Exodus 21:30

21:30 If a ransom is set for him, ¹  then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for him.

Deuteronomy 16:18

Provision for Justice

16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants ²  for each tribe in all your villages ³  that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 22:18-19

22:18 The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish ⁵  him. 22:19 They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation ⁶  ruined the reputation ⁷  of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

¹ sn The family of the victim would set the amount for the ransom of the man guilty of criminal neglect. This practice was common in the ancient world, rare in Israel. If the family allowed the substitute price, then the man would be able to redeem his life.

² tn The Hebrew term וְשֹׁטְרִים (vÿshoterim), usually translated “officers” (KJV, NCV) or “officials” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), derives from the verb שֹׁטֵר (shoter, “to write”). The noun became generic for all types of public officials. Here, however, it may be appositionally epexegetical to “judges,” thus resulting in the phrase, “judges, that is, civil officers,” etc. Whoever the שֹׁטְרִים are, their task here consists of rendering judgments and administering justice.

³ tn Heb “gates.”

⁴ tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”

⁵ tn Heb “discipline.”

⁶ tn Heb “for he”; the referent (the man who made the accusation) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion with the young woman’s father, the last-mentioned male.

⁷ tn Heb “brought forth a bad name.”