Exodus 21:22-23:13

New King James Version

²²“If men ^[a]fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that ^[b]she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall ^(A)pay as the judges determine. ²³But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, ²⁴^(B)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

²⁶“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. ²⁷And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

Animal Control Laws

²⁸“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then ^(C)the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be ^[c]acquitted. ²⁹But if the ox ^[d]tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay ^(D)to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. ³¹Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. ³²If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master ^(E)thirty shekels of silver, and the ^(F)ox shall be stoned.

³³“And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, ³⁴the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.

³⁵“If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. ³⁶Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.

Responsibility for Property

22 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall ^(G)restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. ²If the thief is found ^(H)breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be ^(I)no guilt for his bloodshed. ³If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be ^(J)sold^[e] for his theft. ⁴If the theft is certainly ^(K)found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall ^(L)restore double.

⁵“If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶“If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷“If a man ^(M)delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, ^(N)if the thief is found, he shall pay double. ⁸If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the ^(O)judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.

⁹“For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the ^(P)cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, ¹¹then an ^(Q)oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. ¹²But ^(R)if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. ¹³If it is ^(S)torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

¹⁴“And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. ¹⁵If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.

Moral and Ceremonial Principles

¹⁶^(T)“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the ^(U)bride-price of virgins.

¹⁸^(V)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

¹⁹^(W)“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

²⁰^(X)“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

²¹^(Y)“You shall neither mistreat a ^[f]stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

²²^(Z)“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. ²³If you afflict them in any way, and they ^(AA)cry at all to Me, I will surely ^(AB)hear their cry; ²⁴and My ^(AC)wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; ^(AD)your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

²⁵^(AE)“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him ^(AF)interest. ²⁶^(AG)If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. ²⁷For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am ^(AH)gracious.

²⁸^(AI)“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ^(AJ)ruler of your people.

²⁹“You shall not delay to offer ^(AK)the first of your ripe produce and your juices. ^(AL)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ³⁰^(AM)Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother ^(AN)seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹“And you shall be ^(AO)holy men to Me: ^(AP)you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Justice for All

23 “You ^(AQ)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an ^(AR)unrighteous witness. ²^(AS)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; ^(AT)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. ³You shall not show partiality to a ^(AU)poor man in his dispute.

⁴^(AV)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. ⁵^(AW)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

⁶^(AX)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. ⁷^(AY)Keep yourself far from a false matter; ^(AZ)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For ^(BA)I will not justify the wicked. ⁸And ^(BB)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹“Also ^(BC)you shall not oppress a ^[g]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Law of Sabbaths

¹⁰^(BD)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, ¹¹but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your ^[h]olive grove. ¹²^(BE)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.