The Law concerning Slaves

21 “These are the ordinances that you shall set before them:^(A)

² “When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt.^{(B) 3} If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, 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 be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. ⁵ But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him for life.^(C)

⁷ “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.^{(D) 8} If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her. ⁹ If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.^{[a](E) 11} And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out without debt, without payment of money.

²² “When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine. ²³ If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,^{(A) 24} eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,^{(B) 25} burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

²⁶ “When a slaveowner strikes the eye of a male or female slave, destroying it, the owner shall let the slave go, a free person, to compensate for the eye. ²⁷ If the owner knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, the slave shall be let go, a free person, to compensate for the tooth.

Social and Religious Laws

¹⁶ “When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.^{(A) 17} But if her father refuses to give her to him, he shall pay an amount equal to the bride-price for virgins.

¹⁸ “You shall not permit a female sorcerer to live.^(B)

¹⁹ “Whoever has intercourse with an animal shall be put to death.^(C)

²⁰ “Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord alone shall be devoted to destruction.^(D)

²¹ “You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.^{(E) 22} You shall not abuse any widow or orphan.^{(F) 23} If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry;^{(G) 24} my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.^(H)

²⁵ “If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them.^{(I) 26} If you take your neighbor’s cloak as guarantee, you shall restore it before the sun goes down, ²⁷ for it may be your neighbor’s only clothing to use as a cover. In what else shall that person sleep? And when your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.

Justice for All

23 “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness.^{(A) 2} You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice,^{[a](B) 3} nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.

⁴ “When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.^(C)

⁵ “When you see the donkey of one who hates you struggling under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.^(D)

⁶ “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.^{(E) 7} Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty.^{(F) 8} You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds officials and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.^(G)

⁹ “You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.^(H)

³ Moses went and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances, and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”^{(A) 4} And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning, built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel.^{(B) 5} He sent young men of the Israelites, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar.^{(C) 7} Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”^{(D) 8} Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, “Here is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”^(E)

On the Mountain with God

⁹ Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,^{(F) 10} and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.^{(G) 11} God^[a] did not lay his hand on the chief men of the Israelites; they beheld God, and they ate and drank.