Exodus 20:22–23:33

MOSES RECEIVES ADDITIONAL LAWS

²²Then the Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.^{w 23}Do not make gods of silver to rival me; do not make gods of gold for yourselves.^x

²⁴“Make an earthen altar for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered.^{y 25}If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.^{z 26}Do not go up to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.

21“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:

LAWS ABOUT SLAVES

²“When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man^D without paying anything.^{a 3}If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with^E a wife, his wife is to leave with him. ⁴If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.

⁵“But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’^{b 6}his master is to bring him to the judges^F and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.

⁷“When a man sells his daughter as a concubine,^A she is not to leave as the male slaves do.^{c 8}If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her. ⁹Or if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her according to the customary treatment of daughters. ¹⁰If he takes an additional wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.^{d 11}And if he does not do these three things for her, she may leave free of charge, without any payment.^B

LAWS ABOUT PERSONAL INJURY

¹²“Whoever strikes a person so that he dies must be put to death.^{e 13}But if he did not intend any harm,^C and yet God allowed it to happen, I will appoint a place for you where he may flee.^{f 14}If a person schemes and willfully^D acts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from my altar to be put to death.^g

¹⁵“Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.

¹⁶“Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession.^h

¹⁷“Whoever curses his father or his mother must be put to death.ⁱ

¹⁸“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed, ¹⁹if he can later get up and walk around outside leaning on his staff, then the one who struck him will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time^E and provide for his complete recovery.

²⁰“When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse,^F the owner must be punished.^{G 21}However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished^H because he is his owner’s property.^Ij

²²“When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands^k from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment. ²³If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, ²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth,^l hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.

²⁶“When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye. ²⁷If he knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his tooth.

²⁸“When an ox^J gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned,^m and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent. ²⁹However, if the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner must also be put to death. ³⁰If instead a ransomⁿ is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him. ³¹If it gores a son or a daughter, he is to be dealt with according to this same law. ³²If the ox gores a male or female slave, he must give thirty shekels^o of silver^A to the slave’s master, and the ox must be stoned.

³³“When a man uncovers a pit or digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴the owner of the pit must give compensation; he must pay to its owner, but the dead animal will become his.

³⁵“When a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live ox and divide its proceeds; they must also divide the dead animal. ³⁶If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not restrained it, he must compensate fully, ox for ox; the dead animal will become his.

LAWS ABOUT THEFT

22“When a man steals an ox or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must repay^a five cattle for the ox or four sheep for the sheep. ²If a thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and he is beaten to death, no one is guilty of bloodshed.^{b 3}But if this happens after sunrise, the householder is guilty of bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution. If he is unable, he is to be sold because of his theft.^{c 4}If what was stolen—whether ox, donkey, or sheep—is actually found alive in his possession, he must repay double.

LAWS ABOUT CROP PROTECTION

⁵“When a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed in, and then allows his animals to go and graze in someone else’s field, he must repay^B with the best of his own field or vineyard.

⁶“When a fire gets out of control, spreads to thornbushes, and consumes stacks of cut grain, standing grain, or a field, the one who started the fire must make full restitution for what was burned.

LAWS ABOUT PERSONAL PROPERTY

⁷“When a man gives his neighbor valuables^C or goods to keep, but they are stolen from that person’s house, the thief, if caught, must repay double. ⁸If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must present himself to the judges^D to determine^E whether or not he has taken his neighbor’s property.^{d 9}In any case of wrongdoing involving an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or anything else lost, and someone claims, ‘That’s mine,’^F the case between the two parties is to come before the judges.^G The one the judges condemn^H must repay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰“When a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to care for, but it dies, is injured, or is stolen, while no one is watching, ¹¹there must be an oath before the Lord between the two of them to determine whether or not he has taken his neighbor’s property. Its owner must accept the oath, and the other man does not have to make restitution. ¹²But if, in fact, the animal was stolen from his custody, he must make restitution to its owner.^{e 13}If it was actually torn apart by a wild animal, he is to bring it as evidence; he does not have to make restitution for the torn carcass.

¹⁴“When a man borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not there with it, the man must make full restitution. ¹⁵If its owner is there with it, the man does not have to make restitution. If it was rented, the loss is covered by^A its rental price.

LAWS ABOUT SEDUCTION

¹⁶“If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and he sleeps with her, he must certainly pay the bridal price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount in silver equal to the bridal price for virgins.^f

CAPITAL OFFENSES

¹⁸“Do not allow a sorceress^g to live.

¹⁹“Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal^h must be put to death.

²⁰“Whoever sacrifices to any gods, except the Lord alone, is to be set apart for destruction.ⁱ

LAWS PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE

²¹“You must not exploit a resident alien^j or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.

²²“You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.^{k 23}If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry.^{l 24}My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.^m

²⁵“If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.ⁿ

²⁶“If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. ²⁷For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body.^B What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.^o

RESPECT FOR GOD

²⁸“You must not blaspheme God^C or curse a leader among your people.^p

²⁹“You must not hold back offerings^q from your harvest or your vats. Give me the firstborn of your sons. ³⁰Do the same with your cattle and your flock. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to me.^a

³¹“Be my holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal^b found in the field; throw it to the dogs.

LAWS ABOUT HONESTY AND JUSTICE

23“You must not spread a false report. Do not join^D the wicked to be a malicious witness.^c

²“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.^{d 3}Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.

⁴“If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.

⁵“If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.^Ae

⁶“You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. ⁷Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not…