Exodus 21

1 Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.

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

2 If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall 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 come in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he be married, 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 give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

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 servant shall plainly say: I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out 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 unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him 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 sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.

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

8 If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed; to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully 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 espouse her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

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

10 If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment, and her conjugal rights, shall he 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 unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money.

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

12 He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death.

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

13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God cause it to come to hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he may 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 And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to 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 smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely 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 surely 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 surely be put to death.

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

18 And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep 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 again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit; 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 smite his bondman, or his bondwoman, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be punished.

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

21 Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished; 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 hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

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 any harm follow, 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 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

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

26 And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.

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 smite out his bondman's tooth, or his bondwoman's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.

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, that they die, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

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 was wont to gore in time past, and warning hath been given to its owner, and he hath not kept it in, but it hath killed 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 laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

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

31 Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto 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 bondwoman, he shall give unto 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 shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein,

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; he shall give money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast 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 hurt another's, so that it dieth; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it; and the dead also they shall divide.

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 was wont to gore in time past, and its owner hath not kept it in; he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his own.

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.