Exodus 22 · Verse 2

Exodus 22:2

If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

Exodus 22:2, King James Version

Exodus 22:2 in other translations

BSB	If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed.
WEB	If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him.
ASV	If the thief be found breaking in, and be smitten so that he dieth, there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him.
YLT	‘If in the breaking through, the thief is found, and he hath been smitten, and hath died, there is no blood for him;
DARBY	If the thief be encountered breaking in, and be smitten so that he die, there shall be no blood-guiltiness for him.
BBE	If a thief is taken in the act of forcing his way into a house, and his death is caused by a blow, the owner of the house is not responsible for his blood.
Webster	If a thief shall be found breaking through, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

What does Exodus 22:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 22:1-4

Ex 22:1-31. Laws concerning Theft. 1-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation was all that was required, because…

Read the full comment on Exodus 22:1-4 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 2 If a thief be found - If a thief was found breaking into a house in the night season, he might be killed; but not if the sun had risen, for then he might be known and taken, and the restitution made which is mentioned in the succeeding verse. So by the law of England it is a burglary to break and enter a house by night; and "anciently the day was accounted to begin only from sunrising, and to end immediately upon sunset: but it is now generally agreed that if there be daylight enough begun or left, either by the light of the sun or twilight, whereby the countenance of a person may reasonably be discerned, it is no burglary; but that this does not extend to moonlight, for then many midnight burglaries would go unpunished. And besides, the malignity of the offense does not so properly arise, as Mr. Justice Blackstone observes, from its being done in the dark, as at the dead of night when all the creation except beasts of prey are at rest; when sleep has disarmed the owner, and rendered his castle defenceless." - East's Pleas of the Crown, vol. ii., p. 509.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Exodus 22:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אִם\־'im-ifH518

בַּמַּחְתֶּ֛רֶתba.mach.Te.retin <the> breaking inH4290

יִמָּצֵ֥אyi.ma.Tze'he will be foundH4672

הַגַּנָּ֖בha.ga.Navthe thiefH1590

וְהֻכָּ֣הve.hu.Kahand he will be struckH5221

וָמֵ֑תva.Metand he will dieH4191

אֵ֥ין'einthere notH369

ל֖וֹlofor <the> him

דָּמִֽים\׃da.Mim[will be] blood<s>H1818

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 22:2

Matthew 24:43
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Matthew 6:19-20
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Numbers 35:27
And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:
Joel 2:9
They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
Job 24:14
The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
Hosea 7:1
When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.
1 Thessalonians 5:2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Job 30:5
They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

breaking.
Job 24:14; 30:5; Ho 7:1; Joe 2:9; Mt 6:19,20; 24:43; 1Th 5:2
no blood.
Nu 35:27

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Exodus 22:1
If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
Exodus 22:2
If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
Exodus 22:3
If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

Read all of Exodus 22

Exodus 22:2 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Si el ladrón fuere hallado forzando una casa, y fuere herido y muriere, el que le hirió no será culpado de su muerte.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Si le soleil est levé sur lui, il y aura coulpe de sang pour lui: il aurait fait pleine compensation; s’il n’avait rien eu, il aurait été vendu pour son vol.
German Elberfelder 1871	Wenn der Dieb beim Einbruch betroffen wird, und er wird geschlagen, daß er stirbt, so ist es ihm keine Blutschuld;
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Si effringens fur domum sive suffodiens fuerit inventus, et accepto vulnere mortuus fuerit, percussor non erit reus sanguinis.