Exodus 21
Legacy Standard Bible
Judgments About Slaves
21 “Now these are the (A)judgments which you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy (B)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 [a]alone, he shall go out [b]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 [c]alone. 5 But (C)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 [d]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 “(D)And if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to [e]go free (E)as the male slaves [f]do. 8 If she is [g]displeasing in the eyes of her master [h]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 [i]food, her clothing, or (F)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 “(G)He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 (H)But [j]if he did not lie in wait for him, but (I)God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. 14 (J)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 “(K)He who [k]kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.
17 “(L)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 [l]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 [m]loss of time, and he [n]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 [o]at his hand, he shall surely [p]be punished. 21 But if for a day or two he is able to stand, no punishment shall be taken; (M)for he is his [q]property.
22 “And if men struggle with each other and [r]strike a woman with child so that [s]she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband [t]will set for him, and he shall (N)pay [u]as the judges decide. 23 But if there is any further injury, (O)then you shall pay life for life, 24 (P)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 [v]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 [w]to death, (Q)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 [x]demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is [y]demanded of him. 31 Whether it gores a son or [z]a daughter, it shall be done to him according to [aa]the same judgment. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, [ab]the owner shall give his or her master [ac](R)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 [ad]give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
35 “And if one man’s ox [ae]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.
Footnotes
- Exodus 21:3 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:3 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:4 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:6 Or the judges who acted in God’s name
- Exodus 21:7 Lit go out
- Exodus 21:7 Lit go out
- Exodus 21:8 Lit bad
- Exodus 21:8 Or so that he did not designate her
- Exodus 21:10 Lit flesh
- Exodus 21:13 Lit he who
- Exodus 21:16 Lit steals
- Exodus 21:18 Lit lies
- Exodus 21:19 Lit his sitting
- Exodus 21:19 Lit healing, he shall cause to be healed
- Exodus 21:20 Lit under
- Exodus 21:20 Lit suffer vengeance
- Exodus 21:21 Lit money
- Exodus 21:22 Lit smote
- Exodus 21:22 Or an untimely birth occurs; lit her children come out
- Exodus 21:22 Lit lays on him
- Exodus 21:22 Lit by arbitration
- Exodus 21:27 Lit causes to fall
- Exodus 21:28 Lit so that he dies
- Exodus 21:30 Lit laid on him
- Exodus 21:30 Lit laid on him
- Exodus 21:31 Lit gores a daughter
- Exodus 21:31 Lit this
- Exodus 21:32 Lit he
- Exodus 21:32 Approx. 12 oz. or 330 gm, a shekel was approx. 0.4 oz. or 11 gm
- Exodus 21:34 Lit give back
- Exodus 21:35 Lit smites
Exodus 21
New American Standard Bible
Ordinances for the People
21 “Now these are the (A)ordinances which you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy (B)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you. 3 If he comes [a]alone, he shall leave [b]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall leave 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 leave [c]alone. 5 But (C)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to [d]God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an [e]awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7 “Now (D)if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to [f]go free (E)as the male slaves [g]do. 8 If she is [h]displeasing in the eyes of her master [i]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 [j]unfairness to her. 9 And if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her [k]food, her clothing, or (F)her conjugal rights. 11 But if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go [l]free for nothing, without payment of money.
Personal Injuries
12 “(G)He who strikes someone so that he dies shall certainly be put to death. 13 (H)Yet [m]if he did not lie in wait for him, but (I)God caused him to fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. 14 (J)If, however, someone is enraged against his neighbor, so as to kill him in a cunning way, you are to take him even from My altar, to be put to death.
15 “And one who strikes his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.
16 “Now (K)one who [n]kidnaps someone, whether he sells him or he is found in his [o]possession, shall certainly be put to death.
17 “And (L)one who curses his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.
18 “Now if people have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but [p]is confined to 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 [q]loss of time, and [r]shall pay for his care until he is completely healed.
20 “And if someone strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies [s]at his hand, he shall [t]be punished. 21 If, however, the slave [u]survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; (M)for the slave is his [v]property.
22 “Now if people struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that [w]she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury, the guilty person shall certainly be fined as the woman’s husband [x]may demand of him, and he shall (N)pay [y]as the judges decide. 23 But if there is any further injury, (O)then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, 24 (P)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, [z]bruise for bruise.
26 “And if someone strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he shall let [aa]the slave go free on account of the eye. 27 And if he [ab]knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let [ac]the slave go free on account of the tooth.
28 “Now if an ox gores a man or a woman [ad]to death, (Q)the ox shall certainly 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 kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If a ransom is [ae]demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is [af]demanded of him. 31 Whether it gores a son or [ag]a daughter, it shall be done to him according to [ah]the same rule. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, [ai]the owner shall give his or her master [aj](R)thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
Property Rights
33 “Now if someone opens a pit, or [ak]digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall [al]give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
35 “And if someone’s ox injures another’s ox so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its proceeds equally; and they shall also 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 must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.
Footnotes
- Exodus 21:3 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:3 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:4 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:6 Or the judges (who acted in God’s name)
- Exodus 21:6 I.e., a pointed tool
- Exodus 21:7 Lit go out
- Exodus 21:7 Lit go out
- Exodus 21:8 Lit bad
- Exodus 21:8 Another reading is so that he did not designate her
- Exodus 21:8 Lit dealing treacherously
- Exodus 21:10 Lit flesh
- Exodus 21:11 Lit out
- Exodus 21:13 Lit he who
- Exodus 21:16 Lit steals
- Exodus 21:16 Lit hand
- Exodus 21:18 Lit lies in
- Exodus 21:19 Lit his sitting
- Exodus 21:19 Lit healing, he shall cause to be healed
- Exodus 21:20 Lit under
- Exodus 21:20 Lit suffer vengeance
- Exodus 21:21 Lit stands
- Exodus 21:21 Lit money
- Exodus 21:22 Or an untimely birth occurs; lit her children come out
- Exodus 21:22 Lit lays on him
- Exodus 21:22 Lit by arbitration
- Exodus 21:25 Lit welt
- Exodus 21:26 Lit him go...his eye
- Exodus 21:27 Lit causes to fall
- Exodus 21:27 Lit him go...his tooth
- Exodus 21:28 Lit so that he dies
- Exodus 21:30 Lit laid on him
- Exodus 21:30 Lit laid on him
- Exodus 21:31 Lit gores a daughter
- Exodus 21:31 Lit this judgment
- Exodus 21:32 Lit he
- Exodus 21:32 About 15 oz. or 425 gm
- Exodus 21:33 Lit if a man digs
- Exodus 21:34 Lit give back
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