Deuteronomy 25:3

3 but the judge must not impose more than forty lashes. If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes.

Deuteronomy 25:3 in Other Translations

KJV
3 Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
ESV
3 Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.
NLT
3 But never give more than forty lashes; more than forty lashes would publicly humiliate your neighbor.
MSG
3 but not more than forty. If you hit him more than forty times, you will degrade him to something less than human.
CSB
3 He may be flogged with 40 lashes, but no more. Otherwise, if he is flogged with more lashes than these, your brother will be degraded in your sight.

Deuteronomy 25:3 In-Context

1 When people have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty.
2 If the guilty person deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make them lie down and have them flogged in his presence with the number of lashes the crime deserves,
3 but the judge must not impose more than forty lashes. If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes.
4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Matthew 27:26; John 19:1; 2 Corinthians 11:24
  • 2. Jeremiah 20:2; Job 18:3
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