Exodus 21
1 These ben the domes, whiche thou schalt sette forth to hem.
“Now these are the ordinances which you shall 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 you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything.
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 comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is 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 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.
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 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.
7 If ony man sillith his douyter in to seruauntesse, sche schal not go out as handmaidis weren wont to go out;
“If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants 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 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.
9 Forsothe if he weddith hir to his sonne, he schal do to hir `bi the custom of douytris;
If he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her as a daughter.
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 takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights.
11 If he doith not these thre, sche schal go out freli without money.
If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.
12 He that smytith a man, and wole sle, die bi deeth;
“One who strikes a man so that he dies 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.
but not if it is unintentional, but God allows it to happen; then I will appoint you a place where 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.
If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbour to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15 He that smytith his fadir, ether modir, die by deeth.
“Anyone who attacks his father or his mother shall be surely put to death.
16 He that cursith his fadir, ether modir, die bi deeth.
“Anyone who kidnaps someone and sells him, or if he is 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.
“Anyone who curses 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,
“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;
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 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.
20 He that smytith his seruaunt, ether handmayde, with a yerde, and thei ben deed in hise hondis, schal be gilti of cryme.
“If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, the man 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 his servant gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for the servant is his property.
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.
“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.
23 But if the deeth of hir sueth,
But if any harm follows, then you must take 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, and bruise for bruise.
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.
“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.
27 Also if he smytith out a tooth fro his seruaunt, ethir handmaide, in lijk maner he schal delyuere hem fre.
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.
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.
“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.
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 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.
30 that if prijs is put to the lord, he schal yyue for his lijf what euer he is axide.
If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed.
31 And if he smytith with horn a son, and a douytir, he schal be suget to lijk sentence.
Whether it has gored a son or has gored a daughter, according to this judgement it shall be done to 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 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.
33 If ony man openeth a cisterne, and diggith, and hilith it not, and an oxe ether asse fallith in to it,
“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,
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 to its owner, and the dead animal 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.
“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.
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 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.
