The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
Parallel translations
- WEB the owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall be his.
- BSB the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
- ESV the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
- NKJV the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.
- NASB the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
- NLT The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 pit's owner must pay for the dead animal and may keep the carcass. Restitution restores the neighbor's loss fairly.
Overview
By compensating the owner and receiving the dead animal in return, the negligent party makes full and balanced restitution. This reflects the biblical pattern of righting wrongs through restoration rather than mere penalty. It pictures the larger gospel logic in which loss is made good, ultimately through Christ who restores what sin has destroyed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 21:29–30But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
- Exod 22:14And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
- Exod 22:6If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
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 21:34 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.