Exodus 22:8

8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must^[a] determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property.

Exodus 22:8 in Other Translations

8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.

8 If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property.

8 But if the thief is not caught, the neighbor must appear before God, who will determine if he stole the property.

8 If the thief is not caught, the owner must be brought before God to determine whether the owner was the one who took the neighbor's goods.

8 If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must present himself to the judges to determine whether or not he has taken his neighbor's property.

Exodus 22:8 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 22:8

If the thief be not found
And so no account can be given of the goods deposited, what is become of them, and it becomes a doubtful case whether they have been stolen or embezzled, and there is suspicion of the latter:

then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges:
here called Elohim, gods, because they were God's vicegerents, and represented him, and acted under his power and authority; and who at this present were Moses, and those that judged the people under him, and afterwards the seventy elders, and all such who in succeeding times were judges in Israel, and bore the office of civil magistrates; before these the master of the house, or the person who had any goods committed to his care, and they were lost, was to be brought and put to his oath, and upon it examined, in order to find out what was become of the goods committed to him: to see whether he has put his hand to his neighbour's goods: took them to himself, made use of them, or disposed of them to his own advantage, and which was no other than a kind of theft.

Exodus 22:8 In-Context

6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.

7 “If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.

8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property.

9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to the other.

10 “If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking,

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 21:6; Deuteronomy 17:8-9; Deuteronomy 19:17

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "before God, and he will"