Bible Strands
Exodus 22:5
If 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Israel through Moses at Sinai, continuing a block of civil statutes governing property damage and compensation.
The words — The verb יַבְעֶר (yavʿer) translates literally as “he will cause to be grazed over,” while וְ/שִׁלַּח (ve/shillach) means “and he will let go.”
The thread — This liability for negligent grazing parallels the pit-damage law in Exodus 21:34 and the fire-restitution rule in Exodus 22:6.
Why it lands — The text commands payment from the offender’s best produce to cover the loss, establishing strict liability for property damage caused by one’s livestock.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Exodus 21:34 the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
- Exodus 22:3 But 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.
- Exodus 22:12 But if the animal was actually stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.
- Job 20:18 He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.