Exodus 21:1–23

The Law Concerning Servants

21“Now these are the ¹judgments which you shall ^aset before them: ^2bIf you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. ³If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴If 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. ^5cBut if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ ⁶then 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. ⁸If 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. ⁹And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. ¹⁰If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, ^fand her marriage rights. ¹¹And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.

The Law Concerning Violence

^12g“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. ¹³However, ^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.

^16m“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, ¹⁹if 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. ²¹Notwithstanding, 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. ²³But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,