Exodus 21

1 And these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:

2 If thou buy a Hebrew bondman, six years shall he serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.

3 If he came in alone, he shall go out alone: if he had a wife, then his wife shall go out with him.

If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.

4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone.

If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

5 But if the bondman shall say distinctly, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free;

But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’

6 then his master shall bring him before the judges, and shall bring him to the door, or to the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall be his bondman for ever.

then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

7 And if a man shall sell his daughter as a handmaid, she shall not go out as the bondmen go out.

And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.

8 If she is unacceptable in the eyes of her master, who had taken her for himself, then shall he let her be ransomed: to sell her unto a foreign people he hath no power, after having dealt unfaithfully with her.

If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.

9 And if he have appointed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the law of daughters.

And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.

10 If he take himself another, her food, her clothing, and her conjugal rights he shall not diminish.

If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.

11 And if he do not these three things unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.

12 He that striketh a man, so that he die, shall certainly be put to death.

Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.

13 But if he have not lain in wait, and God have delivered [him] into his hand, I will appoint thee a place to which he shall flee.

If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

14 But if a man act wantonly toward his neighbour, and slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.

15 And he that striketh his father, or his mother, shall certainly be put to death.

Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death.

16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall certainly be put to death.

Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession.

17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall certainly be put to death.

Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.

18 And if men dispute, and one strike the other with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but take to [his] bed,

If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,

19 — if he rise, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that struck [him] be guiltless; only he shall pay [for] the loss of his time, and shall cause [him] to be thoroughly healed.

then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.

20 And if a man strike his bondman or his handmaid with a staff, and he die under his hand, he shall certainly be avenged.

If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.

21 Only, if he continue [to live] a day or two days, he shall not be avenged; for he is his money.

However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property.

22 And if men strive together, and strike a woman with child, so that she be delivered, and no mischief happen, he shall in any case be fined, according as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and shall give it as the judges estimate.

If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.

23 But if mischief happen, then thou shalt give life for life,

But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life—

24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 branding for branding, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe.

26 And if a man strike the eye of his bondman or the eye of his handmaid, and it be marred, he shall let him go for his eye.

If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye.

27 And if he knock out his bondman's tooth or his handmaid's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth.

And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.

28 And if an ox gore a man or a woman, so that they die, then the ox shall certainly be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be guiltless.

If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.

29 But if the ox have gored heretofore, and it have been testified to its owner, and he have not kept it in, and it kill a man or a woman, — the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.

But if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death.

30 If there be imposed on him a satisfaction, then he shall give the ransom of his life, according to what is imposed on him.

If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.

31 Whether it gore a son or gore a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done to him.

If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.

32 If the ox gore a bondman or a handmaid, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.

33 — And if a man open a pit, or if a man dig a pit, and do not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall into it,

If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

34 the owner of the pit shall make it good, shall give money to the owner of them; and the dead [ox] shall be his.

the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.

35 — And if one man's ox gore his neighbour's ox, and it die, then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money thereof, and divide the dead also.

If a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live one and divide the proceeds; they also must divide the dead animal.

36 Or if it be known that the ox have gored heretofore, and its owner have not kept him in, he shall in any case restore ox for ox; and the dead shall be his.

But if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring, yet its owner failed to restrain it, he shall pay full compensation, ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.