Deuteronomy 19:21 → Leviticus 24:20

Leviticus 24:20 establishes the lex talionis — "fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן) — as the principle of proportional justice for bodily harm. Deuteronomy 19:21 applies this principle to the specific case of malicious witnesses (vv. 16–19): the judges must "investigate thoroughly," and if a witness is found to have testified falsely, "you shall do to him as he intended to do to his brother." The Deuteronomic application transforms the general injury formula into a judicial deterrent against perjury, with the talionic penalty serving as the punishment for bearing false witness. Both texts function to prevent vigilante excess by institutionalizing proportional justice under judicial oversight.