And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;
Parallel translations
- WEB “If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and doesn’t cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,
- BSB If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
- NKJV “And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it,
- NASB “Now if someone opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
- NLT “Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.
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 a man leaves a pit uncovered and an animal falls in, he is liable. Carelessness that harms others must be answered for.
Overview
This law assigns responsibility for negligence that endangers a neighbor's property, requiring the careless to bear the loss. It teaches that love of neighbor includes guarding others from harm we might cause. Such concern for the neighbor's good anticipates the law's summary in loving one's neighbor as oneself, fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 119:85The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
- Jer 18:20Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.
- Jer 18:22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
- Ps 9:15The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
- Eccl 10:8He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
- Prov 28:10Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.
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 21:33 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.