Context

This line is written by Moses in Leviticus 24:20.

Here God's setting up what they call the Law of Moses—his rules for how the Hebrews are going to act until the Messiah comes. And this one's a doozy: any harm you cause is gonna get caused right back atcha.

Where you've heard it

You'll usually hear this quote when people are talking about revenge. Or sometimes when they're trading marbles.

Martin Luther King, Jr. famously riffed on the quote when he said, "The old law of eye for an eye makes everyone blind."

This phrase turns up a lot in pop culture. Sally Field and Ed Harris starred in a 1996 film called Eye for an Eye, and it's also the name of a Chuck Norris movie.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Like so many Bible quotes, this one's so Biblical-sounding that people usually don't take it super seriously.