If someone injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so shall it be done to him:
Parallel translations
- WEB If anyone injures his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him:
- KJV And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
- BSB If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him:
- NKJV ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him—
- NLT “Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted—
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
Whoever injures his neighbor was to receive the same kind of injury in return. Justice was to be measured and proportionate.
Overview
This introduces the principle of equivalent recompense for bodily harm. Far from licensing personal revenge, it limited punishment to fit the crime and was administered by judges. Jesus later corrected its misuse as a pretext for retaliation, calling his followers to mercy and non-retaliation (Matthew 5:38-39).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Deut 19:21Your eyes shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
- Matt 7:2For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.
- Matt 5:38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 24:19 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.