If what was stolen is actually found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double.
Parallel translations
- WEB If the stolen property is found in his hand alive, whether it is ox, donkey, or sheep, he shall pay double.
- KJV If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
- NKJV If the theft is certainlyfound alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall restore double.
- NASB If what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.
- NLT If someone steals an ox or a donkey or a sheep and it is found in the thief’s possession, then the thief must pay double the value of the stolen animal.
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 the stolen animal is found alive in the thief's possession, he repays double. Restitution is proportioned to the actual loss.
Overview
When the property is recovered intact, the lighter twofold penalty applies, distinct from the heavier penalty when the animal is killed or sold. This graded justice fits the punishment to the degree of harm. It displays the fairness of God's law, which never punishes beyond what is just.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Exod 22:7If a man gives his neighbor money or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.
- Exod 22:1“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he must repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
- Exod 22:9In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.
- Exod 21:16Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession.
- Prov 6:31Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
- Rev 18:6Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
- Jer 16:18And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”
- Isa 40:2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
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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 22:4 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
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