But if the animal was indeed stolen, the guilty person must pay compensation to the owner.
Parallel translations
- WEB But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.
- KJV And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
- BSB But if the animal was actually stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.
- NKJV But if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it.
- NASB But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.
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
But if the animal was stolen from the keeper, he must repay the owner. A keeper bears responsibility for goods lost through preventable theft.
Overview
Unlike loss with no fault, theft from the keeper implies a failure of safekeeping, so restitution is owed. The law distinguishes degrees of responsibility with precision and fairness. Such careful justice mirrors God's righteous dealings and His call to faithful stewardship of what is entrusted to us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Gen 31:39That which was torn of animals, I didn’t bring to you. I bore its loss. Of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
- Exod 22:7“If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief is found, he shall pay double.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 22:12 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.