SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 10— Writing one of the final chapters in O. J. Simpson's long legal case, a civil court jury here ordered him today to pay a financially debilitating $25 million in punitive damages to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald L. Goldman.


The same jury had awarded the Goldman family 8.5 million in compensatory damages last week.

Mr. Simpson does not now have $33.5 million and likely never will. So it is but a guess how much less the plaintiffs' families will get, once the appeals and future court hearings are completed and Mr. Simpson's time in court, already pushing three years, comes to an end.

The surviving family members were overjoyed after hearing today's decision, but they insisted that the awards, while more than welcome, were not the big issue in their civil action. Rather, they explained, they were looking for closure -- ''justice,'' some called it -- to the worst thing that had ever happened to them.

''The jury decision of last Tuesday was the only decision important to us, to find the killer of my son and Nicole responsible,'' said Mr. Goldman's father, Fred. ''The money is not an issue. It never has been. It's holding the man who killed my son and Nicole responsible.''

Speaking for the Brown family, its lawyer, John Q. Kelly, said the issue was never money because that would have required putting a price tag on murder. ''And that's something you can't do,'' Mr. Kelly said.

Before the jury could make either a compensatory or punitive award, it first was required to determine whether Mr. Simpson was the killer.

Mr. Simpson, whose appeals will face both legal and financial hurdles, was not in court to hear today's verdict, which was permissible because the case was a civil action. And neither he nor his lawyers made a statement afterward.

The jurors who chose to talk after leaving the courtroom -- the court identified them only by number -- generally said the plaintiffs had more than made their case. That was the precise opposite of what jurors on the criminal court panel had said in their out-of-court discussions of their deliberations.

''Finding O. J. Simpson liable of the murders and acting with oppression and malice was one of the easiest decisions I have ever had to make,'' said Juror No. 11, a woman in her 30's.

Juror No. 266, a woman in her 40's later identified as Deena Mullen, said her decision was based on everything she heard in court, especially the evidence that by now has become part of the nation's legal lore: the bloody-soled shoes, the incidents of wife-beating, the bloody gloves, the sweat-suited figure in the dark, Mr. Simpson's taking the stand. ''He was not credible,'' she said.

Both juries heard basically the same case, with much emphasis placed on blood evidence by both sides. But there were some important differences.

The criminal case was tried by a predominantly black jury, and conviction required a finding that Mr. Simpson committed the June 12, 1994, slayings beyond any reasonable doubt. The civil case was tried before a predominantly white jury, and a verdict required only 9 of 12 votes, with the basic legal standard being that in all probability Mr. Simpson committed the slayings.

In the criminal case, the defense made much of allegations that police investigators were racists out to get a black American sports and entertainment celebrity. In the civil case, the jury heard little about racism because the court ruled that such allegations were inflammatory and speculative.

Further, the civil jury saw some new evidence, including pictures of Mr. Simpson wearing shoes like those that left bloody prints at the slaying scene outside Mrs. Simpson's condominium.

Finally, in the criminal case, Mr. Simpson did not take the stand, again his option. But in the civil case, Mr. Simpson was called to testify, the plaintiffs' option, and he gave what was generally considered a mixed performance.

Because of the complicated manner in which the civil suit was filed, the $8.5 million award was granted only to the divorced parents of Mr. Goldman, Sharon Rufo and Fred Goldman. The second award will be shared by Fred Goldman and the parents of Mrs. Simpson, Louis and Juditha Brown, who filed suit on behalf of the Simpson children, Sydney, 11, and Justin, 8, the ultimate recipients of that share of the money.

Both awards are expected to be appealed. They are subject to review and, in the case of the second award, very possibly reduction by Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki, who presided over the four-month-long proceedings.

Under California law, punitive damages are supposed to factor in the reprehensibility of the crime but also should bear some resemblance to the defendant's worth.

Thus, there is the question of whether Mr. Simpson, whose once-great wealth of $10 million or so has been sharply whittled by his many legal fees, is worth anywhere close to $33.5 million.