Exodus 20-23

Legacy Standard Bible

The Commandments of Yahweh

20 Then God spoke all these words, saying,

^18 (X)And all the people perceived the ^[e]thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and the people perceived it, and they shook and stood at a distance. ^19 (Y)Then they said to Moses, “Speak ^[f]to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak ^[g]to us, lest we die.” ²⁰ And Moses said to the people, “^(Z)Do not be afraid; for God has come in order ^(AA)to test you, and in order that ^(AB)the fear of Him may ^[h]be with you, so that you may not sin.” ²¹ So the people stood at a distance, but Moses came near ^(AC)the dense gloom where God was.

²² Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that ^(AD)I have spoken ^[i]to you from heaven. ^23 (AE)You shall not make other gods besides Me; ^(AF)gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. ²⁴ You shall make ^(AG)an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your ^(AH)burnt offerings and your ^(AI)peace offerings, ^(AJ)your sheep and your oxen; in every place ^(AK)where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ And if you make an altar of stone for Me, ^(AL)you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. ²⁶ And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that ^(AM)your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’

Judgments About Slaves

21 “Now these are the ^(AN)judgments which you are to set before them:

² “If you buy ^(AO)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. ³ If he comes ^[j]alone, he shall go out ^[k]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out ^[l]alone. ⁵ But ^(AP)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him to ^[m]God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. Then his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

⁷ “^(AQ)And if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to ^[n]go free ^(AR)as the male slaves ^[o]do. ⁸ If she is ^[p]displeasing in the eyes of her master ^[q]who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his treachery to her. ⁹ And if he designates her for his son, he shall do to her according to the custom of daughters. ¹⁰ If he takes for himself another woman, he may not reduce her ^[r]food, her clothing, or ^(AS)her conjugal rights. ¹¹ And if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

Judgments About Personal Injuries

¹² “^(AT)He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. ^13 (AU)But ^[s]if he did not lie in wait for him, but ^(AV)God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. ^14 (AW)If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him by deceit, you shall take him even from My altar, that he may die.

¹⁵ “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁶ “^(AX)He who ^[t]kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷ “^(AY)And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸ “And if men contend with each other and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but ^[u]remains in bed, ¹⁹ if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his ^[v]loss of time, and he ^[w]shall take care of him until he is completely healed.

²⁰ “And if a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies ^[x]at his hand, he shall surely ^[y]be punished. ²¹ But if for a day or two he is able to stand, no punishment shall be taken; ^(AZ)for he is his ^[z]property.

²² “And if men struggle with each other and ^[aa]strike a woman with child so that ^[ab]she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband ^[ac]will set for him, and he shall ^(BA)pay ^[ad]as the judges decide. ²³ But if there is any further injury, ^(BB)then you shall pay life for life, ^24 (BC)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.

²⁶ “And if a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and ruins it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye. ²⁷ And if he ^[ae]knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.

²⁸ “And if an ox gores a man or a woman ^[af]to death, ^(BD)the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished. ²⁹ If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it puts a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰ If a ransom is ^[ag]demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is ^[ah]demanded of him. ³¹ Whether it gores a son or ^[ai]a daughter, it shall be done to him according to ^[aj]the same judgment. ³² If the ox gores a male or female slave, ^[ak]the owner shall give his or her master ^[al](BE)thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³ “And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall ^[am]give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.

³⁵ “And if one man’s ox ^[an]hurts another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide the dead ox. ³⁶ Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.

Judgments About Property Rights

22 “^[ao]If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and ^(BF)four sheep for the sheep.

² “^[ap]If the ^(BG)thief is ^[aq]caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. ³ But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be ^(BH)sold for his theft. ⁴ If what he stole is actually found alive in his hand, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, ^(BI)he shall pay double.

⁵ “If a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare and lets his animal loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶ “If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, so that stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, he who started the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷ “^(BJ)If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is ^[ar]caught, he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not ^[as]caught, then the owner of the house shall ^[at]appear before ^[au](BK)the judges to determine whether he ^[av]laid his hands on his neighbor’s property. ⁹ For every ^[aw]breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the ^[ax]case of both parties shall come before ^[ay](BL)the judges; he whom ^[az]the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰ “If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is injured or is driven away while no one is looking, ¹¹ then an ^(BM)oath before Yahweh shall be made by the two of them ^[ba]that he has not ^[bb]laid hands on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. ¹² But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ Now if it is all torn to pieces, let him bring it as evidence; he shall not make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.

¹⁴ “If a man ^[bc]borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution. ¹⁵ But if its owner is with it, he shall not make restitution; if it is hired, it came for its hire.

Various Judgments

¹⁶ “^(BN)If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall ^[bd]pay money equal to the ^(BO)dowry for virgins.

¹⁸ “You shall not allow a ^(BP)sorceress to live.

¹⁹ “^(BQ)Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

²⁰ “^(BR)And he who sacrifices to ^[be]any god, other than to Yahweh alone, shall be ^[bf]devoted to destruction.

²¹ “^(BS)You shall not mistreat a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ^22 (BT)You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. ²³ And if you indeed afflict him, and ^(BU)if he earnestly cries out to Me, ^(BV)I will surely hear his cry; ²⁴ and My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, ^(BW)and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵ “^(BX)If you lend money to My people, to the afflicted ^[bg]among you, you are not to ^[bh]act as a creditor to him; you shall not ^[bi]charge him ^(BY)interest. ²⁶ If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak ^(BZ)as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun sets, ²⁷ for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his ^[bj]body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall be that ^(CA)when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for ^(CB)I am gracious.

²⁸ “You shall not ^[bk](CC)curse God, ^(CD)nor curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹ “^(CE)You shall not delay the offering from ^[bl]the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat. ^(CF)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ^30 (CG)And you shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; ^(CH)on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “^(CI)You shall be holy men to Me, therefore ^(CJ)you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

23 “^(CK)You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a ^(CL)malicious witness. ² You shall not follow ^[bm]the masses in doing evil, nor shall you ^[bn]testify in a case so as to turn aside after ^[bo]the masses in order to ^[bp](CM)cause justice to be turned aside; ^3 (CN)nor shall you ^[bq]be partial to a poor man in his case.

⁴ “^(CO)If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. ^5 (CP)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

⁶ “^(CQ)You shall not cause the justice due to your needy brother to be turned aside in his case. ^7 (CR)Keep far from a ^[br]false charge, and ^(CS)do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for ^(CT)I will not justify the guilty.

⁸ “^(CU)And you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and ^[bs]subverts the cause of the ^[bt]just.

⁹ “^(CV)And you shall not oppress a sojourner, since you yourselves know the soul of a sojourner, for you also were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Judgments About Work and Rest

¹⁰ “^(CW)Now you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its produce, ¹¹ but on the seventh year you shall let it ^[bu]rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. Thus you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.

¹² “^(CX)Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall ^[bv]rest so that your ox and your donkey may ^[bw]rest, and the son of your maidservant, as well as your sojourner, may refresh themselves. ¹³ Now ^(CY)concerning everything which I have said to you, beware; and ^(CZ)do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard ^[bx]from your mouth.

Judgments About National Feasts

¹⁴ “^(DA)Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. ¹⁵ You shall keep ^(DB)the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the ^(DC)month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And ^[by](DD)none shall appear before Me empty-handed. ¹⁶ Also you shall keep ^(DE)the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year ^(DF)when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. ^17 (DG)Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh.

¹⁸ “^(DH)You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; ^(DI)nor is the fat of My ^[bz]feast to remain overnight until morning.

¹⁹ “You shall bring ^(DJ)the choice first fruits of your ground into the house of Yahweh your God.

“^(DK)You shall not boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Yahweh Will Drive Out Israel’s Enemies

²⁰ “Behold, I am going to send ^(DL)an angel before you to keep you along the way and ^(DM)to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Keep watch of yourself before him and listen to his voice; ^(DN)do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since ^(DO)My name is in him. ²² But if you truly listen to his voice and do all that I speak, then ^(DP)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ^23 (DQ)For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will annihilate them. ^24 (DR)You shall not worship their gods, you shall not serve them, and you shall not do according to their deeds; ^(DS)but you shall utterly pull them down and shatter their ^(DT)sacred pillars in pieces. ^25 (DU)But you shall serve Yahweh your God, ^[ca]and He will bless your bread and your water; and ^(DV)I will remove sickness from your midst. ²⁶ There shall be no one miscarrying or ^(DW)barren in your land; ^(DX)I will fulfill the number of your days. ²⁷ I will ^(DY)send My terror ahead of you and ^(DZ)throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will ^(EA)make all your enemies ^[cb]turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And I will send ^(EB)hornets ahead of you so that they will ^(EC)drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. ^29 (ED)I will not drive them out before you in a single year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ I will drive them out before you ^(EE)little by little, until you become fruitful and take the land as an inheritance. ^31 (EF)And I will set your boundary from the ^[cc]Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the ^[cd]River; ^(EG)for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will ^(EH)drive them out from before you. ^32 (EI)You shall cut no covenant with them ^(EJ)or with their gods. ^33 (EK)They shall not live in your land, lest they make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, ^(EL)it will surely be a snare to you.”