Exodus 21
Holman Christian Standard Bible
21 “These are the ordinances that you must set before them:
Laws about Slaves
2 “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man[a] without paying anything.(A) 3 If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with[b] a wife, his wife is to leave with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.
5 “But if the slave declares: ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’(B) 6 his master is to bring him to the judges[c] and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.
7 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave,[d] she is not to leave as the male slaves do.(C) 8 If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her. 9 Or if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her according to the customary treatment of daughters. 10 If he takes an additional wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.(D) 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she may leave free of charge, without any exchange of money.[e]
Laws about Personal Injury
12 “Whoever strikes a person so that he dies must be put to death.(E) 13 But if he didn’t intend any harm,[f] and yet God caused it to happen by his hand, I will appoint a place for you where he may flee.(F) 14 If a person schemes and willfully[g] acts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from My altar to be put to death.(G)
15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession.(H)
17 “Whoever curses his father or his mother must be put to death.(I)
18 “When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed, 19 if he can later get up and walk around outside leaning on his staff, then the one who struck him will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time[h] and provide for his complete recovery.
20 “When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse,[i] the owner must be punished.[j] 21 However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished[k] because he is his owner’s property.[l](J)
22 “When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely[m] but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands(K) from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment. 23 If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth,(L) hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.
26 “When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his tooth.
28 “When an ox[n] gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned,(M) and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent. 29 However, if the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner must also be put to death. 30 If instead a ransom(N) is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him. 31 If it gores a son or a daughter, he is to be dealt with according to this same law. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, he must give 30 shekels(O) of silver[o] to the slave’s master, and the ox must be stoned.
33 “When a man uncovers a pit or digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit must give compensation; he must pay money to its owner, but the dead animal will become his.
35 “When a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live ox and divide its proceeds; they must also divide the dead animal. 36 If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not restrained it, he must compensate fully, ox for ox; the dead animal will become his.
Footnotes
- Exodus 21:2 Lit to go forth
- Exodus 21:3 Lit he is the husband of
- Exodus 21:6 Or to God; that is, to His sanctuary or court
- Exodus 21:7 Or concubine
- Exodus 21:11 She doesn’t have to pay any redemption price.
- Exodus 21:13 Lit he was not lying in wait
- Exodus 21:14 Or maliciously
- Exodus 21:19 Lit his inactivity
- Exodus 21:20 Lit hand
- Exodus 21:20 Or must suffer vengeance
- Exodus 21:21 Or not suffer vengeance
- Exodus 21:21 Lit money
- Exodus 21:22 Either a live birth or a miscarriage
- Exodus 21:28 Or a bull, or a steer
- Exodus 21:32 About 1 pound of silver
Exodus 21
Common English Bible
Instructions about slaves
21 These are the case laws that you should set before them:
2 When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he will go free without any payment. 3 If he came in single, he will leave single. If he came in married, then his wife will leave with him. 4 If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master. He will leave single. 5 However, if the slave clearly states, “I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I don’t want to go free,” 6 then his master will bring him before God. He will bring him to the door or the doorpost. There his master will pierce his ear with a pointed tool, and he will serve him as his slave for life.
7 When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shouldn’t be set free in the same way as male slaves are set free. 8 If she doesn’t please her master who chose her for himself, then her master must let her be bought back by her family. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people since he has treated her unfairly. 9 If he assigns her to his son, he must give her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he takes another woman for himself, he may not reduce her food, clothing, or marital rights. 11 If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she will go free without any payment, for no money.
Instructions about human violence
12 Anyone who hits and kills someone should be put to death. 13 If the killing wasn’t on purpose but an accident allowed by God, then I will designate a place to which the killer can run away. 14 But if someone plots and kills another person on purpose, you should remove the killer from my altar and put him to death.
15 Anyone who violently hits their father or mother should be put to death.
16 Anyone who kidnaps a person, whether they have been sold or are still being held, should be put to death.
17 Anyone who curses their father or mother should be put to death.
18 When two people are fighting and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist so that he is in bed for a while but doesn’t die— 19 if he recovers and is able to walk around outside with a cane, then the one who hit him shouldn’t be punished, except to pay for the loss of time from work and to pay for his full recovery.
20 When a slave owner hits a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner should be punished. 21 But if the slave gets up after a day or two, the slave owner shouldn’t be punished because the slave is the owner’s property.
22 When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage but no other injury occurs, then the guilty party will be fined what the woman’s husband demands, as negotiated with the judges. 23 If there is further injury, then you will give a life for a life, 24 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, 25 a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a wound for a wound.
26 When a slave owner hits and blinds the eye of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the eye. 27 If he knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the tooth.
Instructions about animals and property
28 When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox should be stoned to death, and the meat of the ox shouldn’t be eaten. But the owner of the ox shouldn’t be punished. 29 However, if the ox had gored people in the past and its owner had been warned but didn’t watch out for it, and the ox ends up killing a man or a woman, then the ox should be stoned to death, and its owner should also be put to death. 30 If the owner has to pay compensation instead, he must pay the agreed amount to save his life. 31 If the ox gores a boy or a girl, this same case law applies to the owner. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner will pay thirty silver shekels to the slave’s owner, and the ox will be stoned to death.
33 When someone leaves a pit open or digs a pit and doesn’t cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into the pit, 34 the owner of the pit must make good on the loss. He should pay money to the ox’s owner, but he may keep the dead animal.
35 When someone’s ox hurts someone else’s ox and it dies, then they should sell the live ox and divide its price. They should also divide the dead animal between them. 36 But if the ox was known for goring in the past and its owner hadn’t watched out for it, the owner must make good the loss, an ox for an ox, but may keep the dead animal.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible