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,
- BSB 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 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 whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.
- Deut 19:21Your eyes shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
- Matt 5:38–40“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
- Lev 24:19–20If anyone injures his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him:
- Luke 6:38“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
- Rev 16:6For they poured out the blood of the saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.”
- Judg 1:6–7But Adoni-Bezek fled. They pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
- Exod 21:26–27“If a man strikes his servant’s eye, or his maid’s eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
- 1 Sam 15:33Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women!” Then Samuel cut Agag in pieces before Yahweh 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.