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.
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Exodus 21: NIrV
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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 NOW THESE are the ordinances you [Moses] shall set before [the Israelites].
2 If you buy a Hebrew servant [as the result of debt or theft], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, paying nothing. [Lev. 25:39.]
3 If he came [to you] by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he came married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master has given him a wife and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out [of your service] alone.
5 But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go free,
6 Then his master shall bring him to God [the judges as His agents]; he shall bring him to the door or doorpost and shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life.
7 If a man sells his daughter to be a maidservant or bondwoman, she shall not go out [in six years] as menservants do.
8 If she does not please her master who has not espoused her to himself, he shall let her be redeemed. To sell her to a foreign people he shall have no power, for he has dealt faithlessly with her.
9 And if he espouses her to his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter.
10 If he marries again, her food, clothing, and privilege as a wife shall he not diminish.
11 And if he does not do these three things for her, then shall she go out free, without payment of money.
12 Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
13 But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God allowed him to fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee [for protection until duly tried]. [Num. 35:22-28.]
14 But if a man comes willfully upon another to slay him craftily, you shall take him from My altar [to which he may have fled for protection], that he may die.
15 Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
16 Whoever kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or is found with him in his possession, shall surely be put to death.
17 Whoever curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
18 If men quarrel and one strikes another with a stone or with his fist and he does not die but keeps his bed,
19 If he rises again and walks about leaning upon his staff, then he that struck him shall be clear, except he must pay for the loss of his time and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20 And if a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod and he [or she] dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.
21 But if the servant lives on for a day or two, the offender shall not be punished, for he [has injured] his own property.
22 If men contend with each other, and a pregnant woman [interfering] is hurt so that she has a miscarriage, yet no further damage follows, [the one who hurt her] shall surely be punished with a fine [paid] to the woman's husband, as much as the judges determine.
23 But if any damage follows, then you shall give life for life,
24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 Burn for burn, wound for wound, and lash for lash.
26 And if a man hits the eye of his servant or the eye of his maid so that it is destroyed, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
27 And if he knocks out his manservant's tooth or his maidservant's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
28 If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be clear.
29 But if the ox has tried to gore before, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it closed in and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also put to death.
30 If a ransom is put on [the man's] life, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is laid upon him.
31 If the [man's ox] has gored another's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule.
32 If the ox gores a manservant or a maidservant, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 If a man leaves a pit open or digs a pit and does not cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34 The owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to the animal's owner, but the dead beast shall be his.
35 If one man's ox hurts another's so that it dies, they shall sell the live ox and divide the price of it; the dead ox also they shall divide between them.
36 Or if it is known that the ox has gored in the past, and its owner has not kept it closed in, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.
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