eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
English Standard Version (ESV)
This isn't a green light for personal revenge; it's a guideline for magistrates to ensure punishments fit the crime, preventing excessive retribution and establishing clear boundaries for justice.
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage comes amid a series of laws detailing justice and fairness within the Israelite community, following the grand covenant-making at Mount Sinai. It directly addresses physical harm inflicted by one person upon another, laying out a principle for how such damages should be rectified, not by private revenge, but by a judge's decree.
This famous phrase, 'eye for eye,' sounds like a free pass for personal vengeance. But was it really?
The 'law of retaliation' (lex talionis) in Exodus 21:24 was a principle for magistrates, not individuals. Its purpose was to ensure proportionate justice, preventing disproportionate revenge.
Could you literally take someone's eye for damaging yours? What if the offender was blind?
While the principle of 'eye for eye' sounds straightforward, its literal application presented immediate problems. The ancient commentators recognized this and understood it often meant fair compensation rather than exact physical retribution.
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This passage reiterates the principle of 'eye for eye,' explaining it as a standard for the community's justice system, not private revenge, and that the measure applied would be the same as the injury inflicted.
Matthew 5:38-39Jesus directly addresses the 'eye for eye' principle here, teaching His followers to go beyond this standard of retribution and turn the other cheek, highlighting a radical shift in the spirit of justice and mercy.
Deuteronomy 19:18-19This passage details the judicial process for false witnesses, explicitly stating that they should receive the punishment they intended to inflict on the accused, reinforcing the 'eye for eye' principle as a judicial deterrent.
Romans 12:17-19Paul echoes the call to avoid personal vengeance, instructing believers to 'never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God,' thus framing the 'eye for eye' principle within a larger context of divine justice and human restraint.
gillExodus 21:24: "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,"
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. This is "lex talionis", the law of retaliation, and from whence the Heathens had theirs; but whether this is to be taken strictly and literally, or only for pecuniary mulcts, is a question; Josephus (d) understands it in the former sense, the Jewish writers generally in the latter; and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it;"the price of an eye for an eye, &c…
pooleExodus 21:24: "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,"
This is called the law of retaliation, and from hence the heathen lawgivers took it and put it into their laws. But though this might sometimes be practised in the letter, yet it was not necessarily to be understood and executed so; as may appear, 1. By the impossibility of the just execution of it in many cases, as when a man that had but one eye or hand was to lose the other, which to him was a far greater mischief th…
This isn't a green light for personal revenge; it's a guideline for magistrates to ensure punishments fit the crime, preventing excessive retribution and establishing clear boundaries for justice.
This passage comes amid a series of laws detailing justice and fairness within the Israelite community, following the grand covenant-making at Mount Sinai. It directly addresses physical harm inflicted by one person upon another, laying out a principle for how such damages should be rectified, not by private revenge, but by a judge's decree.
This passage comes amid a series of laws detailing justice and fairness within the Israelite community, following the grand covenant-making at Mount Sinai. It directly addresses physical harm inflicted by one person upon another, laying out a principle for how such damages should be rectified, not by private revenge, but by a judge's decree.
"eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot," — This isn't a green light for personal revenge; it's a guideline for magistrates to ensure punishments fit the crime, preventing excessive retribution and establishing clear boundaries for justice.
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Last reviewed October 2026