If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
Parallel translations
- WEB Whether it has gored a son or has gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.
- KJV Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
- NKJV Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.
- NASB Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
- NLT “The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.
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 same law applies whether the victim is a son or a daughter. Justice is equal regardless of the victim's gender or status.
Overview
This verse extends the goring-ox penalties impartially to cover children, sons and daughters alike. It affirms the equal value of every human life under God's law. Such impartiality reflects God's own character, for in Christ all are equally precious and equally in need of grace.
Cross-references & the web
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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 21:31 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
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