Leviticus 24:21

21 Whoever kills another person's animal must give that person another animal to take its place. But whoever kills another person must be put to death.

Leviticus 24:21 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 24:21

And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it
The same as in ( Leviticus 24:18 ) , which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and that it might be observed, though Jarchi takes it to be a different law; before, he says, it speaks of him that kills a beast, here of him that makes any wound or bruise in it, which he must make good; and it must be allowed that the manner of expression is different; there it is, he that smites the soul of a beast so that it dies, here only he that smites a beast, though it dies not, yet having some damage done it, satisfaction must be made:

and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death;
or he that smites a man, though he does not kill him, as Jarchi observes, only makes a wound or bruise in him, because it is not said, the soul of a man, as before; but such damages did not require death, but satisfaction in another way, as in ( Leviticus 24:19 ) .

Leviticus 24:21 In-Context

19 And whoever causes an injury to a neighbor must receive the same kind of injury in return:
20 Broken bone for broken bone, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Anyone who injures another person must be injured in the same way in return.
21 Whoever kills another person's animal must give that person another animal to take its place. But whoever kills another person must be put to death.
22 "'The law will be the same for the foreigner as for those from your own country. I am the Lord your God.'"
23 Then Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and they took the person who had cursed outside the camp and killed him by throwing stones at him. So the people of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.