EXOD593 Although "An eye for an eye" does mandate punishing a person who maims another (Jewish law did not enforce this verse literally…), what is in frequently noted is that it limits the retribution which can be taken. For example, "An eye for an eye" forbids taking two eyes for an eye, even though people who avenge themselves on another often exact a far worse vengeance then the suffering that was inflicted upon them. ... Even though the language of the biblical verse seems definitive, the Rabbis understood it as meaning that on moral grounds, someone who intentionally blinds another deserves to lose his sight. But the court exacts only financial compensation, lest it commit the greater injustice of killing the offender while blinding him. "An eye for an eye" therefore establishes two biblical principles of justice: Evil must be punished, but punishment must be proportionate to and not exceed, the offense.