Exodus 21
1 These ben the domes, whiche thou schalt sette forth to hem.
Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
2 If thou biest an Ebrew seruaunt, he schal serue thee sixe yeer; in the seuenthe yeer he schal go out fre,
If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3 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.
If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 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.
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.
5 That if the seruaunt seith, Y loue my lord, and wijf, and children, Y schal not go out fre;
But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6 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.
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.
7 If ony man sillith his douyter in to seruauntesse, sche schal not go out as handmaidis weren wont to go out;
And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
8 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.
If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9 Forsothe if he weddith hir to his sonne, he schal do to hir `bi the custom of douytris;
And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10 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.
If he take him another [wife]; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11 If he doith not these thre, sche schal go out freli without money.
And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money.
12 He that smytith a man, and wole sle, die bi deeth;
He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall surely be put to death.
13 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.
And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver [him] into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14 If ony man sleeth his neiybore bi biforecastyng, and bi aspies, drawe thou hym awey fro myn auter, that he die.
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.
15 He that smytith his fadir, ether modir, die by deeth.
And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
16 He that cursith his fadir, ether modir, die bi deeth.
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
17 He that stelith a man, and sillith hym, if he is conuyt of the gilt, die bi deeth.
And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
18 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,
And if men contend, and one smiteth the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed:
19 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.
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.
20 He that smytith his seruaunt, ether handmayde, with a yerde, and thei ben deed in hise hondis, schal be gilti of cryme.
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall surely be punished.
21 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.
Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
22 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.
And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely fined, according as the woman’s husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 But if the deeth of hir sueth,
But if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 he schal yelde lijf for lijf, iye for iye, tooth for tooth, hond for hond, foot for foot,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 brennyng for brennyng, wounde `with schedyng of blood for wounde `with schedyng of blood, `a wan wounde for a wan wounde.
burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 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.
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, and destroy it; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
27 Also if he smytith out a tooth fro his seruaunt, ethir handmaide, in lijk maner he schal delyuere hem fre.
And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
28 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.
And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
29 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;
But if the ox were wont to gore in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
30 that if prijs is put to the lord, he schal yyue for his lijf what euer he is axide.
If there be laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
31 And if he smytith with horn a son, and a douytir, he schal be suget to lijk sentence.
Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32 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.
If the ox gore a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 If ony man openeth a cisterne, and diggith, and hilith it not, and an oxe ether asse fallith in to it,
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,
34 the lord of the cisterne schal yelde the prijs of the werk beestis; forsothe that that is deed schal be his.
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.
35 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.
And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it; and the dead also they shall divide.
36 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.
Or 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 [beast] shall be his own.
