21:1 ¹ 

“These are the decisions that you will set before them:

21:2 ² 

“If you buy ³  a Hebrew servant, ⁴  he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free ⁵  without paying anything. ⁶  21:3 If he came ⁷  in by himself ⁸  he will go out by himself; if he had ⁹  a wife when he came in, then his wife will go out with him. 21:4 If his master gave ¹⁰  him a wife, and she bore sons or daughters, the wife and the children will belong to her master, and he will go out by himself. 21:5 But if the servant should declare, ¹¹  ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out ¹²  free,’ 21:6 then his master must bring him to the judges, ¹³  and he will bring him to the door or the doorposts, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. ¹⁴ 

21:7 “If a man sells his daughter ¹⁵  as a female servant, ¹⁶  she will not go out as the male servants do. 21:8 If she does not please ¹⁷  her master, who has designated her ¹⁸  for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. ¹⁹  He has no right ²⁰  to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully ²¹  with her. 21:9 If he designated her for his son, then he will deal with her according to the customary rights ²²  of daughters. 21:10 If he takes another wife, ²³  he must not diminish the first one’s food, ²⁴  her clothing, or her marital rights. ²⁵  21:11 If he does not provide her with these three things, then she will go out free, without paying money. ²⁶ 

21:12 ²⁷ 

“Whoever strikes someone ²⁸  so that he dies ²⁹  must surely be put to death. ³⁰  21:13 But if he does not do it with premeditation, ³¹  but it happens by accident, ³²  then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 21:14 But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly, ³³  you will take him even from my altar that he may die.

21:15 “Whoever strikes ³⁴  his father or his mother must surely be put to death.

21:16 “Whoever kidnaps someone ³⁵  and sells him, ³⁶  or is caught still holding him, ³⁷  must surely be put to death.

21:17 “Whoever treats his father or his mother disgracefully ³⁸  must surely be put to death.

21:18 “If men fight, and one strikes his neighbor with a stone or with his fist and he does not die, but must remain in bed, ³⁹  21:19 and then ⁴⁰  if he gets up and walks about ⁴¹  outside on his staff, then the one who struck him is innocent, except he must pay ⁴²  for the injured person’s ⁴³  loss of time ⁴⁴  and see to it that he is fully healed.

21:20 “If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she ⁴⁵  dies as a result of the blow, ⁴⁶  he will surely be punished. ⁴⁷  21:21 However, if the injured servant ⁴⁸  survives one or two days, the owner ⁴⁹  will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss. ⁵⁰ 

21:22 “If men fight and hit a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, ⁵¹  but there is no serious injury, he will surely be punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he will pay what the court decides. ⁵²  21:23 But if there is serious injury, then you will give a life for a life, 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. ⁵³ 

21:26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it, ⁵⁴  he will let the servant ⁵⁵  go free ⁵⁶  as compensation for the eye. 21:27 If he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or his female servant, he will let the servant ⁵⁷  go free as compensation for the tooth.

21:28 ⁵⁸ 

“If an ox ⁵⁹  gores a man or a woman so that either dies, ⁶⁰  then the ox must surely ⁶¹  be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted. 21:29 But if the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner was warned, ⁶²  and he did not take the necessary precautions, ⁶³  and then it killed a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned and the man must be put to death. 21:30 If a ransom is set for him, ⁶⁴  then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for him. 21:31 If the ox ⁶⁵  gores a son or a daughter, the owner ⁶⁶  will be dealt with according to this rule. ⁶⁷  21:32 If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner ⁶⁸  must pay thirty shekels of silver, ⁶⁹  and the ox must be stoned. ⁷⁰ 

21:33 “If a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 21:34 the owner of the pit must repay ⁷¹  the loss. He must give money ⁷²  to its owner, and the dead animal ⁷³  will become his. 21:35 If the ox of one man injures the ox of his neighbor so that it dies, then they will sell the live ox and divide its proceeds, ⁷⁴  and they will also divide the dead ox. ⁷⁵  21:36 Or if it is known that the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner did not take the necessary precautions, he must surely pay ⁷⁶  ox for ox, and the dead animal will become his. ⁷⁷ 

22:1 ⁷⁸ 

⁷⁹  “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back ⁸⁰  five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep. ⁸¹ 

22:2 “If a thief is caught ⁸²  breaking in ⁸³  and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guilt for him. ⁸⁴  22:3 If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief ⁸⁵  must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft. 22:4 If the stolen item should in fact be found ⁸⁶  alive in his possession, ⁸⁷  whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he must pay back double. ⁸⁸ 

22:5 “If a man grazes ⁸⁹  his livestock ⁹⁰  in a field or a vineyard, and he lets the livestock loose and they graze in the field of another man, he must make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

22:6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads ⁹¹  to thorn bushes, ⁹²  so that stacked grain or standing grain or the whole field is consumed, the one who started ⁹³  the fire must surely make restitution.

22:7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or articles ⁹⁴  for safekeeping, ⁹⁵  and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, ⁹⁶  he must repay double. 22:8 If the thief is not caught, ⁹⁷  then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges ⁹⁸  to see ⁹⁹  whether he has laid ¹⁰⁰  his hand on his neighbor’s goods. 22:9 In all cases of illegal possessions, ¹⁰¹  whether for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any kind of lost item, about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’ ¹⁰²  the matter of the two of them will come before the judges, ¹⁰³  and the one whom ¹⁰⁴  the judges declare guilty ¹⁰⁵  must repay double to his neighbor. 22:10 If a man gives his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep, and it dies or is hurt ¹⁰⁶  or is carried away ¹⁰⁷  without anyone seeing it, ¹⁰⁸  22:11 then there will be an oath to the Lord ¹⁰⁹  between the two of them, that he has not laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods, and its owner will accept this, and he will not have to pay. 22:12 But if it was stolen ¹¹⁰  from him, ¹¹¹  he will pay its owner. 22:13 If it is torn in pieces, then he will bring it for evidence, ¹¹²  and he will not have to pay for what was torn.

22:14 “If a man borrows an animal ¹¹³  from his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it ¹¹⁴  will surely pay. 22:15 If its owner was with it, he will not have to pay; if it was hired, what was paid for the hire covers it. ¹¹⁵ 

22:16 ¹¹⁶ 

“If a man seduces a virgin ¹¹⁷  who is not engaged ¹¹⁸  and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow ¹¹⁹  her to be his wife. 22:17 If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay money for the bride price of virgins.

22:18 “You must not allow a sorceress to live. ¹²⁰ 

22:19 “Whoever has sexual relations ¹²¹  with a beast must surely be put to death.

22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord ¹²²  alone must be utterly destroyed. ¹²³ 

22:21 “You must not wrong ¹²⁴  a foreigner ¹²⁵  nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

22:22 “You must not afflict ¹²⁶  any widow or orphan. 22:23 If you afflict them ¹²⁷  in any way ¹²⁸  and they cry to me, I will surely hear ¹²⁹  their cry, 22:24 and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless. ¹³⁰ 

22:25 “If you lend money to any of ¹³¹  my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender ¹³²  to him; do not charge ¹³³  him interest. ¹³⁴  22:26 If you do take ¹³⁵  the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, ¹³⁶  22:27 for it is his only covering – it is his garment for his body. ¹³⁷  What else can he sleep in? ¹³⁸  And ¹³⁹  when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

22:28 “You must not blaspheme ¹⁴⁰  God ¹⁴¹  or curse the ruler of your people.

22:29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. ¹⁴²  You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 22:30 You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.

22:31 “You will be holy ¹⁴³  people to me; you must not eat any meat torn by animals in the field. ¹⁴⁴  You must throw it to the dogs.

23:1 ¹⁴⁵ 

“You must not give ¹⁴⁶  a false report. ¹⁴⁷  Do not make common cause ¹⁴⁸  with the wicked ¹⁴⁹  to be a malicious ¹⁵⁰  witness.

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ¹⁵¹  in doing evil things; ¹⁵²  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ¹⁵³  23:3 and you must not show partiality ¹⁵⁴  to a poor man in his lawsuit.

23:4 “If you encounter ¹⁵⁵  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ¹⁵⁶  it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ¹⁵⁷  but be sure to help ¹⁵⁸  him with it. ¹⁵⁹ 

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 23:7 Keep your distance ¹⁶⁰  from a false charge ¹⁶¹  – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, ¹⁶²  for I will not justify the wicked. ¹⁶³ 

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see ¹⁶⁴  and subverts the words of the righteous.

23:9 “You must not oppress ¹⁶⁵  a foreigner, since you know the life ¹⁶⁶  of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

23:10 ¹⁶⁷ 

“For six years ¹⁶⁸  you are to sow your land and gather in its produce. 23:11 But in the seventh year ¹⁶⁹  you must let it lie fallow and leave it alone so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave any animal in the field ¹⁷⁰  may eat; you must do likewise with your vineyard and your olive grove. 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired help ¹⁷¹  may refresh themselves. ¹⁷² 

23:13 “Pay attention to do ¹⁷³  everything I have told you, and do not even mention ¹⁷⁴  the names of other gods – do not let them be heard on your lips. ¹⁷⁵ 

23:14 “Three times ¹⁷⁶  in the year you must make a pilgrim feast ¹⁷⁷  to me. 23:15 You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days ¹⁷⁸  you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time ¹⁷⁹  you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before ¹⁸⁰  me empty-handed.

23:16 “You are also to observe ¹⁸¹  the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year ¹⁸²  when you have gathered in ¹⁸³  your harvest ¹⁸⁴  out of the field. 23:17 At ¹⁸⁵  three times in the year all your males will appear before the Lord God. ¹⁸⁶ 

23:18 “You must not offer ¹⁸⁷  the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning. ¹⁸⁸  23:19 The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.

“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. ¹⁸⁹ 

23:20 ¹⁹⁰ 

“I am going to send ¹⁹¹  an angel ¹⁹²  before you to protect you as you journey ¹⁹³  and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. ¹⁹⁴  23:21 Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name ¹⁹⁵  is in him. 23:22 But if you diligently obey him ¹⁹⁶  and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries. 23:23 For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them completely. ¹⁹⁷ 

23:24 “You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones ¹⁹⁸  to pieces. ¹⁹⁹  23:25 You must serve ²⁰⁰  the Lord your God, and he ²⁰¹  will bless your bread and your water, ²⁰²  and I will remove sickness from your midst. 23:26 No woman will miscarry her young ²⁰³  or be barren in your land. I will fulfill ²⁰⁴  the number of your days.

23:27 “I will send my terror ²⁰⁵  before you, and I will destroy ²⁰⁶  all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs ²⁰⁷  to you. 23:28 I will send ²⁰⁸  hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you. 23:29 I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals ²⁰⁹  multiply against you. 23:30 Little by little ²¹⁰  I will drive them out before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land. 23:31 I will set ²¹¹  your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River, ²¹²  for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

23:32 “You must make no covenant with them or with their gods. 23:33 They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare ²¹³  to you.”