שמות 21

1 ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם׃

“Here are some [other] instructions to give to [the Israeli people]:

2 כי תקנה עבד עברי שש שנים יעבד ובשבעת יצא לחפשי חנם׃

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].

3 אם בגפו יבא בגפו יצא אם בעל אשה הוא ויצאה אשתו עמו׃

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.

4 אם אדניו יתן לו אשה וילדה לו בנים או בנות האשה וילדיה תהיה לאדניה והוא יצא בגפו׃

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.

5 ואם אמר יאמר העבד אהבתי את אדני את אשתי ואת בני לא אצא חפשי׃

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,’

6 והגישו אדניו אל האלהים והגישו אל הדלת או אל המזוזה ורצע אדניו את אזנו במרצע ועבדו לעלם׃

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).

7 וכי ימכר איש את בתו לאמה לא תצא כצאת העבדים׃

If a man sells his daughter to become a slave, she should not be set free [after six years], as the male slaves are.

8 אם רעה בעיני אדניה אשר לא יעדה והפדה לעם נכרי לא ימשל למכרה בבגדו בה׃

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].

9 ואם לבנו ייעדנה כמשפט הבנות יעשה לה׃

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.

10 אם אחרת יקח לו שארה כסותה וענתה לא יגרע׃

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.

11 ואם שלש אלה לא יעשה לה ויצאה חנם אין כסף׃

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].

12 מכה איש ומת מות יומת׃

You must execute anyone who strikes another person with the result that the person who is struck dies.

13 ואשר לא צדה והאלהים אנה לידו ושמתי לך מקום אשר ינוס שמה׃

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].

14 וכי יזד איש על רעהו להרגו בערמה מעם מזבחי תקחנו למות׃

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.

15 ומכה אביו ואמו מות יומת׃

Anyone who strikes his father or mother must surely be executed.

16 וגנב איש ומכרו ונמצא בידו מות יומת׃

Anyone who kidnaps another person, either in order to sell that person or to keep him as a slave, must be executed.

17 ומקלל אביו ואמו מות יומת׃

Anyone who reviles/curses his father or his mother must be executed.

18 וכי יריבן אנשים והכה איש את רעהו באבן או באגרף ולא ימות ונפל למשכב׃

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],

19 אם יקום והתהלך בחוץ על משענתו ונקה המכה רק שבתו יתן ורפא ירפא׃

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.

20 וכי יכה איש את עבדו או את אמתו בשבט ומת תחת ידו נקם ינקם׃

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.

21 אך אם יום או יומים יעמד לא יקם כי כספו הוא׃

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.

22 וכי ינצו אנשים ונגפו אשה הרה ויצאו ילדיה ולא יהיה אסון ענוש יענש כאשר ישית עליו בעל האשה ונתן בפללים׃

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.

23 ואם אסון יהיה ונתתה נפש תחת נפש׃

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.

24 עין תחת עין שן תחת שן יד תחת יד רגל תחת רגל׃

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.

25 כויה תחת כויה פצע תחת פצע חבורה תחת חבורה׃

26 וכי יכה איש את עין עבדו או את עין אמתו ושחתה לחפשי ישלחנו תחת עינו׃

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.

27 ואם שן עבדו או שן אמתו יפיל לחפשי ישלחנו תחת שנו׃

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.

28 וכי יגח שור את איש או את אשה ומת סקול יסקל השור ולא יאכל את בשרו ובעל השור נקי׃

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.

29 ואם שור נגח הוא מתמל שלשם והועד בבעליו ולא ישמרנו והמית איש או אשה השור יסקל וגם בעליו יומת׃

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.

30 אם כפר יושת עליו ונתן פדין נפשו ככל אשר יושת עליו׃

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.

31 או בן יגח או בת יגח כמשפט הזה יעשה לו׃

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.

32 אם עבד יגח השור או אמה כסף שלשים שקלים יתן לאדניו והשור יסקל׃

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.

33 וכי יפתח איש בור או כי יכרה איש בר ולא יכסנו ונפל שמה שור או חמור׃

Suppose someone has a pit/cistern and does not keep it covered, and someone’s bull or donkey falls into it [and dies].

34 בעל הבור ישלם כסף ישיב לבעליו והמת יהיה לו׃

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].

35 וכי יגף שור איש את שור רעהו ומת ומכרו את השור החי וחצו את כספו וגם את המת יחצון׃

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.

36 או נודע כי שור נגח הוא מתמול שלשם ולא ישמרנו בעליו שלם ישלם שור תחת השור והמת יהיה לו׃

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].”