Deuteronomy 25:2-4

The Voice

² If the judges decide the guilty party should be punished with a beating, the judge will make him lie down and be beaten in front of the judge with the number of strokes appropriate to the evil offense— ³ but it can never be more than 40. This limit is to prevent excessive beatings, which would be publicly degrading.

⁴ Don’t muzzle the ox while it is treading out your grain.^[a]