"Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother be humiliated in your sight." v.3
Read chapter 25
The just punishment when someone was found guilty and deserved to be beaten was to receive 40 blows. Later Jews did 39 lashes just in case there was a miscount to no exceed the number of blows and break the law (2 Cor. 11:24). This was always done in front of the judge, not in secret to make sure that this law was adhered to. The punishment wasn't to be too little to minimize the crime or too much as to dehumanize the man. In the Bill of Rights of the United States Amendment VIII it says, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted."
I don't think I could even take one blow. We don't have beatings like this today in our government but we are required to just punishment but not inhumane. What other governments in our world do not go by this rule?
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