Exodus 21

1 Now these are the lawes, which thou shalt set before them:

“Here are some [other] instructions to give to [the Israeli people]:

2 If thou bye an Ebrewe seruant, he shall serue sixe yeres, and in the seuenth he shall go out free, for nothing.

When/If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve you for [only] six years. In the seventh year you must free him [from being your slave], and he is not required to pay you anything [for setting him free].

3 If he came himselfe alone, he shall goe out himselfe alone: if hee were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

If he was not married before he became your slave, and if he marries [someone while he is your slave], his wife is not to be set free [with him]. But if he was married before he became your slave, you must free both him and his wife.

4 If his master haue giuen him a wife, and she hath borne him sonnes or daughters, he wife and her children shalbe her masters, but he shall goe out himselfe alone.

If a slave’s master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters [while her husband is a slave], only the man is to be freed. His wife and children will continue to be slaves of their master.

5 But if the seruant saye thus, I loue my master, my wife and my children, I will not goe out free,

But when it is time for the slave to be set free, if the slave says, ‘I love my master and my wife and my children, and I do not want to be set free,’

6 Then his master shall bring him vnto the Iudges, and set him to the dore, or to the poste, and his master shall bore his eare through with a nawle, and he shall serue him for euer.

then his master must take him to [the place where they worship] God (OR, to [the owner’s] house). There he must make the slave stand against the door or the doorpost. Then the master will use an (awl/pointed metal rod) to make a hole in the slave’s ear. Then [he will fasten a tag to the slave’s ear to indicate that] (he will own that slave for the rest of his life/he will own the slave as long as the slave lives).

7 Likewise if a man sell his daughter to be a seruant, she shall not goe out as the men seruantes doe.

If a man sells his daughter to become a slave, she should not be set free [after six years], as the male slaves are.

8 If shee please not her master, who hath betrothed her to him selfe, then shall hee cause to buy her: hee shall haue no power to sell her to a strange people, seeing he despised her.

If the man who bought her wanted her to be his wife, but if [later] he is not pleased with her, he must sell her back to her father. He must not sell her to a foreigner, because that would be breaking the contract/agreement [he made with the girl’s father].

9 But if he hath betrothed her vnto his sonne, he shall deale with her according to the custome of the daughters.

If the man who buys her wants her to be a wife for his son, he must then treat her as though she were his own daughter.

10 If he take him another wife, he shall not diminish her foode, her rayment, and recompence of her virginitie.

If the master takes another slave girl to be another wife for himself, he must continue to give the first slave wife the same amount of food and clothing that he gave to her before, and he must continue to have sex [EUP] with her as before.

11 And if he do not these three vnto her, the shall she go out free, paying no money.

If he does not do all these three things for her, he must free her [from being a slave], and she is not required to pay anything [for being set free].

12 He that smiteth a man, and he die, shall dye the death.

You must execute anyone who strikes another person with the result that the person who is struck dies.

13 And if a man hath not layed wayte, but God hath offered him into his hande, then I wil appoynt thee a place whither he shall flee.

But if the one who struck the other did not intend to kill that person, the one who struck him can escape to a place that I will choose for you, [and he will be safe there].

14 But if a man come presumptuously vpon his neighbour to slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

But if someone gets angry with another person and kills him, even if the murderer runs to the altar, [a place that God designated as a place to be safe], you must execute him.

15 Also hee that smiteth his father or his mother, shall die the death.

Anyone who strikes his father or mother must surely be executed.

16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, if it be founde with him, shall die the death.

Anyone who kidnaps another person, either in order to sell that person or to keep him as a slave, must be executed.

17 And hee that curseth his father or his mother, shall die the death.

Anyone who reviles/curses his father or his mother must be executed.

18 When men also striue together, and one smite another with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but lieth in bed,

Suppose two people fight, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist. And suppose the person he strikes does not die but is injured and has to stay in bed [for a while],

19 If hee rise againe and walke without vpon his staffe, then shall he that smote him go quite, saue onely hee shall beare his charges for his resting, and shall pay for his healing.

and later he is able to walk outside using a cane. Then the person who struck him does not have to be punished. However, he must pay the injured person the money he could not earn [while he was recovering], and he must also pay the injured person’s medical expenses until that person is well.

20 And if a man smite his seruant, or his maide with a rod, and he die vnder his hande, he shalbe surely punished.

If someone strikes his male or female slave with a stick, if the slave dies (immediately/as a result) [IDM], the one who struck him must be punished.

21 But if he continue a day, or two dayes, hee shall not be punished: for he is his money.

But if the slave lives for a day or two after he is struck [and then dies], you must not punish the one who struck him. Not having that slave to be able to work for him any longer is enough punishment.

22 Also if men striue and hurt a woman with childe, so that her childe depart from her, and death follow not, hee shall bee surely punished according as the womans husband shall appoynt him, or he shall pay as the Iudges determine.

Suppose two people are fighting and they hurt a pregnant woman with the result that (she has a miscarriage/her baby is born prematurely and dies). If the woman is not harmed in any other way, the one who injured her must pay a fine. He must pay whatever the woman’s husband demands, after a judge approves of the fine.

23 But if death follow, then thou shalt paye life for life,

But if the woman is injured in some additional way, the one who injured her must be caused to suffer in exactly the same way [that he caused her to suffer]. If she dies, he must be executed.

24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hande for hand, foote for foote,

If her eye is injured or destroyed, or if he knocks out one of her teeth, or her hand or foot is injured, or if she is burned or bruised, the one who injured her must be injured in the same way.

25 Burning for burning, wound for wounde, stripe for stripe.

26 And if a man smite his seruant in the eie, or his maide in the eye, and hath perished it, hee shall let him goe free for his eye.

If the owner of a slave strikes the eye of his male or female slave and ruins it, he must free that slave because of [what he did to] the slave’s eye.

27 Also if he smite out his seruants tooth, or his maides tooth, he shall let him goe out free for his tooth.

If someone knocks out one of his slave’s teeth, he must free the slave because of [what he did to] the slave’s tooth.

28 If an oxe gore a man or a woman, that he die, the oxe shalbe stoned to death, and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the oxe shall goe quite.

If a bull gores a man or woman with the result that the person dies, you [must kill the bull by] throwing stones at it, but you must not punish the owner of the bull.

29 If the oxe were wont to push in times past, and it hath bene tolde his master, and hee hath not kept him, and after he killeth a man or a woman, the oxe shall be stoned, and his owner shall die also.

But suppose the bull had attacked people several times before, and its owner had been warned, but he did not keep the bull inside a fence. Then you [must kill the bull by] throwing stones at it, but you must also execute its owner.

30 If there be set to him a summe of mony, then he shall pay the raunsome of his life, whatsoeuer shalbe laied vpon him.

However, if the owner of the bull is allowed to pay a fine (to save his own life/in order not to be executed), he must pay the full amount that the judges say that he must pay.

31 Whether he hath gored a sonne or gored a daughter, he shalbe iudged after the same maner.

If someone’s bull attacks and gores another person’s son or daughter, you must treat the bull’s owner according to that same rule.

32 If the oxe gore a seruant or a mayde, hee shall giue vnto their master thirtie shekels of siluer, and the oxe shalbe stoned.

If a bull attacks and gores a male or female slave, its owner must pay to the slave’s owner 30 pieces of silver. Then you must [kill the bull by] throwing stones at it.

33 And when a man shall open a well, or when he shall dig a pit and couer it not, and an oxe or an asse fall therein,

Suppose someone has a pit/cistern and does not keep it covered, and someone’s bull or donkey falls into it [and dies].

34 The owner of the pit shall make it good, and giue money to the owners thereof, but the dead beast shalbe his.

Then the owner of the pit/cistern must pay for the animal that died. He must give the money to the animal’s owner, but then he can take away the animal that died and [do whatever he wants to with it].

35 And if a mans oxe hurt his neighbours oxe that he die, then they shall sel the liue oxe, and deuide the money thereof, and the dead oxe also they shall deuide.

If someone’s bull hurts another person’s bull with the result that it dies, the owners of both bulls must sell the bull that is living, and they must divide [between them] the money [that they receive] for it. They must also divide [between them the meat of] the animal that died.

36 Or if it bee knowen that the oxe hath vsed to push in times past, and his master hath not kept him, he shall pay oxe for oxe, but the dead shall be his owne.

However, if people know that the bull often attacked other animals previously, and its owner did not keep it inside a fence, then the owner of that bull must give the owner of the bull that died one of his own bulls, but he can take away the animal that died [and do with it whatever he wants to do].”