Exodus 21:18
New International Version
“If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed,

New Living Translation
“Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.

English Standard Version
“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed,

Berean Standard Bible
If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,

King James Bible
And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

New King James Version
“If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,

New American Standard Bible
“Now if people have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,

NASB 1995
“If men have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but remains in bed,

NASB 1977
“And if men have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but remains in bed;

Legacy Standard Bible
“And if men contend with each other and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but remains in bed,

Amplified Bible
“If men quarrel and one strikes another with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,

Christian Standard Bible
“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed,

American Standard Version
And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And when two men will fight and a man will strike his neighbor with a stone or by force and he will not die and he will fall ill:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And if two men revile each other and smite the one the other with a stone or his fist, and he die not, but be laid upon his bed;

Contemporary English Version
Suppose two of you are arguing, and you hit the other with either a rock or your fist, without causing a fatal injury. If the victim has to stay in bed,

Douay-Rheims Bible
If men quarrel, and the one strike his neighbour with a stone or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

English Revised Version
And if men contend, and one smiteth the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"This is what you must do whenever men quarrel and one hits the other with a rock or with his fist and injures him so that he has to stay in bed.

International Standard Version
"If people quarrel and one strikes the other with a rock or his fist, and he does not die but ends up in bed,

JPS Tanakh 1917
And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed;

Literal Standard Version
And when men contend, and a man has struck his neighbor with a stone, or with the fist, and he does not die, but has fallen on the bed;

Majority Standard Bible
If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,

New American Bible
When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, not mortally, but enough to put him in bed,

NET Bible
"If men fight, and one strikes his neighbor with a stone or with his fist and he does not die, but must remain in bed,

New Revised Standard Version
When individuals quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist so that the injured party, though not dead, is confined to bed,

New Heart English Bible
"If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he doesn't die, but is confined to bed;

Webster's Bible Translation
And if men contend together, and one shall smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he shall not die, but keep his bed:

World English Bible
“If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he doesn’t die, but is confined to bed;

Young's Literal Translation
'And when men contend, and a man hath smitten his neighbour with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but hath fallen on the bed;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Personal Injury Laws
17Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death. 18If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed, 19then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.…

Cross References
Exodus 21:17
Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:19
then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.


Treasury of Scripture

And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keeps his bed:

men

Exodus 21:22
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.

Exodus 2:13
And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

Deuteronomy 25:11
When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets:

another or his neighbour.

Exodus 21:20
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.

Numbers 35:16-24
And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death…

Jump to Previous
Bed Blow Causing Confined Contend Death Die Dispute Fallen Fight Fist Gives Hand Hits Keepeth Keeps Neighbour Quarrel Shut Smite Smitten Stone Strikes Strive Together
Jump to Next
Bed Blow Causing Confined Contend Death Die Dispute Fallen Fight Fist Gives Hand Hits Keepeth Keeps Neighbour Quarrel Shut Smite Smitten Stone Strikes Strive Together
Exodus 21
1. Laws for men servants
5. For the servant whose ear is bored
7. For women servants
12. For manslaughter
16. For kidnappers
17. For cursers of parents
18. For smiters
22. For a hurt by chance
28. For an ox that gores
33. For him who is an occasion of harm














(18, 19) Severe assault, endangering life, but not actually taking it, is placed under the same head with homicide, as approaching to it, but is not to be punished in the same way. If death ensues in such a case, the crime is, of course, murder or manslaughter, according to the attendant circumstances; but if death does not ensue, it is aggravated assault only. In such cases punishment could not be inflicted by retaliation--the usual penalty under the Mosaic Law (Exodus 21:24-25)--without a risk of killing the man, which would have been an excessive punishment. The law therefore imposed a fine, which was to be fixed at such an amount as would at once compensate the sufferer for the loss of his time (Exodus 21:19), and defray the cost of his cure.

(18) With a stone, or with his fist.--Comp. The difference made under the English law between wounding with a sharp or a blunt instrument.

Verses 18, 19 - Severe assault. Assault was punishable by the law in two ways. Ordinarily, the rule was that of strict retaliation' ' Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe" (vers. 24, 25; compare Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21). But where the assault was severe, causing a man to take to his bed, and call in the physician' s aid, something more was needed. The Rabbinical commentators tell us that in this case he was arrested, and sent to prison until it was ascertained whether the person hurt would die or no. If he died, the man was tried for murder; if he recovered, a fine was imposed. This was axed at such a sum as would at once compensate the injured man for his loss of time and defray the expense of his cure. A similar principle is adopted under our own law in many cases of civil action. Verse 18. - If men strive together. If there is a quarrel and a personal encounter. In our own law this would reduce this offence, if death ensued, to manslaughter. With a stone, or with his fist. The use of either would show absence of premeditation, and of any design to kill. A weapon would have to be prepared beforehand: a stone might be readily caught up.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If
וְכִֽי־ (wə·ḵî-)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

men
אֲנָשִׁ֔ים (’ă·nā·šîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

are quarreling
יְרִיבֻ֣ן (yə·rî·ḇun)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 7378: To toss, grapple, to wrangle, controversy, to defend

and one
אִישׁ֙ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

strikes
וְהִכָּה־ (wə·hik·kāh-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5221: To strike

the other
רֵעֵ֔הוּ (rê·‘ê·hū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7453: Friend, companion, fellow

with a stone
בְּאֶ֖בֶן (bə·’e·ḇen)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 68: A stone

or
א֣וֹ (’ōw)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

a fist,
בְאֶגְרֹ֑ף (ḇə·’eḡ·rōp̄)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 106: The clenched hand

and he does not
וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

die
יָמ֖וּת (yā·mūṯ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

but is confined
וְנָפַ֥ל (wə·nā·p̄al)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5307: To fall, lie

to bed,
לְמִשְׁכָּֽב׃ (lə·miš·kāḇ)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4904: Place of lying, a couch, act of lying


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OT Law: Exodus 21:18 If men quarrel and one strikes (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 21:17
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