Passage

Exodus 21.22-25

Book: Exodus · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"20. And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall surely be punished. 21. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money."

"22. And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow; he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23. But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24. eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25. burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

"26. And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, and destroy it; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. 27. And if he smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake." (Exodus 21:20-27, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"20. “If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21. Notwithstanding, if he gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for he is his property."

"22. “If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges allow. 23. But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life, 24. eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25. burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise."

"26. “If a man strikes his servant’s eye, or his maid’s eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. 27. If he strikes out his male servant’s tooth, or his female servant’s tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake." (Exodus 21:20-27, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"20. And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. ^{punished: Heb. avenged} 21. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money."

"22. If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25. Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

"26. And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. 27. And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake." (Exodus 21:20-27, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"20. 'And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand, he is certainly avenged; 21. only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he [is] his money."

"22. 'And when men strive, and have smitten a pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no mischief, he is certainly fined, as the husband of the woman doth lay upon him, and he hath given through the judges; 23. and if there is mischief, then thou hast given life for life, 24. eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25. burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

"26. 'And when a man smiteth the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he doth send him away for his eye; 27. and if a tooth of his man-servant or a tooth of his handmaid he knock out, as a freeman he doth send him away for his tooth." (Exodus 21:20-27, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Moses (traditional)
Audience: Israelite congregation post-Exodus
Location: Egypt → Sinai wilderness
Time period: events c. 1446-1445 BC; composed c. 1446-1406 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H5315 - nephesh, nephesh (Strong's H5315). Also appears in: Genesis 1.21, Genesis 1.24-28, Genesis 2.7.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.