Translations
Modern
He may receive no more than forty lashes, lest your brother be beaten any more than that and be degraded in your sight.
Traditional
Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
Literal
Forty times he shall strike him—no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him above these with many blows, and your brother be humiliated in your eyes.
Latin
…ita dumtaxat, ut quadragenarium numerum non excedant: ne fœde laceratus ante oculos tuos abeat frater tuus.
Original
Hebrew
English
He may receive no more than forty lashes, lest your brother be beaten any more than that and be degraded in your sight.
Notes
During a whipping, the maximum number of strikes allowed was forty lashes. Fewer could be given depending on the situation (25:2). As people created in the image of God, they deserved mercy and respect, even if they did wrong. In later Judaism, they gave thirty-nine lashes (see 2 Corinthians 11:24 and note).
Theme notes and profiles
Glossary
Archaeology and the Bible Biblical Concept of Law Covenant Criminal Law and Punishment Deuteronomy, Book of Marriage, Marriage Customs
Topics
Beating: As a Punishment Corporal Punishment Forty: Stripes: Administered in Punishing Criminals Judge: Character of, and Precepts Relating To Justice: General Scriptures Concerning Punishment: Minor offenses: Scourging Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Scourging Scourging: 40 Stripes Was the Maximum Number