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.
If the sun has risen when this happens, then bloodshed would be murder and the person would be guilty; the thief must pay back everything in full; if he has nothing to pay with, then he must be sold as a slave to pay for what he stole.
This verse is saying that killing a thief in daylight would be murder, and that thieves must fully repay what they stole, even if it means being sold into slavery to pay the debt.
📚 Historical Context
In the Book of Exodus, God was establishing a legal code for the Israelites as they journeyed from Egypt toward the Promised Land, providing guidelines for a just society based on divine principles. This specific verse deals with the punishment for theft, stating that if a thief is caught in the daylight, they should not be killed but must make full restitution for the stolen goods, and if unable to pay, they could be sold into servitude. These laws reflected the ancient Near Eastern emphasis on property rights and restitution as a means of maintaining social order and fairness.
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