Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Leviticus 24:17 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 17. 17And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse assigns death for killing a human being.
Read It With
- Leviticus 24:17-23
Track the movement across 24:17-23. When Leviticus 24:17 assigns death for killing a human being, it contributes to this complete claim: Human killing receives death, animal killing restitution, and injury receives the eye-for-eye proportional formula; one law applies to resident outsider and native before the reported execution.
What Remains True
Assigns death for killing a human being. Within Leviticus 24:17-23, this contributes to the larger claim that human killing receives death, animal killing restitution, and injury receives the eye-for-eye proportional formula; one law applies to resident outsider and native before the reported execution.
How It Can Shape Life
- When teaching Leviticus 24:17, keep the verse inside Leviticus 24:17-23. Hold this boundary: Lex talionis limits proportionality within an ancient court; it does not authorize personal revenge, mutilation, execution, or anti-immigrant violence. Apply only the noncoercive truth the complete unit supports.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Leviticus 24:17-23 — Homicide, animal loss, bodily injury, and equal law are distinguishedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Leviticus 24:17-23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Leviticus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, ritual and legal vocabulary, names, clause relationships, KJV language controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Lev.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 24:17-23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Leviticus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2025-12-31
Supports: Unit-bounded translator notes on Hebrew, syntax, ritual vocabulary, measures, textual questions, and older-English wording; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Leviticus PDF, complete PDF pp. 1-99, translation and translator notes for 24:17-23
Open source ↗