What Does the Bible Say about Reparations?

Are reparations biblical? Absolutely! To pay reparations means to make amends for a wrong that was done. Another word for this is restitution, and the law required the person responsible to restore more than what was lost.

For example, in Exodus 22:1 it says, "If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep." In Leviticus 6:1-7, an offender had to repay what was lost, plus extra, plus take a sacrifice to the priest to atone for sins.

In Luke 19:1-10, Jesus went to the house of a tax collector named Zacchaeus. He said to Jesus, "The half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today, salvation has come to this house." In view of Christ, Zacchaeus made reparations.

But how about reparations for slavery? In Deuteronomy 15:12-15, it says when a master freed his slave, he was supposed to load him up. But anyone who was not a slave is not entitled to compensation, and anyone who did not own slaves is not required to make restitution.

In Ezekiel 18, the Lord said that if a man fathers a son who sees the sins of his father and does not do likewise, he shall not bear the penalty for his father's iniquity. "The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" (Ezekiel 18:20).

All have sinned against God and owe a debt so great we could not pay it. But by faith in Jesus, we are forgiven our debts, so we must forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12), when we understand the text.

Does the Bible Say a Woman Must Marry Her Rapist?

Deuteronomy 22:28-29 says, "If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days."

Whoa. So the Bible says a woman has to marry her rapist? No, that's not what's going on here.

Ever heard of a shotgun wedding? It's a marriage arranged at the end of a father's shotgun, to avoid the embarrassment of premarital sex between his daughter and some young dude who couldn't keep his pants zipped. This law is kind of like that.

Some Bible translations (like the NIV and CSB) use the word rape in this passage, but that's an inaccurate reading. In this context, "seizing" a woman means the offending man took something that did not belong to him, another man's daughter. "Violated" does not always mean rape, even in English. It can simply mean the man dishonored the woman.

The Law obligates the man to make an honest woman of her by marrying her, lest she become desolate (see 2 Samuel 13), cursed (see Numbers 5:11-31), or executed (see Deuteronomy 22:20-21)!

Deuteronomy means "second Law," a copy of the commands given in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This law in Exodus 22:16-17 says the father can refuse to give his daughter to the man. So this is not a law forcing a woman to marry her rapist. As this law appears in Deuteronomy, it says right before that rape is a crime worthy of death (Deuteronomy 22:25-27).

Hebrews 13:4 says, "Let marriage to be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled." Ask Jesus for forgiveness, "for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous," when we understand the text.