Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Ye have heard that it hath been said (Exodus 21:23-25 ; Leviticus 24:19-20 ; Deuteronomy 19:21 ), An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth - that is, whatever penalty was regarded as a proper equivalent for these. This law of retribution-designed to take vengeance out of the hands of private persons and commit it to the magistrate-was abused in the opposite way to the commandments of the Decalogue. While they were reduced to the level of civil enactments, this judicial regulation was held to be a warrant for taking redress into their own hands, contrary to the injunctions of the Old Testament itself (Proverbs 20:22; Proverbs 24:29).