Mateus 5:38

Retaliation was common in the ancient Near East. Frequently it led to vendettas in which escalating vengeance continued for generations. Israel’s "law of retaliation" (Lat. lex talionis) limited retaliation to no more than equal compensation (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:19-20; Deuteronomy 19:21). The Jews tended to view the law of retaliation as God’s permission to take vengeance. That was never God’s intention (cf. Leviticus 19:18). He simply wanted to protect them from excessive vengeance and to curb vendettas. In some situations the Jews could pay to avoid the vengeance of their brethren (Exodus 21:26-27). By the first century, monetary reparations had replaced physical maiming as the penalty for physical injury. [Note: Craig Keener, Matthew, p. 127.] As God had permitted divorce because of the hardness of man’s heart, so He permitted a certain amount of retaliation under the Mosaic Law. However, His intention was that His people would avoid divorce and retaliation entirely. He wanted us to love one another and to put the welfare of others before our own.