²“Suppose you buy a Hebrew servant. He must serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, you must set him free. He does not have to pay anything.

³“If he does not have a wife when he comes, he must go free alone. But if he has a wife when he comes, she must go with him. ⁴Suppose his master gives him a wife. And suppose she has sons or daughters by him. Then only the man will go free. The woman and her children will belong to her master.

⁵“But suppose the servant says, ‘I love my master and my wife and children. I don’t want to go free.’ ⁶Then his master must take him to the judges. He must be taken to the door or doorpost of his master’s house. His master must poke a hole through his ear lobe into the doorpost. Then he will become his servant for life.

⁷“Suppose a man sells his daughter as a servant. Then she can’t go free as male servants do.

⁸“But what if the master who has chosen her does not like her? Then he must let the man buy her back. He has no right to sell her to strangers. He has broken his promise to her.

⁹“What if he chooses her to get married to his son? Then he must grant her the rights of a daughter.

¹⁰“What if he marries another woman? He must still give the first one her food and clothes and make love to her. ¹¹If he does not provide her with those three things, she can go free. She does not have to pay anything.

Laws About Harming Others

¹²“You can be sure that if anyone hits and kills someone else, he will be put to death. ¹³Suppose he did not do it on purpose. Suppose I let it happen. Then he can escape to a place I will choose. ¹⁴But suppose he kills someone on purpose. Then take him away from my altar and put him to death.

¹⁵“If anyone attacks his father or mother, he will be put to death.

¹⁶“If anyone kidnaps and sells another person, he will be put to death. If he still has the person with him when he is caught, he will be put to death.

¹⁷“If anyone calls down a curse on his father or mother, he will be put to death.

¹⁸“Suppose two men get into a fight and argue with each other. One hits the other with a stone or his fist. He does not die but has to stay in bed. ¹⁹And later he gets up and walks around outside with his walking stick. Then the man who hit him will not be held accountable. But he must pay the one who was hurt for the time he spent in bed. He must be sure that the person is completely healed.

²⁰“Suppose a man beats his male or female slave to death with a club. Then he must be punished. ²¹But he will not be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two. After all, the slave is his property.

²²“Suppose some men are fighting and one of them hits a pregnant woman. And suppose she has her baby early but is not badly hurt. Then the man who hurt her must pay a fine. He must pay what the woman’s husband asks for and the court allows.

²³“But if someone is badly hurt, a life must be taken for a life.

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