The Law Concerning Servants

21 “Now these are the 1judgments which you shall aset before them: 2 bIf you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 cBut if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to the djudges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

7 “And if a man esells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she 2does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, fand her marriage rights. 11 And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.

The Law Concerning Violence

12 g“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 However, hif he did not lie in wait, but God idelivered him into his hand, then jI will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

14 “But if a man acts with kpremeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, lyou shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

15 “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

16 m“He who kidnaps a man and nsells him, or if he is ofound in his hand, shall surely be put to death.

17 “And phe who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

18 “If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, 19 if he rises again and walks about outside qwith his staff, then he who struck him shall be 3acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.

20 “And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his rproperty.

22 “If men 4fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that 5she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall spay as the judges determine. 23 But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 teye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

Animal Control Laws

28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then uthe ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be 6acquitted. 29 But if the ox 7tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay vto redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. 31 Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. 32 If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master wthirty shekels of silver, and the xox shall be stoned.

33 “And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.

35 “If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. 36 Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.

Responsibility for Property

22 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall arestore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. 2 If the thief is found bbreaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be cno guilt for his bloodshed. 3 If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be dsold 1for his theft. 4 If the theft is certainly efound alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall frestore double.

5 “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

6 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

7 “If a man gdelivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, hif the thief is found, he shall pay double. 8 If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the ijudges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.

9 “For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the jcause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. 10 If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, 11 then an koath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. 12 But lif, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. 13 If it is mtorn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

14 “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. 15 If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.

Moral and Ceremonial Principles

16 n“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the obride-price of virgins.

18 p“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

19 q“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

20 r“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

21 s“You shall neither mistreat a 2stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

22 t“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you afflict them in any way, and they ucry at all to Me, I will surely vhear their cry; 24 and My wwrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; xyour wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

25 y“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him zinterest. 26 aIf you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 27 For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am bgracious.

28 c“You shall not revile God, nor curse a druler of your people.

29 “You shall not delay to offer ethe first of your ripe produce and your juices. fThe firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30 gLikewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother hseven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

31 “And you shall be iholy men to Me: jyou shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Justice for All

23 “You ashall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an bunrighteous witness. 2 cYou shall not follow a crowd to do evil; dnor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3 You shall not show partiality to a epoor man in his dispute.

4 f“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 gIf you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

6 h“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 iKeep yourself far from a false matter; jdo not kill the innocent and righteous. For kI will not justify the wicked. 8 And lyou shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

9 “Also myou shall not oppress a 1stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Law of Sabbaths

10 n“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your 2olive grove. 12 oSix days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and …