Deuteronomy 25:1-3

New Century Version

25 If two people have an argument and go to court, the judges will decide the case. They will declare one person right and the other guilty. ² If the guilty person has to be punished with a beating, the judge will make that person lie down and be beaten in front of him. The number of lashes should match the crime. ³ But don’t hit a person more than forty times, because more than that would disgrace him before others.