Exodus 21:1–23

The Law concerning Slaves

²¹“These are the ordinances that you shall set before them:^*

²“When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt.^{* 3}If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. ⁵But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person,’ ⁶then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him for life.^*

⁷“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.^{* 8}If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her. ⁹If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.^{n* 11}And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out without debt, without payment of money.

The Law concerning Violence

¹²“Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death.^{* 13}If it was not premeditated but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee.^{* 14}But if someone willfully attacks and kills another by treachery, you shall take the killer from my altar for execution.^*

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

¹⁶“Whoever kidnaps a person, whether that person has been sold or is still held in possession, shall be put to death.^*

¹⁷“Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death.^*

¹⁸“When individuals quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist so that the injured party, though not dead, is confined to bed ¹⁹but recovers and walks around outside with the help of a staff, then the assailant shall be free of liability, except to pay for the loss of time and to arrange for full recovery.

²⁰“When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. ²¹But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment, for the slave is the owner’s property.^*

²²“When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine. ²³If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,^*