Penalties for Crime

The Bible specifies the penalties that judges must apply for each crime. These penalties are still relevant in the modern world. The most surprising thing is that there are not prisons are not mentioned.

Prisons have no place in God’s justice system. There are no prisons in biblical, law so it is not surprising that prisons do not work. They put criminals together in one place and cut them off from the rest of society for long periods of time. Prisoners will hate society and learn more about crime, so they are unlikely to be reformed.

The Old Testament allows a person to be held in custody while waiting for their trial, but this should be only for a brief time.

They put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them (Lev 24:12, see also Num 15:34).

In most cases keeping a person in his home should be sufficient. Justice should be administered quickly, so long periods in custody should be unnecessary. There is no biblical basis for locking people up as a punishment for crime.