The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.
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.
- KJV The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
- BSB the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will 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.
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 bull had a habit of goring in the past, and it has been testified to its owner, and he has not kept it in, but it has killed a man or a woman, the bull shall be stoned, and its owner shall also be put to death.
- Exod 22:14“If a man borrows anything of his neighbor’s, and it is injured, or dies, its owner not being with it, he shall surely make restitution.
- Exod 22:6“If fire breaks out, and catches in thorns so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are consumed; he who 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.