Deuteronomy 19:21

Green's Literal Translation

And your eye shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Update Bible Version
And your eyes shall not pity; life [shall go] for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

English Revised Version
And thine eye shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

New Century Version
Show no mercy. A life must be paid for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.

New English Translation
You must not show pity; the principle will be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot.

Webster's Bible Translation
And thy eye shall not pity; [but] life [shall go] for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

World English Bible
Your eyes shall not pity; life [shall go] for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Amplified Bible
"You shall not show pity [to the guilty one]: it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thou schalt not haue mercy on hym, but thou schalt axe lijf for lijf, iye for iye, tooth for tooth, hond for hond, foot for foot.

Young's Literal Translation
and thine eye doth not pity -- life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Berean Standard Bible
You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

American Standard Version
And thine eyes shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Bible in Basic English
Have no pity; let life be given for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And thine eye shall haue no copassion, but lyfe for lyfe, eye for eye, toothe for toothe, hande for hande, foote for foote.

Complete Jewish Bible
Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Darby Translation
And thine eye shall not spare: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Don't feel sorry about punishing someone who does wrong. If a life is taken, a life must be paid for it. The rule is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot—the punishment must equal the crime.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And thine eye shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

King James Version (1611)
And thine eye shall not pitie, but life shall goe for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

New Life Bible
Do not pity him. It will be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

New Revised Standard
Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
neither shall thine eye pity, - life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore thine eye shall have no compassion, but life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foote for foote.

George Lamsa Translation
And your eye shall not pity; but life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Good News Translation
In such cases show no mercy; the punishment is to be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou shalt not pity him, but shalt require life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Revised Standard Version
Your eye shall not pity; it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thine eye shall not spare him: thou shalt exact life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Christian Standard Bible®
Do not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

Hebrew Names Version
Your eyes shall not pity; life [shall go] for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

King James Version
And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Lexham English Bible
You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thine eye shall not pitie him. Soule for soule, eye for eye, tothe for tothe, hande for hande, fote for fote.

New American Standard Bible
"So you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

New King James Version
Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

New Living Translation
You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Legacy Standard Bible
Thus your eye shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Contextual Overview

¹⁴ You may not remove your neighbor's landmark, which those formerly have set in your inheritance, which you shall inherit in the land which Jehovah your God is giving you, to possess it. ¹⁵ One witness shall not rise against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin which he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses a thing shall be raised up to judgment . ¹⁶ If a vicious witness rises up against any man to charge apostasy against him, ¹⁷ then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days. ¹⁸ And the judges shall carefully investigate and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and he has testified falsely against his brother, ¹⁹ then you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his brother. And you shall put away the evil from among you. ²⁰ And those who remain shall hear and fear, and thereafter shall not add to commit any such evil among you. ²¹ And your eye shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thine eye: Deuteronomy 19:13

life shall: Exodus 21:23-25, Leviticus 24:17-21, Matthew 5:38, Matthew 5:39

Reciprocal: Genesis 45:20 - regard not Exodus 21:20 - smite Exodus 21:24 - General Leviticus 24:19 - General Leviticus 24:20 - General Deuteronomy 7:16 - thine eye Deuteronomy 25:12 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 4:7
If you do well, is there not exaltation? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is toward you; but you should rule over it.

Genesis 12:2
And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing.

Genesis 18:24
Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city; is it so You will cut off and will not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones that are within it?

Genesis 19:8
Behold, now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please let me bring them out to you and do to them as you see fit; only do not do a thing to these men, on account of this they came into the shade of my roof.

Genesis 19:9
And they said, Stand back! And they said, This one came in to visit, and must he always judge? Now we will do evil to you rather than to them. And they pressed on the man, upon Lot violently, and drew near to break the door.

Genesis 19:15
And when the dawn rose, then the angels urged Lot, saying, Rise up, take your wife and your two daughters who are found, lest you be cut off in the depravity of the city.

Genesis 19:16
And he lingered. And the men lay hold of his hand and his wife's hand, and on the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah having mercy on him. And they caused him to go out, and they put him down outside the city.

Psalms 34:15
The eyes of Jehovah are on the righteous; and His ears are open to their cry.

Psalms 102:17
He will turn to the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.

Psalms 145:19
He will fulfill the desire of the ones who fear Him; and He will hear their cry and save them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And thine eye shall not pity,.... The false witness when convicted; this is directed to the judges, who should not spare such an one through favour or affection, but pronounce a righteous sentence on him, and see it executed, in proportion to the crime, and that according to the law of retaliation:

but life shall go for life; in such a case where the life of a person must have gone, if the falsehood of the testimony had not been discovered, the false witness must suffer death; in other cases, where a member would have been lost, or the price of it paid for, the same penalty was to be inflicted:

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot; that is, the price of an eye an eye, &c. see Exodus 21:23.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the marginal references.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 19:21. Life - for life, eye for eye, c. — The operation of such a law as this must have been very salutary: if a man prized his own members, he would naturally avoid injuring those of others. It is a pity that this law were not still in force: it would certainly prevent many of those savage acts which now both disgrace and injure society. I speak this in reference to law generally, and the provision that should be made to prevent and punish ferocious and malevolent offences. A Christian may always act on the plan of forgiving injuries and where the public peace and safety may not be affected, he should do so; but if law did not make a provision for the safety of the community by enactment against the profligate, civil society would soon be destroyed.