如何對待奴僕

21 「你要向百姓頒佈下列法令。 你若買一個希伯來人當奴僕,他必須服侍你六年,到第七年便可以獲得自由,不用支付任何贖金。 倘若買他的時候,他是單身,那麼期滿的時候,他可以單身離開。如果他跟妻子一同被買,就可以帶妻子一起離開。 倘若主人給他娶了妻,妻子生了兒女,那麼期滿的時候,他只能單獨離開,他的妻兒要歸主人。 倘若奴僕說,『我愛我的主人和我的妻子兒女,我不願意離開他們做自由人。』 主人就要帶他到審判官面前,讓他靠著門或門框,用錐子為他穿耳洞。這樣,他就要永遠服侍主人。 倘若有人把女兒賣為奴婢,她不可像男僕那樣離開。 倘若買她的主人本想把她留在身邊,後來卻不喜歡她,就應當讓她贖身。主人無權把她轉賣給外族人,因為是主人對她不守信用。 倘若是買來給自己的兒子,就要把她當作自己的女兒一般看待。 10 倘若有人娶了奴婢為妻,後來又另娶,他還是要照常供給她飯食和衣服,並履行同房的義務。 11 倘若主人不履行以上的三個條件,奴婢就可以隨時離開,不用繳付任何贖金。

如何處理人身傷害

12 「打人致死的,必須被處死。 13 倘若不是故意殺人,而是上帝許可那人死在他手裡,他就可以逃往我指定的地方。 14 倘若是蓄意殺人,就算他逃到我的祭壇那裡,也要把他拉出來處死。 15 毆打父母的,必須被處死。 16 綁架他人販賣或自用的,必須被處死。 17 咒罵父母的,必須被處死。 18 倘若鬥毆時一方用拳頭或石塊致另一方受傷、躺臥在床,但不至於死, 19 日後能起床扶著拐杖走路,傷人者便不算有罪,但要賠償受傷者停工期間的損失,並要負責醫好他。

20 「倘若有人用棍子打他的僕婢,導致他們當場死亡,他必須受懲罰。 21 倘若傷者過了一兩天才死去,主人就可免刑,因為死者是他的財產。 22 倘若有人彼此鬥毆,傷了孕婦,導致早產,但未造成其他傷害,傷人者要按她丈夫所要求的金額,經審判官判定以後,如數賠償。 23 倘若孕婦身體其他部位也受了傷,傷人者就要以命償命, 24 以眼還眼,以牙還牙,以手還手,以腳還腳, 25 以燒傷還燒傷,以創傷還創傷,以毆打還毆打。

26 「主人若打壞僕婢的一隻眼睛,就要因僕婢眼睛受傷而使僕婢得自由。 27 同樣,倘若他打掉了僕婢的一顆牙齒,也要因此而釋放他。

28 「倘若有牛牴死了人,要用石頭打死那頭牛,並且不可吃牠的肉,牛的主人可算無罪。 29 但倘若牛常常用角傷人,並且已經有人向牛的主人投訴,他卻不拴好牛,以致牛牴死了人,就要用石塊打死牛,並處死主人。 30 若判他以罰款抵命,不論金額多少,他都得照付。 31 牛若牴死了別人的兒女,也要照以上的條例辦理。 32 牛若牴死了別人的僕婢,牛的主人要賠三百三十克銀子[a]給那僕婢的主人,並要用石頭打死牛。 33 倘若有人打開井蓋或挖了井後不把井口蓋好,以致有牛或驢掉進井裡, 34 井的主人就要賠償牲畜的主人,死牲畜則歸井的主人。 35 倘若某人的牛牴死了別人的牛,兩家的主人就要賣掉活牛,平分所得,同時也要平分那頭死掉的牛。 36 倘若素知牛好牴,主人卻沒有拴好牠,他就要以牛還牛,死牛則歸他。

Footnotes

  1. 21·32 三百三十克銀子約是當時一個奴僕的身價。

21 `And these [are] the judgments which thou dost set before them:

`When thou buyest a Hebrew servant -- six years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought;

if by himself he cometh in, by himself he goeth out; if he [is] owner of a wife, then his wife hath gone out with him;

if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath borne to him sons or daughters -- the wife and her children are her lord's, and he goeth out by himself.

`And if the servant really say: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons -- I do not go out free;

then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age.

`And when a man selleth his daughter for a handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants;

if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her.

`And if to his son he betroth her, according to the right of daughters he doth to her.

10 `If another [woman] he take for him, her food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw;

11 and if these three he do not to her, then she hath gone out for nought, without money.

12 `He who smiteth a man so that he hath died, is certainly put to death;

13 as to him who hath not laid wait, and God hath brought to his hand, I have even set for thee a place whither he doth flee.

14 `And when a man doth presume against his neighbour to slay him with subtilty, from Mine altar thou dost take him to die.

15 `And he who smiteth his father or his mother is certainly put to death.

16 `And he who stealeth a man, and hath sold him, and he hath been found in his hand, is certainly put to death.

17 `And he who is reviling his father or his mother is certainly put to death.

18 `And when men contend, and a man hath smitten his neighbour with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but hath fallen on the bed;

19 if he rise, and hath gone up and down without on his staff, then hath the smiter been acquitted; only his cessation he giveth, and he is thoroughly healed.

20 `And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand -- he is certainly avenged;

21 only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he [is] his money.

22 `And when men strive, and have smitten a pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no mischief, he is certainly fined, as the husband of the woman doth lay upon him, and he hath given through the judges;

23 and if there is mischief, then thou hast given life for life,

24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

26 `And when a man smiteth the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he doth send him away for his eye;

27 and if a tooth of his man-servant or a tooth of his handmaid he knock out, as a freeman he doth send him away for his tooth.

28 `And when an ox doth gore man or woman, and they have died, the ox is certainly stoned, and his flesh is not eaten, and the owner of the ox [is] acquitted;

29 and if the ox is [one] accustomed to gore heretofore, and it hath been testified to its owner, and he doth not watch it, and it hath put to death a man or woman, the ox is stoned, and its owner also is put to death.

30 `If atonement is laid upon him, then he hath given the ransom of his life, according to all that is laid upon him;

31 whether it gore a son or gore a daughter, according to this judgment it is done to him.

32 `If the ox gore a man-servant or a handmaid, thirty silver shekels he doth give to their lord, and the ox is stoned.

33 `And when a man doth open a pit, or when a man doth dig a pit, and doth not cover it, and an ox or ass hath fallen thither, --

34 the owner of the pit doth repay, money he doth give back to its owner, and the dead is his.

35 `And when a man's ox doth smite the ox of his neighbour, and it hath died, then they have sold the living ox, and halved its money, and also the dead one they do halve;

36 or, it hath been known that the ox is [one] accustomed to gore heretofore, and its owner doth not watch it, he certainly repayeth ox for ox, and the dead is his.

21 “These are the laws(A) you are to set before them:

Hebrew Servants(B)(C)

“If you buy a Hebrew servant,(D) he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free,(E) without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 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.

“But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’(F) then his master must take him before the judges.[a](G) He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce(H) his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.(I)

“If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself,[b] he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.(J) 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.

Personal Injuries

12 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.(K) 13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place(L) I will designate. 14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately,(M) that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.(N)

15 “Anyone who attacks[c] their father or mother is to be put to death.

16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death,(O) whether the victim has been sold(P) or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.

17 “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.(Q)

18 “If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist[d] and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, 19 the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.

20 “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, 21 but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.(R)

22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely[e] but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands(S) and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,(T) 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth,(U) hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

26 “An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. 27 And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.

28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death,(V) and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. 29 If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up(W) and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. 30 However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded.(X) 31 This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. 32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels[f](Y) of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.

33 “If anyone uncovers a pit(Z) or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.

35 “If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. 36 However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up,(AA) the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 21:6 Or before God
  2. Exodus 21:8 Or master so that he does not choose her
  3. Exodus 21:15 Or kills
  4. Exodus 21:18 Or with a tool
  5. Exodus 21:22 Or she has a miscarriage
  6. Exodus 21:32 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams