Exodus 21
1 Haec sunt iudicia quae propones eis.
“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:
2 Si emeris servum Hebraeum, sex annis serviet tibi: in septimo egredietur liber gratis.
If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.
3 Cum quali veste intraverit, cum tali exeat: si habens uxorem, et uxor egredietur simul.
If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.
4 Sin autem dominus dederit illi uxorem, et pepererit filios et filias: mulier et liberi eius erunt domini sui, ipse vero exibit cum vestitu suo.
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 Quod si dixerit servus: Diligo dominum meum et uxorem ac liberos, non egrediar liber:
But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’
6 offeret eum dominus diis, et applicabitur ad ostium et postes, perforabitque aurem eius subula: et erit ei servus in saeculum.
then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.
7 Si quis vendiderit filiam suam in famulam, non egredietur sicut ancillae exire consueverunt.
And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.
8 Si displicuerit oculis domini sui cui tradita fuerat, dimittet eam: populo autem alieno vendendi non habebit potestatem, si spreverit eam.
If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.
9 Sin autem filio suo desponderit eam, iuxta morem filiarum faciet illi.
And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.
10 Quod si alteram ei acceperit, providebit puellae nuptias, et vestimenta, et pretium pudicitiae non negabit.
If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.
11 Si tria ista non fecerit, egredietur gratis absque pecunia.
If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.
12 Qui percusserit hominem volens occidere, morte moriatur.
Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
13 Qui autem non est insidiatus, sed Deus illum tradidit in manus eius: constituam tibi locum in quem fugere debeat.
If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.
14 Si quis per industriam occiderit proximum suum, et per insidias: ab altari meo evelles eum, ut moriatur.
But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.
15 Qui percusserit patrem suum aut matrem, morte moriatur.
Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death.
16 Qui furatus fuerit hominem, et vendiderit eum, convictus noxae, morte moriatur.
Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession.
17 Qui maledixerit patri suo, vel matri, morte moriatur.
Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
18 Si rixati fuerint viri, et percusserit alter proximum suum lapide vel pugno, et ille mortuus non fuerit, sed iacuerit in lectulo:
If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
19 si surrexerit, et ambulaverit foris super baculum suum, innocens erit qui percusserit, ita tamen ut operas eius, et impensas in medicos restituat.
then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.
20 Qui percusserit servum suum, vel ancillam virga, et mortui fuerint in manibus eius, criminis reus erit.
If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.
21 Sin autem uno die vel duobus supervixerit, non subiacebit poenae, quia pecunia illius est.
However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property.
22 Si rixati fuerint viri, et percusserit quis mulierem praegnantem, et abortivum quidem fecerit, sed ipsa vixerit: subiacebit damno quantum maritus mulieris expetierit, et arbitri iudicaverint.
If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.
23 Sin autem mors eius fuerit subsecuta, reddet animam pro anima,
But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life—
24 oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente, manum pro manu, pedem pro pede,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 adustionem pro adustione, vulnus pro vulnere, livorem pro livore.
burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe.
26 Si percusserit quispiam oculum servi sui aut ancillae, et luscos eos fecerit, dimittet eos liberos pro oculo quem eruit.
If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye.
27 Dentem quoque si excusserit servo vel ancillae suae, similiter dimittet eos liberos.
And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.
28 Si bos cornu percusserit virum aut mulierem, et mortui fuerint, lapidibus obruetur: et non comedentur carnes eius, dominus quoque bovis innocens erit.
If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.
29 Quod si bos cornupeta fuerit ab heri et nudiustertius, et contestati sunt dominum eius, nec recluserit eum, occideritque virum aut mulierem: et bos lapidibus obruetur, et dominum eius occident.
But if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death.
30 Quod si pretium fuerit ei impositum, dabit pro anima sua quidquid fuerit postulatus.
If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.
31 Filium quoque et filiam si cornu percusserit, simili sententiae subiacebit.
If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
32 Si servum, ancillamque invaserit, triginta siclos argenti domino dabit, bos vero lapidibus opprimetur.
If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.
33 Si quis aperuerit cisternam, et foderit, et non operuerit eam, cecideritque bos aut asinus in eam,
If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34 reddet dominus cisternae pretium iumentorum: quod autem mortuum est, ipsius erit.
the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
35 Si bos alienus bovem alterius vulneraverit, et ille mortuus fuerit: vendent bovem vivum, et divident pretium, cadaver autem mortui inter se dispertient.
If a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live one and divide the proceeds; they also must divide the dead animal.
36 Sin autem sciebat quod bos cornupeta esset ab heri et nudiustertius, et non custodivit eum dominus suus: reddet bovem pro bove, et cadaver integrum accipiet.
But if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring, yet its owner failed to restrain it, he shall pay full compensation, ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.
