Exodus 21
1 “Here are some [other] instructions to give to [the Israeli people]:
These ben the domes, whiche thou schalt sette forth to hem.
2 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].
If thou biest an Ebrew seruaunt, he schal serue thee sixe yeer; in the seuenthe yeer he schal go out fre,
3 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.
with out prijs; with what maner clooth he entride, with siche clooth go he out; if he entride hauynge a wijf, and the wijf schal go out to gidere.
4 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.
But if the lord of the servaunt yaf a wijf to hym, and sche childide sones and douytris, the womman and hir children schulen be hir lordis; sotheli the seruaunt schal go out with his owne clooth.
5 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,’
That if the seruaunt seith, Y loue my lord, and wijf, and children, Y schal not go out fre;
6 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).
the lord brynge hym to goddis, that is, iugis; and he schal be set to the dore, and postis; and the lord schal perse his eere with a nal, and he schal be seruaunt to hym til in to the world.
7 If a man sells his daughter to become a slave, she should not be set free [after six years], as the male slaves are.
If ony man sillith his douyter in to seruauntesse, sche schal not go out as handmaidis weren wont to go out;
8 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].
if sche displesith in the iyen of hir lord, to whom sche was bitakun, he schal delyuere hir; sotheli he schal not haue power to sille hir to an alien puple, if he forsakith hir.
9 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.
Forsothe if he weddith hir to his sonne, he schal do to hir `bi the custom of douytris;
10 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.
that if he takith another womman to hym, he schal puruey to the damysele weddingis, and clothis, and he schal not denye the prijs of chastite.
11 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].
If he doith not these thre, sche schal go out freli without money.
12 You must execute anyone who strikes another person with the result that the person who is struck dies.
He that smytith a man, and wole sle, die bi deeth;
13 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].
forsothe if a man settide not aspies, but God `bitook hym in to hise hondis, Y schal ordeyne a place to thee, whidur he owith to fle.
14 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.
If ony man sleeth his neiybore bi biforecastyng, and bi aspies, drawe thou hym awey fro myn auter, that he die.
15 Anyone who strikes his father or mother must surely be executed.
He that smytith his fadir, ether modir, die by deeth.
16 Anyone who kidnaps another person, either in order to sell that person or to keep him as a slave, must be executed.
He that cursith his fadir, ether modir, die bi deeth.
17 Anyone who reviles/curses his father or his mother must be executed.
He that stelith a man, and sillith hym, if he is conuyt of the gilt, die bi deeth.
18 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],
If men chiden, and the tother smyte his neiybore with a stoon, ether with the fist, and he is not deed, but liggith in the bed,
19 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.
if he risith, and goith forth on his staf, he that smoot schal be innocent; so netheles that he restore hise trauelis, and costis in lechis.
20 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.
He that smytith his seruaunt, ether handmayde, with a yerde, and thei ben deed in hise hondis, schal be gilti of cryme.
21 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.
Sotheli if the seruaunt ouerlyueth o dai, ether tweyne, he schal not be suget to peyne, `that is of deeth, for the seruaunt is his catel.
22 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.
If men chiden, and a man smytith a womman with childe, and sotheli makith the child deed borun, but the womman ouerlyueth, he schal be suget to the harm, as myche as the `hosebonde of the womman axith, and the iugis demen.
23 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.
But if the deeth of hir sueth,
24 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.
he schal yelde lijf for lijf, iye for iye, tooth for tooth, hond for hond, foot for foot,
brennyng for brennyng, wounde `with schedyng of blood for wounde `with schedyng of blood, `a wan wounde for a wan wounde.
26 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.
If a man smytith the iye of his seruaunt, ethir of handmaide, and makith hem oon iyed, he schal delyuere hem fre for `the iye which he puttide out.
27 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.
Also if he smytith out a tooth fro his seruaunt, ethir handmaide, in lijk maner he schal delyuere hem fre.
28 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.
If an oxe smytith with horn a man, ether a womman, and thei ben deed, the oxe schal be oppressid with stoonus, and hise fleischis schulen not be etun, and the lord of the oxe schal be innocent.
29 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.
That if the oxe was `a pultere with horn fro yisterdai and the thridde dai ago, and men warneden `the lord of hym, nether the lord closide hym, and he sleeth a man, ethir womman, bothe the oxe schal be oppressid with stoonus, and thei schulen sle `the lord of hym;
30 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.
that if prijs is put to the lord, he schal yyue for his lijf what euer he is axide.
31 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.
And if he smytith with horn a son, and a douytir, he schal be suget to lijk sentence.
32 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.
If the oxe asailith a seruaunt, and handmaide, the lord of the oxe schal yyue thretti siclis of siluer to `his lord; forsothe the oxe schal be oppressid with stoonus.
33 Suppose someone has a pit/cistern and does not keep it covered, and someone’s bull or donkey falls into it [and dies].
If ony man openeth a cisterne, and diggith, and hilith it not, and an oxe ether asse fallith in to it,
34 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].
the lord of the cisterne schal yelde the prijs of the werk beestis; forsothe that that is deed schal be his.
35 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.
If another mannus oxe woundith the oxe of another man, and he is deed, thei schulen sille the quyke oxe, and thei schulen departe the prijs; forsothe thei schulen departe bitwixe hem the karkeis of the deed oxe.
36 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].”
Forsothe if his lord wiste, that the oxe was a puttere fro yistirdai and the thridde dai ago, and kepte not him, he schal yelde oxe for oxe, and he schal take the hool carkeys.
