eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Parallel translations
- WEB eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- KJV Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- ESV eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- NKJV eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- NASB eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- NLT an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
The famous 'eye for eye, tooth for tooth' sets a measured limit on retribution. Punishment must match, not exceed, the injury.
Overview
This lex talionis was a principle for impartial courts to restrain excessive vengeance, not a license for personal retaliation. It guaranteed proportionate, equal justice for rich and poor alike. Jesus later contrasts the heart of personal grace with its misuse, calling His followers not to retaliate but to love (Matthew 5:38-39), having Himself absorbed the penalty we deserved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Matt 7:2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- Deut 19:21You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
- Matt 5:38–40You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’
- Lev 24:19–20If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him:
- Luke 6:38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
- Rev 16:6For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Judg 1:6–7As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
- Exod 21:26–27If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye.
- 1 Sam 15:33But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 21:24 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.