24:20 tn Heb “just as he inflicts an injury…it must be inflicted on him.” The referent (“that same injury”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. Leviticus 24:21 sn See the note on v. 18 above.
  9. Leviticus 24:21 tn Heb “and,” but here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) is adversative, contrasting the consequences of beating an animal to death with those of beating a person to death.
  10. Leviticus 24:22 tn Heb “a regulation of one”; KJV, ASV “one manner of law”; NASB “one standard.”
  11. Leviticus 24:22 sn On the Hebrew גֵּר (ger, “resident foreigner”) see notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11. Several passages emphasize equal standing under Mosaic Law (Exod 12:49; Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:15, 16, 26, 29; 19:10; 35:15; Deut 1:16) or similar obligations (Exod 20:10; 23:12; Lev 16:29; 17:10, 12, 13; 18:26; 24:16; Num 15:14).

An Eye for an Eye

17 ‘Now (A)if someone [a]takes any human life, he must be put to death. 18 But (B)the one who [b]takes the life of an animal shall make restitution, life for life. 19 If someone injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so shall it be done to him: 20 (C)fracture for fracture, (D)eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a person, so shall it be [c]inflicted on him. 21 So the one who [d]kills an animal shall make restitution, but (E)the one who [e]kills a person shall be put to death. 22 There shall be only (F)one [f]standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 24:17 Lit strikes
  2. Leviticus 24:18 Lit strikes
  3. Leviticus 24:20 Lit given
  4. Leviticus 24:21 Lit strikes down
  5. Leviticus 24:21 Lit strikes down
  6. Leviticus 24:22 Lit judgment