Exodus 21:28

King James Version

If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
"If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible.

Lexham English Bible
"‘And if an ox gores a man or a woman and he dies, the ox will surely be stoned, and its meat will not be eaten, and the owner of the ox is innocent.

New Century Version
"If a man's bull kills a man or woman, you must kill that bull by throwing stones at it, and you should not eat the bull. But the owner of the bull is not guilty.

New English Translation
"If an ox gores a man or a woman so that either dies, then the ox must surely be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted.

Amplified Bible
"If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be cleared [of responsibility].

New American Standard Bible
"Now if an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall certainly be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.

Geneva Bible (1587)
If an oxe gore a man or a woman, that he die, the oxe shalbe stoned to death, and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the oxe shall goe quite.

Legacy Standard Bible
"And if an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.

Contemporary English Version
A bull that kills someone with its horns must be killed and its meat destroyed, but the owner of the bull isn't responsible for the death.

Complete Jewish Bible
"If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox is to be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner of the ox will have no further liability.

Darby Translation
And if an ox gore a man or a woman, so that they die, then the ox shall certainly be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be guiltless.

Easy-to-Read Version
"If a man's bull kills a man or woman, then you should use stones and kill that bull. You should not eat the bull. The owner of the bull is not guilty.

English Standard Version
"When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.

George Lamsa Translation
If an ox gores a man or a woman that he or she die; then the ox shall be surely stoned and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be blameless.

Good News Translation
"If a bull gores someone to death, it is to be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but its owner is not to be punished.

Christian Standard Bible®
“When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent.

Literal Translation
And when an ox gores a man so that he dies, the ox stoning shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, and the owner of the ox is innocent.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf an oxe gorre a man or a woman, that he dye, then shall that oxe be stoned, and his flesh not eaten: so is the master of the oxe vngiltie.

American Standard Version
And if an ox gore a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

Bible in Basic English
If an ox comes to be the cause of death to a man or a woman, the ox is to be stoned, and its flesh may not be used for food; but the owner will not be judged responsible.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
If an oxe gore a man or a woman, that they dye, then the oxe shalbe stoned, and his fleshe shall not be eaten: but the owner of the oxe shall go quite.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

King James Version (1611)
If an oxe gore a man, or a woman, that they die, then the oxe shal be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten: but the owner of the oxe shall be quitte.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And if a bull gore a man or woman and they die, the bull shall be stoned with stones, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall be clear.

English Revised Version
And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

Berean Standard Bible
If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If an oxe smytith with horn a man, ether a womman, and thei ben deed, the oxe schal be oppressid with stoonus, and hise fleischis schulen not be etun, and the lord of the oxe schal be innocent.

Young's Literal Translation
`And when an ox doth gore man or woman, and they have died, the ox is certainly stoned, and his flesh is not eaten, and the owner of the ox [is] acquitted;

Update Bible Version
And if an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be innocent.

Webster's Bible Translation
If an ox shall gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox [shall be] quit.

World English Bible
"If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible.

New King James Version
"If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted.

New Living Translation
"If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable.

New Life Bible
"When a bull kills a man or a woman with its horns, the bull will be killed with stones. And its flesh will not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be punished.

New Revised Standard
When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And when an ox goreth a man or a woman, and death ensueth, the ox shall, surely be stoned and his flesh shall not be eaten, and the owner of the ox, shall be quit.

Douay-Rheims Bible
If an ox gore a man or a woman, and they die, he shall be stoned: and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

Revised Standard Version
"When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be clear.

THE MESSAGE
"If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned. The meat cannot be eaten but the owner of the ox is in the clear. But if the ox has a history of goring and the owner knew it and did nothing to guard against it, then if the ox kills a man or a woman, the ox is to be stoned and the owner given the death penalty. If a ransom is agreed upon instead of death, he must pay it in full as a redemption for his life. If a son or daughter is gored, the same judgment holds. If it is a slave or a handmaid the ox gores, thirty shekels of silver is to be paid to the owner and the ox stoned.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.

Contextual Overview

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. ²⁸ If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. ²⁹ But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰ If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. ³¹ Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the ox: Exodus 21:32, Genesis 9:5, Genesis 9:6, Leviticus 20:15, Leviticus 20:16

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:14 - thou art Exodus 19:13 - whether Deuteronomy 17:8 - between blood Deuteronomy 22:8 - then thou shalt

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die,.... That are Israelites, of whom only Aben Ezra interprets it; but though they may be principally designed, yet not solely; for no doubt if one of another nation was gored to death by the ox of an Israelite, the same penalty would be inflicted, as follows:

then the ox shall be surely stoned; which is but an exemplification of the original law given to Noah and his sons, Genesis 9:5: "at the hand of every beast will I require it"; i.e. the blood of the lives of men; which shows the care God takes of them, that even a beast must die that is the means of shedding man's blood:

and his flesh shall not be eaten; it being as an impure beast according to this sentence, as Maimonides l observes; and even though it might have been killed in a regular manner before it was stoned, it was not to be eaten; no, not even by Heathens, nor by dogs might it be eaten, as a dead carcass might by a proselyte of the gate, or a stranger; this might not be given nor sold to him; for, as Aben Ezra observes, all profit of them is here forbidden:

but the owner of the ox [shall be] quit; from punishment, as the last mentioned writer observes, from suffering death; he shall only suffer the loss of his ox: the Targum of Jonathan is,

"he shall be quit from the judgment of slaughter (or condemnation of murder), and also from the price of a servant or maid,''

which was thirty shekels, Exodus 21:32.

l Hilchot Maacolot Asurot, c. 4. sect. 22.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The animal was slain as a tribute to the sanctity of human life (Compare the marginal references and Genesis 4:11). It was stoned, and its flesh was treated as carrion. Guilty negligence on the part of its owner was reckoned a capital offence, to be commuted for a fine.

In the case of a slave, the payment was the standard price of a slave, thirty shekels of silver. See Leviticus 25:44-46; Leviticus 27:3, and the marginal references for the New Testament application of this fact.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 21:28. If an ox gore a man — It is more likely that a bull is here intended, as the word signifies both, see Exodus 22:1; and the Septuagint translate the שור shor of the original by ταυρος, a bull. Mischief of this kind was provided against by most nations. It appears that the Romans twisted hay about the horns of their dangerous cattle, that people seeing it might shun them; hence that saying of Horace. Sat., lib. i., sat. 4, ver. 34: Faenum habet in cornu, longe fuge. "He has hay on his horns; fly for life!" The laws of the twelve tables ordered, That the owner of the beast should pay for what damages he committed, or deliver him to the person injured. Exodus 22:1.

His flesh shall not be eaten — This served to keep up a due detestation of murder, whether committed by man or beast; and at the same time punished the man as far as possible, by the total loss of the beast.