For theft and property damage, full restitution or compensation is the standard of punishment (e.g. Exo. 21:22; Lev. 24:21). An insolvent debtor would not be thrown into prison (a punishment extraneous to biblical law), for that serves no dictate of justice; instead the man would be allowed to work off his debt.
Greg Bahnsen
, Theonomy in Christian Ethics, 439 (1977 [1984]). If a person intentionally steals or destroys his neighbor's property, he must restore what is taken plus some multiple of it as punishment for his wicked intent (Exo. 22:1).
- E. Calvin Beisner
, Justice and Poverty: Two Views Contrasted, 6, at http://www.ecalvinbeisner.com/freearticles/Justpoor.pdf.
