Donald Trump said Thursday his favorite Bible verse might be the one that includes the phrase "an eye for an eye."
Trump, the leading candidate for president in the Republican race, made the remark during an interview with Bob Lonsberry on WHAM 1180 in Rochester, N.Y.
The comments begin at the 11:53 mark of the above audio clip.
"Well, I think many. I mean, you know, when we get into the Bible, I think many. So many," Trump said. "And some people — look, an eye for an eye, you can almost say that. That's not a particularly nice thing. But you know, if you look at what's happening to our country, I mean, when you see what's going on with our country, how people are taking advantage of us, and how they scoff at us and laugh at us.
"And they laugh at our face, and they're taking our jobs, they're taking our money, they're taking the health of our country. And we have to be firm and have to be very strong. And we can learn a lot from the Bible, that I can tell you."
In the Book of Exodus, a portion of
chapter 21 reads as follows:
"If people, when brawling, hurt a pregnant woman and she suffers a miscarriage but no further harm is done, the person responsible will pay compensation as fixed by the woman's master, paying as much as the judges decide.
"If further harm is done, however, you will award life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stroke for stroke."
"Eye for an eye" is also referenced in Leviticus, chapter 24.
In February,
Pope Francis suggested Trump might not actually be Christian, because "a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."
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