Deuteronomy 25:1-3

Contemporary English Version

Whipping as Punishment for a Crime

Moses said to Israel:

25 ^1-2 Suppose you and someone else each accuse the other of doing something wrong, and you go to court, where the judges decide you are guilty. If your punishment is to be beaten with a whip,^[a] one of the judges will order you to lie down, and you will receive the number of lashes you deserve. ^3 (A) Forty lashes is the most that you can be given, because more than that might make other Israelites think you are worthless.