Exodus 22:5
in Exodus 22If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and allows them to stray so that they graze in someone else’s field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
KJV
If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
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This verse in Exodus 22
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard
on Exodus 22:5-6
Both cases are damage done without theft, a straying beast and a spreading fire. Restitution comes out of the best of the offender's own field, so carelessness costs him better produce than he ruined.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten,....
We should be more careful not to do wrong than not to suffer wrong, because to suffer wrong is only an affliction, but to do wrong is a sin, and sin is always worse than affliction.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Shall put in his beast, and shall feed - Rather, shall let his beast go loose, and it shall feed.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יַבְעֶר־ | yaver- | he will cause to be grazed over | H1197 → | 94 times |
| אִישׁ֙ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| שָׂדֶ֣ה | sadeh | a field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| אוֹ־ | ʾov- | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| כֶ֔רֶם | kherem | a vineyard | H3754 → | 92 times |
| וְשִׁלַּח֙ | veshilach | and he will let go | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּעִיר֔וֹ | beiro | cattle his | H1165 → | |
| וּבִעֵ֖ר | uvier | and it will graze | H1197 → | 94 times |
| בִּשְׂדֵ֣ה | bisdeh | in [the] field of | H7704 → | 334 times |
| אַחֵ֑ר | ʾacher | another [person] | H312 → | 166 times |
| מֵיטַ֥ב | meitav | [the] best of | H4315 → | |
| שָׂדֵ֛הוּ | sadehu | field his | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וּמֵיטַ֥ב | umeitav | and [the] best of | H4315 → | |
| כַּרְמ֖וֹ | karmo | vineyard his | H3754 → | 92 times |
| יְשַׁלֵּֽם׃ ס | yeshalem | he will make compensation | H7999 → | 116 times |
כִּ֤יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
יַבְעֶר־he will cause to be grazed over
yaver-H1197 →94 times
אִישׁ֙anyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
שָׂדֶ֣הa field
sadehH7704 →334 times
אוֹ־or
ʾov-H176 →321 times
כֶ֔רֶםa vineyard
kheremH3754 →92 times
וְשִׁלַּח֙and he will let go
veshilachH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּעִיר֔וֹcattle his
beiroH1165 →
וּבִעֵ֖רand it will graze
uvierH1197 →94 times
בִּשְׂדֵ֣הin [the] field of
bisdehH7704 →334 times
אַחֵ֑רanother [person]
ʾacherH312 →166 times
מֵיטַ֥ב[the] best of
meitavH4315 →
שָׂדֵ֛הוּfield his
sadehuH7704 →334 times
וּמֵיטַ֥בand [the] best of
umeitavH4315 →
כַּרְמ֖וֹvineyard his
karmoH3754 →92 times
יְשַׁלֵּֽם׃ סhe will make compensation
yeshalemH7999 →116 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 20:18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.
it leads to
- Job 20:10
His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.
- Jeremiah 51:44
I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.
- Proverbs 1:12
let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit.
- Job 20:15
He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.
- Jeremiah 22:13
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
- Job 20:10
Through
Exodus 22:3But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft.
it leads to
- Exodus 21:2
If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.
- Exodus 21:2
Through
Exodus 22:12But if the animal was actually stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.
it leads to
- Genesis 31:39
I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.
- Genesis 31:39
Through
Exodus 21:34the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
it leads to
- Exodus 22:14
If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while its owner is not present, he must make full restitution.
- Exodus 22:14
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
