Exodus 21
21
Other Laws
1“Here are the laws you must explain to the people of Israel.
Set Your Hebrew Servants Free
2“Suppose you buy a Hebrew servant. He must serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, you must set him free. He does not have to pay anything. 3If he does not have a wife when he comes, he must go free alone. But if he has a wife when he comes, she must go with him. 4Suppose his master gives him a wife. And suppose she has sons or daughters by him. Then only the man will go free. The woman and her children will belong to her master.
5“But suppose the servant says, ‘I love my master and my wife and children. I don’t want to go free.’ 6Then his master must take him to the judges. His master must take him to the door or doorpost of his master’s house. His master must poke a hole through his servant’s earlobe into the door or doorpost. Then he will become his servant for life.
7“Suppose a man sells his daughter as a servant. Then she can’t go free as male servants do. 8But what if the master who has chosen her does not like her? Then he must let the man buy her back. He has no right to sell her to strangers. He has broken his promise to her. 9What if he chooses her to marry his son? Then he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10What if her master marries another woman? He must still give the first one her food and clothes and sleep with her. 11If he does not provide her with those three things, she can go free. She does not have to pay anything.
Laws About Harming Others
12“Anyone who hits and kills someone else must be put to death. 13Suppose they did not do it on purpose. Suppose I let it happen. Then they can escape to a place I will choose. 14But suppose they kill someone on purpose. Then take them away from my altar and put them to death.
15“Anyone who attacks their father or mother must be put to death.
16“Anyone who kidnaps and sells another person must be put to death. If they still have the person with them when they are caught, they must be put to death.
17“Anyone who asks for something bad to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.
18“Suppose two people get into a fight and argue with each other. One hits the other with a stone or his fist. And the person who was hit does not die but has to stay in bed. 19And later that person gets up and walks around outside with a walking stick. Then the person who hit the other person will not be held responsible. But that person must pay the one who was hurt for the time spent in bed. The one who hit the other person must be sure that person is completely healed.
20“Suppose a person beats their male or female slave to death with a club. That person must be punished. 21But they will not be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two. After all, the slave is their property.
22“Suppose some people are fighting and one of them hits a pregnant woman. And suppose she has her baby early but is not badly hurt. Then the one who hurt her must pay a fine. That person must pay what the woman’s husband asks for and the court allows. 23But if someone is badly hurt, a life must be taken for a life. 24An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. A hand must be cut off for a hand and a foot for a foot. 25A burn must be given for a burn, a wound for a wound, and a bruise for a bruise.
26“Suppose an owner hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it. Then the owner must let the slave go free to pay for the eye. 27Suppose an owner knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave. Then he must let the slave go free to pay for the tooth.
28“Suppose a bull kills a man or woman with its horns. Then you must kill the bull by throwing stones at it. Its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held accountable. 29But suppose the bull has had the habit of attacking people. And suppose the owner has been warned but has not kept it fenced in. Then if it kills a man or woman, you must kill it with stones. The owner must also be put to death. 30But suppose payment is required of him instead. Then the owner can save his life by paying what is required. 31The same law applies if the bull wounds a son or daughter with its horns. 32Suppose the bull wounds a male or female slave. Then the owner must pay the slave’s master about 12 ounces of silver. You must kill the bull with stones.
33“Suppose someone uncovers a pit or digs one and does not cover it. And suppose an ox or donkey falls into it. 34Then the person who opened the pit must pay the animal’s owner for the loss. The dead animal will belong to the person who opened the pit.
35“Suppose someone’s bull wounds a neighbor’s bull and it dies. Then the owner and the neighbor must sell the live one. And they must share the money and the dead animal equally. 36But suppose people knew that the bull had the habit of attacking. And suppose the owner did not keep it fenced in. Then the owner must give another animal to pay for the dead animal. And the dead animal will belong to the owner.
Currently Selected:
Exodus 21: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Exodus 21
21
1“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:
Laws about Slaves
2“When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man#21:2 Lit to go forth without paying anything.#Dt 4:14; Jr 34:14 3If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with#21:3 Lit he is the husband of a wife, his wife is to leave with him. 4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.
5“But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’#Dt 15:16–17 6his master is to bring him to the judges#21:6 Or to God; that is, to his sanctuary or court and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.
7“When a man sells his daughter as a concubine,#21:7 Or servant she is not to leave as the male slaves do.#Neh 5:5 8If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her. 9Or if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her according to the customary treatment of daughters. 10If he takes an additional wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.#1Co 7:5 11And if he does not do these three things for her, she may leave free of charge, without any payment.#21:11 She doesn’t have to pay any redemption price.
Laws about Personal Injury
12“Whoever strikes a person so that he dies must be put to death.#Gn 9:6; Mt 26:52 13But if he did not intend any harm,#21:13 Lit he was not lying in wait and yet God allowed it to happen, I will appoint a place for you where he may flee.#Nm 35:11,22–25; Dt 19:2–5; Jos 20:2–9; 1Sm 24:4,10,18 14If a person schemes and willfully#21:14 Or maliciously acts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from my altar to be put to death.#Dt 19:11–12; 1Kg 2:28–34
15“Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.
16“Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession.#Gn 37:28; Ex 22:4; Dt 24:7
17“Whoever curses his father or his mother must be put to death.#Lv 20:9; Mt 15:4; Mk 7:10
18“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed, 19if he can later get up and walk around outside leaning on his staff, then the one who struck him will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time#21:19 Lit his inactivity and provide for his complete recovery.
20“When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse,#21:20 Lit hand the owner must be punished.#21:20 Or must suffer vengeance 21However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished#21:21 Or not suffer vengeance because he is his owner’s property.#21:21 Lit silver#Lv 25:44–46
22“When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands#Ex 21:30; Dt 22:18–19 from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment. 23If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth,#Lv 24:20; Dt 19:21; Mt 5:38 hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.
26“When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye. 27If he knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his tooth.
28“When an ox#21:28 Or a bull, or a steer gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned,#Gn 9:5 and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent. 29However, if the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner must also be put to death. 30If instead a ransom#Nm 35:31 is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him. 31If it gores a son or a daughter, he is to be dealt with according to this same law. 32If the ox gores a male or female slave, he must give thirty shekels#Zch 11:12; Mt 26:15; 27:3,9 of silver#21:32 About one pound of silver to the slave’s master, and the ox must be stoned.
33“When a man uncovers a pit or digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34the owner of the pit must give compensation; he must pay to its owner, but the dead animal will become his.
35“When a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live ox and divide its proceeds; they must also divide the dead animal. 36If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not restrained it, he must compensate fully, ox for ox; the dead animal will become his.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers