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
Lexham English Bible
Regulations Regarding Hebrew Slaves
21 “And these are the regulations that you will set before them.
2 ‘If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve six years, and in the seventh he will go out as free for nothing.[a] 3 If he comes in single, he will go out single. If he is the husband of a wife, his wife will go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears for him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and the slave will go out single. 5 But if the slave explicitly says, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,” 6 his master will present him to God[b] and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve him forever.
7 “‘And if a man sells his daughter as a slave woman, she will not go out as male slaves go out. 8 If she does not please her master[c] who selected her, he will allow her to be redeemed; he has no authority to sell her to foreign people, since he has dealt treacherously with her. 9 And if he selects her for his son, he shall do for her according to the regulations for daughters. 10 If he takes for himself another, he will not reduce her food, her clothing, or her right of cohabitation. 11 And if he does not do for her these three, she shall go out for nothing; there will not be silver[d] paid for her.
Regulations Regarding Murder, Manslaughter, and Various Injuries
12 “‘Whoever strikes someone[e] and he dies will surely be put to death. 13 But if he did not lie in wait and it was an accident,[f] I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 But if a man schemes against his neighbor to kill him by treachery,[g] you will take him from my altar to die. 15 And whoever strikes[h] his father or his mother will surely be put to death.
16 “‘And whoever kidnaps someone[i] and sells him, or he is found in his possession,[j] he will surely be put to death.
17 “‘And one who curses his father or his mother will surely be put to death.
18 “‘And if men quarrel and a man strikes his neighbor with a stone or with a fist and he does not die, but he is confined to bed,[k] 19 if he stands and walks about in the outside on his staff, the striker will be unpunished; he will only pay for his inactivity[l] toward his full recovery.”[m] 20 And if a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with the rod and he dies under his hand, he will surely be avenged. 21 Yet if he survives a day or two days, he will not be avenged, because he is his money.[n]
22 “‘And if men fight and they injure a pregnant woman, and her children go out and there is not serious injury, he will surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands concerning him and as the judges determine.[o] 23 And if there is serious injury, you will give life in place of life, 24 eye in place of eye, tooth in place of tooth, hand in place of hand, foot in place of foot, 25 burn in place of burn, wound in place of wound, bruise in place of bruise.
26 “‘And if a man strikes the eye of his male slave or the eye of his female slave and destroys it, he shall release him as free in place of his eye. 27 And if he causes the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his female slave to fall out, he will release him as free in place of his tooth.
28 “‘And if an ox gores a man or a woman and he dies, the ox will surely be stoned, and its meat will not be eaten, and the owner of the ox is innocent. 29 But if it was a goring ox before[p] and its owner was warned and did not restrain it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox will be stoned, and the owner also will be put to death. 30 If a ransom is set on him, he will pay the redemption money for his life according to all that is set on him. 31 If it gores a son or it gores a daughter, according to this regulation it shall be done to him. 32 If the ox gores a male slave or a female slave, he will give thirty shekels of silver to his master, and the ox will be stoned.
33 “‘If a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit and he does not cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit will pay restitution; he will pay silver to its owner, but the dead animal will be for him.[q] 35 And if a man’s ox injures the ox of his neighbor and it dies, they will sell the living ox and divide the money,[r] and they will also divide the dead one. 36 Or if it was known that it was a goring ox before[s] and its owner did not restrain it, he will surely make restitution, an ox in place of the ox, and the dead one will be for him.
Footnotes
- Exodus 21:2 Or “for no payment”
- Exodus 21:6 Or “present him to the judges”
- Exodus 21:8 Literally “bad in the eyes of her master”
- Exodus 21:11 Or “money”
- Exodus 21:12 Literally “A striker of a man”
- Exodus 21:13 Literally “and God let him happen to his hand”
- Exodus 21:14 Or “with cunning” or “craftily”
- Exodus 21:15 Literally “a striker of”
- Exodus 21:16 Literally “a stealer of a man”
- Exodus 21:16 Literally “in his hand”
- Exodus 21:18 Literally “he falls to bed”
- Exodus 21:19 Literally “his sitting”
- Exodus 21:19 Literally “and he indeed will recover”
- Exodus 21:21 Or “property”; literally “his silver”
- Exodus 21:22 Literally “and he will give according to judgments” or “judges” or “arbitrators”
- Exodus 21:29 Literally “yesterday three days ago”
- Exodus 21:34 Or “will belong to him”
- Exodus 21:35 Literally “its silver”
- Exodus 21:36 Literally “yesterday three days ago”
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