But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
But if the owner was there with the animal when it was injured or died, the borrower doesn't have to pay for it. If it was a rented animal, the loss is already covered by the rental fee that was paid.
This verse explains that if someone borrows an animal and the owner is present when something bad happens to it, or if the animal was rented, the borrower isn't responsible for replacing it.
📚 Historical Context
This verse is part of Moses' detailed laws about property and borrowing in ancient Israel. In an agricultural society where animals were valuable assets for work and transportation, clear rules about responsibility were essential for community harmony. These laws established fair practices for lending, borrowing, and renting livestock.
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