Leviticus 24:17-22

An Eye for an Eye

17 And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death. ¹

18 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution—life for life.

19 If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him:

20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. ^[a] Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him.

21 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death.

22 You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’”

Leviticus 24:17-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 24

This chapter treats of the oil for the lamps, and the ordering of them, Le 24:1-4; of the making of the shewbread cakes, and the setting of them on the table, Le 24:5-9; and an Israelite having blasphemed the name of the Lord, and inquiry being made what should be done to him, he, and so any other person guilty of the same, is ordered to be stoned to death, Le 24:10-16; on occasion of which several laws are repeated concerning killing a man or a beast, or doing injury to any man, Le 24:17-23.

Cross References

• 1. (Matthew 5:38–48)

Footnotes

• [a] Cited in Matthew 5:38