Exodus 21:22
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
Exodus 21:22 belongs to the statutes and specific judgments God gave Israel through Moses at Sinai. Unlike the Ten Commandments, it was delivered privately to Moses, who was to communicate it to the people. It expands the principles of the Ten Commandments into detailed directions for conduct, illustrating and applying them so that the obligations of the Decalogue would be more fully understood and enforced. This fuller explanation was needed because the minds of the people, blinded and debased by slavery, were not prepared to fully appreciate the far-reaching principles of God's ten precepts.
These laws were intended to guard the sacredness of the Ten Commandments and to leave no room to mistake duties to one another. They guard against injustice and guide people in their dealings with one another. These directions show God's care for His people and the exalted character of His requirements. Keeping God's law is plainly enjoined in this section, and these statutes and judgments were to be strictly obeyed.
Their instruction remains needed now, calling people to cease contention, love one another as brethren, and soften their hearts.