“Now if people have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
Parallel translations
- WEB “If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he doesn’t die, but is confined to bed;
- KJV And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
- BSB If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
- NKJV “If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,
- NLT “Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When a quarrel leads to injury that confines a man to bed but not death, the law addresses liability. It shows God's concern for justice even in non-fatal harm.
Overview
This begins a case law distinguishing degrees of harm and assigning fair responsibility for injury. It reflects the principle that human life and well-being are precious and that wrongs must be made right. The proportionate justice here points forward to a God who is perfectly just, ultimately satisfying justice through Christ's atonement.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 21:20“If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.
- Exod 21:22“If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges allow.
- 2 Sam 14:6Your servant had two sons, and they both fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other, and killed him.
- Exod 2:13He went out the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were fighting with each other. He said to him who did the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow?”
- Num 35:16–24“‘But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.
- Deut 25:11When men strive against each other, and the wife of one draws near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him who strikes him, and puts out her hand, and takes him by his private parts,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 21:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.