Exodus 22:1–24:18

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 the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

13 “And in all that I have said to you, pbe circumspect and qmake no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

Three Annual Feasts

14 r“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15 sYou shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; tnone shall appear before Me empty); 16 uand the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and vthe Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

17 w“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord 3God.

18 x“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened ybread; nor shall the fat of My 4sacrifice remain until morning. 19 zThe first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. aYou shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

The Angel and the Promises

20 b“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; cdo not provoke Him, for He will dnot pardon your transgressions; for eMy name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then fI will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 gFor My Angel will go before you and hbring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will 5cut them off. 24 You shall not ibow down to their gods, nor serve them, jnor do according to their works; kbut you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

25 “So you shall lserve the Lord your God, and mHe will bless your bread and your water. And nI will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 oNo one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will pfulfill the number of your days.

27 “I will send qMy fear before you, I will rcause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And sI will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. 29 tI will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. 31 And uI will set your 6bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the 7River. For I will vdeliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 wYou shall make no 8covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, xit will surely be a snare to you.”

Israel Affirms the Covenant

24 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, aNadab and Abihu, band seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”

3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the 1judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, c“All the words which the Lord has said we will do.” 4 And Moses dwrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve epillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered fburnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses gtook half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he htook the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is ithe blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

On the Mountain with God

9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they jsaw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of ksapphire stone, and it was like the lvery 2heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles …