But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins, and the ox must be stoned.
Parallel translations
- WEB If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
- KJV If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
- BSB If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.
- NKJV If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
- NASB If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
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
If the ox kills a servant, the owner pays thirty shekels to the servant's master and the ox is stoned. A servant's life is protected and valued.
Overview
The fixed payment of thirty shekels acknowledges the servant's worth while the ox still faces destruction for taking a life. Notably, thirty pieces of silver later became the price for which Judas betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26:15; Zechariah 11:12-13), the price of a servant's blood. Thus this verse quietly foreshadows the One who took the form of a servant and was sold for that very sum.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Zech 11:12–13I said to them, “If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them.” So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
- Matt 26:15and said, “What are you willing to give me, that I should deliver him to you?” They weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
- Matt 27:3–9Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
- Exod 21:28–29“If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible.
- Phil 2:7but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
- Gen 37:28Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. They brought Joseph into Egypt.
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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 21:32 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.