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,
- BSB 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,
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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 what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
- Deut 19:21And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
- Matt 5:38–40Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
- Lev 24:19–20And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
- Luke 6:38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
- Rev 16:6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
- Judg 1:6–7But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
- Exod 21:26–27And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
- 1 Sam 15:33And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
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 21:24 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.