Bible Strands
Leviticus 24:17
And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite assembly in the wilderness, issuing judicial statutes immediately after detailing the penalty for blasphemy in the preceding verse.
The words — The phrase יַכֶּה נֶפֶשׁ (ya.kkeh nefesh) translates literally as "he strikes a life," establishing the legal threshold for the capital penalty.
The thread — This statute parallels Exodus 21:12 on homicide and connects to Genesis 9:5 and Deuteronomy 19:11, though Genesis 9:5 specifies divine accounting for shed blood rather than a human death penalty.
Why it lands — The text mandates execution for taking a human life, requiring the reader to acknowledge the Mosaic law's baseline protection of life under judicial authority.
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
And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
Cross-references
- Genesis 9:5 And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
- Deuteronomy 19:11 If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,
- Exodus 21:12 Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
- Numbers 35:30 If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.
- Deuteronomy 27:24 ‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’