Exodus 21

1 And these [are] the judgments which you set before them:

And these are the laws of justice which thou shalt set before them.

2 When you buy a Hebrew servant, he serves [for] six years, and in the seventh he goes out as a freeman for nothing;

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

3 if he comes in by himself, he goes out by himself; if he [is] owner of a wife, then his wife has gone out with him;

If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he was the husband of a woman, then shall his wife go out with him.

4 if his lord gives a wife to him, and she has borne sons or daughters to him—the wife and her children are her lord’s, and he goes out by himself.

If his master should give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters: the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out by himself.

5 And if the servant really says: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons—I do not go out free,

And if the servant should plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

6 then his lord has brought him near to God, and has brought him near to the door, or to the doorpost, and his lord has bored his ear with an awl, and he has served him for all time.

Then shall his master bring him unto the judges, and he 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 till the jubilee.

7 And when a man sells his daughter for a handmaid, she does not go out according to the going out of the menservants;

And if a man sell his daughter for a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants go out.

8 if [it is] evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he has not betrothed her, then he has let her be ransomed; he has no power to sell her to a strange people, in his dealing treacherously with her.

If she please not her master, to whom he hath assigned her, then shall he aid her to be redeemed: unto a strange nation he shall have no power to sell her, seeing he hath dealt faithlessly with her.

9 And if he betroths her to his son, he does to her according to the right of daughters.

And if he should assign her unto his son, then shall he do unto her after the right of the daughters.

10 If he takes another [woman] for him, he does not withdraw her food, her covering, and her habitation;

If he take himself another wife, her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

11 and if he does not do these three for her, then she has gone out for nothing, without money.

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

12 He who strikes a man so that he has died is certainly put to death;

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

13 as for him who has not laid wait, but God has brought [him] to his hand, I have even set a place for you to where he flees.

And if he did not lie in wait, but God let it come into his hand, then will I appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

14 And when a man presumes against his neighbor to slay him with subtlety, you take him from My altar to die.

But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile, from my altar shalt thou take him, that he may die.

15 And he who strikes his father or his mother is certainly put to death.

And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

16 And he who steals a man, and has sold him, and he has been found in his hand, is certainly put to death.

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

17 And he who is reviling his father or his mother is certainly put to death.

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

18 And when men contend, and a man has struck his neighbor with a stone, or with the fist, and he does not die, but has fallen on the bed;

And if men strive together, and one smite the other with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

19 if he rises, and has gone up and down outside on his staff, then the striker has been acquitted; he only gives [for] his cessation, and he is thoroughly healed.

If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his crutch, 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.

20 And when a man strikes his manservant or his handmaid with a rod, and he has died under his hand—he is certainly avenged;

And if a man smite his servant or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand, it shall be surely avenged.

21 only if he remains a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he [is] his money.

Nevertheless, if he continue alive a day or two, it shall not be avenged; for he is his money.

22 And when men strive, and have struck a pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no harm [to them], he is certainly fined as the husband of the woman lays on him, and he has given through the judges;

If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her children depart from her, and yet no farther mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, [with a fine, ] according as the husband of the woman will lay upon him; and he shall pay this by the decision of the judges.

23 and if there is harm [to them], then you have given life for life,

And if any mischief follow, then shalt thou give life for 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.

Burning for burning, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

26 And when a man strikes the eye of his manservant, or the eye of his handmaid, and has destroyed it, he sends him away as a freeman for his eye;

And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye.

27 and if he knocks out a tooth of his manservant or a tooth of his handmaid, he sends him away as a freeman for his tooth.

And if he strike out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

28 And when an ox gores man or woman, and they have died, the ox is certainly stoned, and his flesh is not eaten, and the owner of the ox [is] acquitted;

If an ox gore a man or a woman, that he die: then shall the ox be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

29 and if the ox is [one] accustomed to gore before, and it has been testified to its owner, and he does not watch it, and it has put to death a man or woman, the ox is stoned, and its owner is also put to death.

But if the ox were wont to gore in time past, and warning have been given to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, and he killeth a man or a woman: the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also should of right be put to death;

30 If atonement is laid on him, then he has given the ransom of his life, according to all that is laid on him;

But there shall be laid on him a sum of money in atonement, and he shall give the ransom of his life whatsoever may be laid upon him.

31 whether it gores a son or gores a daughter, according to this judgment it is done to him.

If he gore a son, or gore a daughter, according to this judgment shall be done unto him.

32 If the ox gores a manservant or a handmaid, he gives thirty silver shekels to their lord, and the ox is stoned.

If the ox gore a man-servant or a maid-servant, thirty shekels of silver shall he give to his master, and the ox shall be stoned.

33 And when a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or donkey has fallen [in] there—

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 therein:

34 the owner of the pit repays, he gives back money to its owner, and the dead is his.

The owner of the pit shall make it good, he shall make restitution in money unto the owner thereof; and the dead beast shall be his.

35 And when a man’s ox strikes the ox of his neighbor and it has died, then they have sold the living ox, and halved its money, and they also halve the dead one;

And if one man's ox hurt the ox of another, that he die: then shall they sell the live ox, and divide his money; and the dead ox also they shall divide.

36 or, [if] it has been known that the ox is [one] accustomed to gore before, and its owner does not watch it, he certainly repays ox for ox, and the dead is his.

But if it be known that the ox was wont to gore in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in: he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall belong to him.