< Exodus 21 >

1 Now, these are the regulations which thou shalt put before them.
“These are the judgments which you shall place before them:
2 When thou shalt acquire a servant who is a Hebrew, six years, shall he serve, —but in the seventh shall he go out freely—for nought.
If you buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve you; in the seventh, he shall depart freely, without charge.
3 If, by himself, he came in, by himself, shall he go out, —if he was married, then shall his wife go out with him.
With whatever clothing he arrived, with the like let him depart. If he has a wife, his wife also shall depart, at the same time.
4 If his lord gave him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her lords, and, he shall go out by himself.
But if his lord gave him a wife, and she has borne sons and daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her lord. Yet still, he himself will go out with his clothing.
5 But, if the servant shall plainly say, I love my lord, and my wife and my sons, —I will not go out free,
And if the servant will say, ‘I love my lord, and my wife and children, I will not depart freely,’
6 then shall his lord bring him near unto God, and shall bring him near unto the door, or unto the door-post, —and his lord shall pierce his ear with an awl, so shall he serve him all his life.
then his lord shall make an offering for him to the heavens, and it shall be applied to the door and the posts, and he will pierce his ear with an awl. And he shall be his servant in perpetuity.
7 And when a man shall sell his daughter to be a handmaid, she shall not go out according to the out-going of the men-servants,
If anyone sells his daughter to be a servant, she shall not depart as a female servant is accustomed to go out.
8 If she is uncomely in the eyes of her lord, who hath not assigned her in marriage, then shall he suffer her to be redeemed: to a strange people, shall he not have power to sell her in that he hath dealt treacherously with her.
If she displeases the eyes of her lord, to whom she had been delivered, he shall dismiss her. But he shall have no authority to sell her to a foreign people, even if he despises her.
9 And if, to his son, he assign her, according to the custom for daughters, shall he do for her.
But if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall treat her according to the custom with daughters.
10 If he take to himself another, her food her clothing, and her marriage-right, shall he not withdraw.
And if he takes another for him, he shall provide to the maiden a marriage, and clothing, and he shall not refuse the price of her chastity.
11 But if these three, he will not do for her, then shall she go out for nought, without silver.
If he does not do these three things, she shall depart freely, without money.
12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall surely be put to death.
Whoever strikes a man, intending to murder, shall be put to death.
13 But he who hath not lain in wait, but, God, hath occasioned him to come to his hand, then will I appoint for thee a place, whither he may flee.
But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God delivered him into his hands, then I will appoint for you a place to which he must flee.
14 But, when a man shall act presumptuously against his neighbour to slay him with guile, from mine altar, shalt thou take him to die.
If someone murders his neighbor with deliberation, by lying in wait, you shall tear him away from my altar, so that he may die.
15 And, he that smiteth his father or his mother, shall, surely be put to death.
Whoever strikes his father or mother shall die a death.
16 And, he that stealeth a man of the sons of Israel, and selleth him, or he be found in his hand, shall, surely be put to death.
Whoever will have stolen a man and sold him, having been convicted of the crime, shall be put to death.
17 And he who revileth his father or his mother, shall, surely be put to death.
Whoever speaks evil of his father or mother shall die a death.
18 And when men strive together, and one shall smite the other, with a stone or with his fist, —and he die not, but shall fall to his bed; —
If men will have quarreled, and one of them has struck his neighbor with a stone or a fist, and he does not die, but lies in bed,
19 if he rise and shall walk abroad on his staff, then shall he that smote him be acquitted, —only, for his loss of time, he shall pay, and, shall surely heal, him.
if he gets up again and can walk outside on his staff, he who struck him will be innocent, but only if he makes sufficient restitution for his deeds and for the cost of the physicians.
20 And when a man shall smite his servant or his handmaid with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall, surely be avenged;
Whoever strikes his male or female servant with a staff, and if they have died by his hands, he shall be guilty of a crime.
21 nevertheless if, for a day or for two days, he continue, he shall not be avenged, for, his silver, he is.
But if he survives for one day or two, he shall not be subject to punishment, because it is his money.
22 And when men strive together and push against a woman with child, and she miscarry, but there is no other mischief, he shall, surely be fined, according as the woman’s husband shall lay upon him, but he shall give it through judges.
If men will have quarreled, and one of them has struck a pregnant woman, and as a result she miscarries, but she herself survives, he shall be subject to as much damage as the husband of the woman shall petition from him, or as arbitrators shall judge.
23 But, if mischief follow, then shalt thou give life for life;
But if her death will have followed, he will repay a life for a life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, —hand for hand, foot for foot,
an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,
25 brand for brand, wound for wound, —stripe for stripe.
a scrape for a scrape, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.
26 And, when a man smiteth the eye of his servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and destroyeth it, he shall send him forth, free, for his eye;
If anyone will have struck the eye of his male or female servant, having left them with one eye, he shall release them freely, because of the eye that he has put out.
27 or, if, the tooth of his servant or the tooth of his handmaid, he knock out, he shall send him forth, free, for his tooth.
Likewise, if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female servant, he shall similarly release them freely.
28 And when an ox goreth a man or a woman, and death ensueth, the ox shall, surely be stoned and his flesh shall not be eaten, and the owner of the ox, shall be quit.
If an ox has struck a man or a woman with his horn, and if they die, it shall be stoned. And its flesh shall not be eaten; also, the owner of the ox will be innocent.
29 But, if, the ox, was wont to gore before that time and it hath been attested to his owner, and he hath not proceeded to put him under guard, and he causeth the death of man or woman, the ox, shall be stoned, and, his owner also, shall be put to death.
But if the ox had been pushing with his horn, from yesterday and the day before, and they warned his owner, but he did not confine it, and it will have killed a man or a woman, then the ox shall be stoned, and his owner shall be killed.
30 If, a sin-covering, be laid on him, then shall he give a ransom for his life, according to whatsoever may be laid on him:
But if they have imposed a price on him, he shall give, in exchange for his life, whatever is asked.
31 if, a son, he gore or, a daughter, he gore, according to this regulation, shall it be done to him;
Likewise, if it has struck a son or a daughter with its horns, it shall be subject to a similar verdict.
32 if, a servant the ox gore, or a handmaid, thirty shekels of silver, shall he give to his lord, and, the ox, shall be stoned.
If it attacks a male or female servant, he shall give thirty shekels of silver to their lord, yet truly the ox shall be stoned.
33 And when a man openeth a pit, or when a man diggeth a pit, and doth not cover it, —and there falleth thereinto an ox or an ass,
If a man digs or opens a cistern, and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34 the owner of the pit, shall make it good, silver, shall he pay back to the owner thereof, —and the dead beast, shall be his.
then the owner of the cistern shall repay the price of the beasts, and what is dead will belong to him.
35 And when the ox of one man thrusteth the ox of his neighbour so that it dieth, then shall they sell the live ox and divide the silver thereof, and the dead ox also, shall they divide,
If the ox of a stranger wounds the ox of another, and it has died, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the price, but the carcass of the dead one they shall distribute between them.
36 Or if it was known that, an ox, was, wont to gore, before that time, and his owner proceeded not to put him under guard, he shall surely make good, —an ox for the ox, and, the dead one, shall be his.
But if he knew that his ox had pushed with its horns, yesterday and the day before, and its owner did not confine it, then he shall repay an ox for an ox, and he will receive the whole carcass.”

< Exodus 21 >