Mercy Me!... and Justice, too

Working with the Old Testament (a.k.a. Hebrew Bible), one is bound to have to reckon with the nature and place of justice. Granted, sometimes God appears to be inexplicably severe, mean, even. But that's for another time. That famous "eye for an eye" quote comes from the Old Testament, and although it's gotten some bad press (Gandhi said that following through on it "makes the whole world blind"), many biblical scholars believe that its intent may not originally have been such a literal application. In that case, what did it mean? Perhaps a limit to retaliation -- rather than going nuts attacking whoever hurt or offended you, exercise some restraint. But, the text would still seem to suggest that some action is appropriate and maybe even necessary. Choosing radical mercy in every case may not be the best thing. George Eliot said, "There is a mercy which is weakness, and even treason against the common good." What do you think? A place for justice? When and where, forgiveness?