Laws for Living

21 Then God said to Moses, “These are the ·laws for living [regulations] that you will ·give to the Israelites [^Lset before them]:

² “·If [or When] you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. In the seventh year you are to set him free, ·and he will have to pay nothing [with no debt]. ³ If he ·is not married when he becomes your slave [^Lcame single/alone], he must leave ·without a wife [^Lsingle; alone]. But if he ·is married when he becomes your slave [^Lcomes in with a wife], he may ·take [^Lgo out with] his wife with him. ⁴ If the slave’s master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the woman and her children will belong to the master. ·When the slave is set free, only he may leave [^LHe will go out single/alone].

⁵ “But if the slave says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, and I don’t want to go free,’ ⁶ then the slave’s master must take him to ·God [^Tthe judges; ^CHebrew: Elohim]. The master is to take him to a door or ·doorframe [doorpost] and ·punch a hole through [pierce] the slave’s ear using ·a sharp tool [an awl]. Then the slave will serve that master all his life.

⁷ “·If [or When] a man sells his daughter as a slave, ·the rules for setting her free are different from the rules for setting the male slaves free [^Lshe will not go out like male slaves go out]. ⁸ If ·the master wanted to marry her but then decided he was not pleased with her [^Lshe does not please her master who designated her for himself], he must let ·one of her close relatives buy her back [^Lher be redeemed]. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has treated her unfairly. ⁹ If the man ·who bought her promises to let the woman marry [^Ldesignated her for] his son, he must ·treat her as [give her the rights of] a daughter. ¹⁰ If ·the man who bought her marries another woman [he takes another wife], he must not ·keep his first wife from having [deprive her of] food or clothing or ·sexual relations [marital rights]. ¹¹ If he does not give her these three things, she may go free, ·and she owes him no money [^Lwith no debt; Lev. 25:39–43; Deut. 15:12–18].

Laws About Injuries

¹² “Anyone who ·hits [strikes] a person and kills him must be put to death. ¹³ But if a person kills someone ·accidentally [without premeditation], God allowed that to happen, so ·the person must go to a place I will choose [^LI will appoint for you a place to which the person may flee; Josh. 20:1–9]. ¹⁴ But if someone plans and murders another person on purpose, put him to death, even if he has run to my altar for safety.

¹⁵ “Anyone who ·hits [strikes] his father or his mother must be put to death.

¹⁶ “Anyone who kidnaps someone and either sells him as a slave or ·still has him when he is caught [^Lhe is found in his hand] must be put to death.

¹⁷ “Anyone who ·says cruel things to [curses] his father or mother must be put to death.

¹⁸ “If two men ·argue [quarrel; contend], and one hits ·the other [^Lhis neighbor] with a rock or with his ·fist [or tool], the one who is hurt but not killed might have to stay in bed. ¹⁹ Later if he is able to get up and walk around outside with his ·walking stick [staff], the one who hit him ·is not to be punished [has no liability]. But he must pay the injured man for the loss of his time, and he must support the injured man until he is completely healed.

²⁰ “If a man ·beats [strikes] his male or female slave with a ·stick [rod], and the slave dies on the spot, the owner must be punished. ²¹ But if the slave gets well after a day or two, the owner will not be punished since the slave belongs to him.

²² “Suppose two men are fighting and ·hit [injure] a pregnant woman, causing ·the baby to come out [or a miscarriage; ^Cthe Hebrew is not clear whether dead or alive]. If there is no further ·injury [harm], the man who caused the accident must pay money—whatever amount the woman’s husband says and the court allows. ²³ But if there is further ·injury [harm], then ·the punishment that must be paid is [^Lyou 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 bruise for bruise [^Cto guard against excessive punishment].

²⁶ “If a man ·hits [strikes] his male or female slave in the eye, and ·the eye is blinded [^Ldestroys it], the man is to free the slave to pay for the eye. ²⁷ If a master knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, the man is to free the slave to pay for the tooth.

²⁸ “If a man’s ·bull [ox] kills a man or woman, you must kill that bull by ·throwing stones at [stoning] it, and you should not eat ·the bull [^Lits meat]. But the owner of the bull is ·not guilty [innocent]. ²⁹ However, suppose the ·bull [ox] has ·hurt [gored] people in the past and the owner, though warned, did not ·keep it in a pen [restrain/confine it]. Then if it kills a man or woman, the ·bull [ox] must be stoned to death, and the owner must also be put to death. ³⁰ But if ·the family of the dead person accepts money [^La ransom is imposed on him], the owner of the bull must pay whatever is demanded ·to buy back his life [for his redemption]. ³¹ Use this same ·law [rule] if the ·bull [ox] ·kills [gores] a person’s son or daughter. ³² If the ·bull [ox] ·kills [gores] a male or female slave, the owner must pay the master ·the price for a new slave, or twelve ounces [^Lthirty shekels] of silver, and the ·bull [ox] must also be stoned to death.

³³ “If a man takes the cover off a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and another man’s ox or donkey comes and falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit must ·pay [compensate] the owner of the animal for the loss. The dead animal will belong to the one who pays.

³⁵ “If a man’s ·bull [ox] ·kills [gores] another man’s ·bull [ox] and it dies, they must sell the ·bull [ox] that is alive. Both men will get half of the money and half of the bull that was killed. ³⁶ But if a person’s ·bull [ox] has ·hurt [gored] other animals in the past and the owner did not ·keep it in a pen [restrain/confine it], that owner must pay bull for bull, and the dead animal is his.