Exodus 21

1 “Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them:

And these [are] the ordinances which you shall set before them.

2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything.

If you buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve you, and in the seventh year he shall go forth free for nothing.

3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him.

If he should have come in alone, he shall also go forth alone; and if his wife should have gone in together with him, his wife also shall go out.

4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.

Moreover, if his master give him a wife, and she have [born] him sons or daughters, the wife and the children shall be his master's; and he shall go forth alone.

5 But if the servant shall plainly say, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;’

And if the servant should answer and say, I love my master and wife and children, I will not go away free;

6 then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.

his master shall bring him to the judgement-seat of God, and then shall he bring him to the door, —to the door-post, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.

7 “If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do.

And if any one sell his daughter as a domestic, she shall not depart as the maidservants depart.

8 If she doesn’t please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.

If she be not pleasing to her master, after she has betrothed herself to him, he shall let her go free; but he is not at liberty to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has trifled with her.

9 If he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her as a daughter.

And if he should have betrothed her to his son, he shall do to her according to the right of daughters.

10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights.

And if he take another to himself, he shall not deprive her of necessaries and her apparel, and her companionship [with him].

11 If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.

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

12 “One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death,

And if any man strike another and he die, let him be certainly put to death.

13 but not if it is unintentional, but God allows it to happen; then I will appoint you a place where he shall flee.

But as for him that did it not willingly, but God delivered him into his hands, I will give you a place whither the slayer may flee.

14 If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbour to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

And if any one lie in wait for his neighbour to kill him by craft, and he go for refuge, you shall take him from my altar to put him to death.

15 “Anyone who attacks his father or his mother shall be surely put to death.

Whoever smites his father or his mother, let him be certainly put to death.

16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

He that reviles his father or his mother shall surely die.

17 “Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

Whosoever shall steal one of the children of Israel, and prevail over him and sell him, and he be found with him, let him certainly die.

18 “If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he doesn’t die, but is confined to bed;

And if two men revile each other and strike the one the other with a stone or his fist, and he die not, but be laid upon his bed;

19 if he rises again and walks around with his staff, then he who struck him shall be cleared; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for his healing until he is thoroughly healed.

if the man arise and walk abroad on his staff, he that struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for his loss of time, and for his healing.

20 “If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, the man shall surely be punished.

And if a man strike his man-servant or his maidservant, with a rod, and [the party] die under his hands, he shall be surely punished.

21 Notwithstanding, if his servant gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for the servant is his property.

But if [the servant] continue to live a day or two, let not [the master] be punished; for he is his money.

22 “If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges allow.

And if two men strive and strike a woman with child, and her child be born imperfectly formed, he shall be forced to pay a penalty: as the woman's husband may lay upon him, he shall pay with a valuation.

23 But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life,

But if it be perfectly formed, he shall 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, and bruise for bruise.

burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

26 “If a man strikes his servant’s eye, or his maid’s eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.

And if one strike the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his maidservant, and put it out, he shall let them go free for their eye's sake.

27 If he strikes out his male servant’s tooth, or his female servant’s tooth, he shall let the servant go free for his tooth’s sake.

And if he should strike out the tooth of his man-servant, or the tooth of his maidservant, he shall send them away free for their tooth's sake.

28 “If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible.

And if a bull gore a man or woman and they die, the bull shall be stoned with stones, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall be clear.

29 But if the bull had a habit of goring in the past, and this has been testified to its owner, and he has not kept it in, but it has killed a man or a woman, the bull shall be stoned, and its owner shall also be put to death.

But if the bull should have been given to goring in former time, and men should have told his owner, and he have not removed him, but he should have slain a man or woman, the bull shall be stoned, and his owner shall die also.

30 If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed.

And if a ransom should be imposed on him, he shall pay for the ransom of his soul as much as they shall lay upon him.

31 Whether it has gored a son or has gored a daughter, according to this judgement it shall be done to him.

And if [the bull] gore a son or daughter, let them do to him according to this ordinance.

32 If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.

And if the bull gore a man-servant or maidservant, he shall pay to their master thirty silver didrachmas, and the bull shall be stoned.

33 “If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and doesn’t cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,

And if any one open a pit or dig a cavity in stone, and cover it not, and an ox or an ass fall in there,

34 the owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall be his.

the owner of the pit shall make compensation; he shall give money to their owner, and the dead shall be his own.

35 “If one man’s bull injures another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live bull, and divide its price; and they shall also divide the dead animal.

And if any man's bull gore the bull of his neighbour, and it die, they shall sell the living bull and divide the money, and they shall divide the dead bull.

36 Or if it is known that the bull was in the habit of goring in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall surely pay bull for bull, and the dead animal shall be his own.

But if the bull be known to have been given to goring in time past, and they have testified to his owner, and he have not removed him, he shall repay bull for bull, but the dead shall be his own.