Ordinances for the People

21 “Now these are the ordinances (laws) which you shall set before the Israelites:

² “If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing.^{(A) 3} If he came [to you] alone, he shall leave alone; if he came married, then his wife shall leave with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave [your service] alone. ⁵ But if the servant 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 God [that is, to the judges who act in God’s name], then he shall bring him to the door or doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl (strong needle); and he shall serve him for life.

⁷ “If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go free [after six years] as male servants do. ⁸ If she does not please her master who has chosen her for himself [as a wife], he shall let her be redeemed [by her family]. He does not have the authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has been unfair to her. ⁹ If her master chooses her [as a wife] for his son, he shall act toward her as if she were legally his daughter. ¹⁰ If her master marries another wife, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her privilege as a wife. ¹¹ If he does not do these three things for her, then shall she leave free, without payment of money.

Personal Injuries

¹² “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies must be put to death. ¹³ However, ^[a]if he did not lie in wait [for him], but God allowed him to fall into his hand, then I will establish for you a ^[b]place to which he may escape [for protection until duly tried].^{(B) 14} But if a man acts intentionally against another and kills him by [design through] treachery, you are to take him from My altar [to which he may have fled for protection], so that he may be put to death.

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

¹⁶ “Whoever kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or is found with him in his possession, must be put to death.

¹⁷ “Whoever ^[c]curses his father or his mother or treats them contemptuously must be put to death.

¹⁸ “If men quarrel and one strikes another with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed, ¹⁹ if he gets up and walks around leaning on his cane, then the one who struck him shall be left [physically] unpunished; he must only pay for his loss of time [at work], and the costs [of treatment and recuperation] until he is thoroughly healed.

²⁰ “If a man strikes his male or his female servant with a staff and the servant dies at his hand, he must be punished. ²¹ If, however, the servant survives for a day or two, the offender shall not be punished, for the [injured] servant is his own property.

²² “If men fight with each other and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely [and the baby lives], yet there is no further injury, the one who hurt her must be punished with a fine [paid] to the woman’s husband, as much as the judges decide. ²³ But if there is any further injury, then you shall require [as a penalty] life for life, ^24 [d]eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

²⁶ “If a man hits the eye of his male servant or female servant and it is destroyed, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the eye. ²⁷ And if he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or female servant, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the tooth.

²⁸ “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be cleared [of responsibility]. ²⁹ But if the ox has tried to gore on a previous occasion, and its owner has been warned, but has not kept it confined and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner shall be put to death as well. ³⁰ If a ransom is demanded of him [in return for his life], then he shall give whatever is demanded for the redemption of his life. ³¹ If the ox has gored another’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. ³² If the ox gores a male or a female servant, the owner shall give to the servant’s master thirty shekels of silver [the purchase price for a slave], and the ox shall be stoned.

³³ “If a man leaves a pit open, or 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 give money to the animal’s owner, but the dead [animal] shall be his.

³⁵ “If one man’s ox injures another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the proceeds equally; they shall also divide the dead ox [between them]. ³⁶ Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, and its owner has not kept it confined, he must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead [animal] shall be his.