a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind.
Parallel translations
- WEB fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has injured someone, so shall it be done to him.
- KJV Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
- BSB fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him.
- NKJV fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.
- NASB fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a person, so shall it be inflicted on him.
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 penalty was to match the injury exactly, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Punishment must fit the offense, no more and no less.
Overview
This famous formula set a ceiling on retribution, ensuring justice was proportional rather than excessive. It restrained escalating vengeance and protected both victim and offender from injustice. The principle reveals God's perfect equity, while the gospel shows how Christ bore the full penalty due to us so we might receive mercy.
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 5:38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
- Exod 21:23–25But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life,
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
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 24:20 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.