Exodus Chapter 21 verse 18 Holy Bible
And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed;
read chapter 21 in ASV
If, in a fight, one man gives another a blow with a stone, or with the shut hand, not causing his death, but making him keep in bed;
read chapter 21 in BBE
And if men dispute, and one strike the other with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but take to [his] bed,
read chapter 21 in DARBY
And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
read chapter 21 in KJV
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:
read chapter 21 in WBT
"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;
read chapter 21 in WEB
`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;
read chapter 21 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 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.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(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.
