Leviticus 24:17
in Leviticus 24And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he that smiteth any man mortally shall surely be put to death.
KJV
And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
⋯
This verse in Leviticus 24
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. With the sword, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; which restrains it to any man of the children of Israel, but wrongly; for the original law respects any man whatever, Gen 9:6; and so it does here; See Gill on Exo 21:12.
This site's exposition
he that killeth any man shall surely
on Leviticus 24:17-18
Two sentences set a man's life beside an animal's and put a price on only one of them. A dead beast is made good, beast for beast, and no payment is named for a man, because Genesis 9:6 grounds the difference in the image of God. These rules read as a digression until a reader remembers that the chapter got here through a fight, and a fight is where both a curse and a killing begin.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 10 -- On Gluttony · Written before 523.
proposed
Whosoever by reason of his gluttony destroyeth the members of his body is an associate of the murderer, and he is the consort of a destroying thief, and that which is written in the Law, "Everyone who slayeth shall be slain, and whosoever cutteth off …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He that killeth - This law is repeated here, to prevent the mischievous effects of men's striving together, which as here it caused blasphemy, so it might in others lead to murder.
9 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the L ORD made by fire by a perpetual statute. Care is here taken, and orders are given, for the decent furnishing of the candlestick and table in God's house.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:30w-of-60
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death--These verses contain a repetition of some other laws, relating to offenses of a social nature, the penalties for which were to be inflicted, not by the hand of private parties, but through the medium of the judges before whom the cause was brought.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
He that killeth any man - Blasphemy against God, i. e., speaking injuriously of his name, his attributes, his government, and his revelation, together with murder, is to be punished with death: he that blasphemes God is a curse in society, and he who takes away, wilfully and by malicious intent, the life of any man, should certainly be put to death. In this respect God has absolutely required that life shall go for life.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֕ישׁ | veish | and anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יַכֶּ֖ה | yakeh | he will strike down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נֶ֣פֶשׁ | nefesh | life of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אָדָ֑ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| מ֖וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמָֽת׃ | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
וְאִ֕ישׁand anyone
veishH376 →1663 times
כִּ֥יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
יַכֶּ֖הhe will strike down
yakehH5221 →499 times
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
נֶ֣פֶשׁlife of
nefeshH5315 →754 times
אָדָ֑םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
מ֖וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
יוּמָֽת׃he will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Deuteronomy 27:24‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
it leads to
- Numbers 35:31
You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.
- Deuteronomy 19:11–12
If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,
- 2 Samuel 20:9–10
“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
- 2 Samuel 3:27
When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the…
- 2 Samuel 11:15–17
In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.”
- Numbers 35:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 10 -- On Gluttony.