The male thief, and the female thief, you shall mark, cut, or cut-off their hands/means as a punishment for their crime, and to serve as a deterrent from God. God is Noble, Wise.
Translation endnotes
[5:38] The Arabic word we translated as "cut," occurs 36 times with all its derivatives. Nineteen of these are read in triliteral form QaTaA, and with the exceptions of 5:38 and 13:4, in all occurrences mean the non-physical or metaphorical action of "cutting off relationship" or "ending" (2:27; 3:127; 6:45; 7:72; 8:7; 9:121; 10:27; 11:81; 15:65; 15:66; 13:25; 22:15; 27:32; 29:29; 56:33; 59:5; 69:46). In 13:4, the noun form is used to describe "pieces," and its usage in 69:46 is understood by some scholars to be physical too. The derivatives that are read in the QaTTaa form occur 17 times. This form, which expresses intensity or frequency of the action, is used both to mean physical cutting off (5:33; 7:124; 20:71; 26:49; 13:31) and metaphorical cutting off (2:166; 6:94; 7:160; 7:167; 9:110; 47:15; 47:22; 21:93; 22:19; 23:53) as well as physically cutting or marking something (12:31; 12:50). Verse 12:31 mentions women gathered for a party cutting their fingers with knives, for they were awed by the physical attraction of Joseph. Obviously, those women did not cut off their fingers. Thus, it is possible to understand the punishment for thieves in three alternative ways, (1) cutting off their hands, or (2) cutting or marking their hands, or (3) cutting their means to steal, or cutting their hands from committing the crime. It is up to the society to choose one of these meanings or a combination of them depending on the severity of the crime (See 7:52). It is not right to see theft merely as an individual crime. Family structures, social norms, economic systems, social institutions and values are also responsible for this crime. A society might reduce the crime of theft and burglary by increasing the strength of the family structure and ties, by establishing social and charity institutions, prohibiting usury, changing their wasteful lifestyle, and distributing wealth in a way that is more egalitarian. Punishment alone is not the right way to fight crimes; preventive measures need to be taken. For a discussion of this verse, see the Sample Comparisons section in the Introduction. According to the Bible, thieves were punished by punitive restitution (Exodus 22:1- 8; 2 Samuel 12:6). If the thief could not pay the fine, he was to be sold to a Hebrew master till he could pay (Exodus 22:1-4). A night-thief might be smitten till he died (Exodus 22:2).