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Exodus 22:1–3

Protection of Property

22 a “Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay backw five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

“If a thief is caught breaking inx at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;y but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.

“Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution,z but if they have nothing, they must be solda to pay for their theft.

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Exodus 22:1–3 — English Standard Version (ESV)

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

Exodus 22:1–3 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

Exodus 22:1–3 — New Living Translation (NLT)

“If someone steals an ox or sheep and then kills or sells it, the thief must pay back five oxen for each ox stolen, and four sheep for each sheep stolen.

“If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder. But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder.

“A thief who is caught must pay in full for everything he stole. If he cannot pay, he must be sold as a slave to pay for his theft.

Exodus 22:1–3 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

Exodus 22:1–3 — New Century Version (NCV)

“If a man steals a bull or a sheep and kills or sells it, he must pay back five bulls for the one bull he stole and four sheep for the one sheep he stole.

Exodus 22:1–3 — American Standard Version (ASV)

If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If the thief be found breaking in, and be smitten so that he dieth, there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be bloodguiltiness for him; he shall make restitution: if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

Exodus 22:1–3 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for the ox, and four sheep for the sheep. If the thief be encountered breaking in, and be smitten so that he die, there shall be no blood-guiltiness for him. If the sun be risen on him, there shall be blood-guiltiness for him; he should have made full restitution: if he had nothing, he would have been sold for his theft.

Exodus 22:1–3 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

⸤The Lord continued,⸥ “Whenever someone steals a bull or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must make up for the loss with five head of cattle to replace the bull or four sheep to replace the sheep. 

“If anyone catches a thief breaking in and hits him so that he dies, he is not guilty of murder. But if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of murder. 

“A thief must make up for what he has stolen. If he is unable to do so, he must be sold ⸤as a slave⸥ to pay for what he stole.

Exodus 22:1–3 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

“When a man steals an ox or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must repay five cattle for the ox or four sheep for the sheep. If a thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and he is beaten to death, no one is guilty of bloodshed. But if this happens after sunrise, there is guilt of bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution. If he is unable, he is to be sold because of his theft.

Exodus 22:1–3 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

When someone steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, the thief shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. The thief shall make restitution, but if unable to do so, shall be sold for the theft.

If a thief is found breaking in, and is beaten to death, no bloodguilt is incurred; but if it happens after sunrise, bloodguilt is incurred.

Exodus 22:1–3 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

“ ‘If a man steals an ox or small livestock and slaughters it or sells it, he will make restitution with five cattle in place of the ox and with four sheep or goats in place of the small livestock. “ ‘If a thief is found in the act of breaking in and he is struck and he dies, there is not bloodguilt for him. (If the sun has risen over him, there is bloodguilt for him. He will make full restitution. If he does not have enough, he will be sold for his theft.

Exodus 22:1–3 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

“Suppose a man steals an ox or a sheep. And suppose he kills it or sells it. Then he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox. Or he must pay back four sheep or goats for the sheep.

“Suppose you catch a thief breaking into your house. And suppose you hit the thief and kill him. Then you are not guilty of murder. But suppose it happens after the sun has come up. Then you are guilty of murder.

“A thief must pay for what he has stolen. But suppose he does not have anything. Then he must be sold to pay for what he has stolen.

Exodus 22:1–3 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account.

But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.


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