Leviticus 24:21

21 " 'If anyone kills an animal, he must pay its owner. But if he kills a human being, he 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 " 'Suppose someone hurts his neighbor. Then what he has done must be done to him.
20 A bone must be broken for a bone. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. He must be hurt in the same way he hurt someone else.
21 " 'If anyone kills an animal, he must pay its owner. But if he kills a human being, he must be put to death.
22 The same law applies whether he is an outsider or an Israelite. I am the LORD your God.' "
23 Then Moses spoke to the people of Israel. They got the man who had spoken evil things against the Lord. They took him outside the camp. There they killed him by throwing stones at him. The people of Israel did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.   All rights reserved worldwide.