Exodus 21:12-27

International Standard Version

Laws Concerning Personal Injury and Homicide

¹² “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies is certainly to be put to death. ¹³ If he didn’t lie in wait, but God let him fall into his reach,^[a] then I’ll appoint for you a place to which he may flee. ¹⁴ If a man acts deliberately against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you are to take him to die even if he’s at^[b] my altar.

¹⁵ “Whoever strikes his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.

¹⁶ “Whoever kidnaps a person, whether he has sold him or whether the victim^[c] is still in his possession, is certainly to be put to death.

¹⁷ “Whoever curses his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.

¹⁸ “If people quarrel and one strikes the other with a rock or his fist, and he does not die but ends up^[d] in bed, ¹⁹ and the injured person^[e] then gets up and walks around outside with the help of his staff,^[f] the one who struck him is not liable, except that he is to compensate him for his loss of time^[g] and take care of his complete recovery.

²⁰ “If a man strikes his male or female servant with a stick and he or she dies as a direct result,^[h] the master must be punished.^{[i] 21} But if the servant^[j] survives a day or two, the master^[k] is not to be punished because the servant^[l] is his property.

²² “If two men are fighting and they strike a pregnant woman and her children are born prematurely,^[m] but there is no harm, he is certainly to be fined as the husband of the woman demands of him, and he will pay as the court decides.^{[n] 23} If there is harm, then you are to require^[o] life for life, ²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.

²⁶ “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant and destroys it, he is to release him as a free man in exchange for his eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out the tooth of his male^[p] or female servant,^[q] he is to release him as a free man in exchange for his tooth.