If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed.
Parallel translations
- WEB If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him.
- KJV If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
- NKJV If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.
- NASB If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no guilt for bloodshed on his account.
- NLT “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder.
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 thief breaking in at night is struck and killed, there is no bloodguilt. Defending one's household in the dark, when intent is unclear, is permitted.
Overview
This law recognizes the right of self-defense against a nighttime intruder whose purposes cannot be known. It balances protection of life and home with the value of even the offender's life, as the next verse shows. The careful weighing of guilt here reflects God's just discernment of intent and circumstance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 24:43But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
- Matt 6:19–20Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- Num 35:27and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed
- Joel 2:9They storm the city; they run along the wall; they climb into houses, entering through windows like thieves.
- Job 24:14When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
- Job 30:5They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves,
- 1 Th 5:2For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Hos 7:1When I heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed, as well as the crimes of Samaria. For they practice deceit and thieves break in; bandits raid in the streets.
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 22:2 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.