⁷ “Someone might give some money or tools to a neighbor for safekeeping. What should you do if someone steals those things from the neighbor’s house? If you find the one who stole them, then that thief must pay twice as much as the things are worth. ⁸ If you don’t find the thief, then the owner of the house must go before the judges^[a] who will decide if that person is guilty.

⁹ “What should you do if two men disagree about a bull or a donkey or sheep or clothing or something that is lost? One man says, ‘This is mine,’ and the other says, ‘No, it is mine.’ Both men should go before the judges who will decide who is guilty. The one who was wrong must pay the other man twice as much as the thing is worth.

¹⁰ “A man might ask his neighbor to take care of an animal for a short time. It might be a donkey, a bull, or a sheep. But what should you do if that animal is hurt or dies or someone takes the animal while no one is looking? ¹¹ That neighbor must explain that he did not steal the animal. If this is true, the neighbor will promise to the Lord that he did not steal it. The owner of the animal must accept this promise. The neighbor does not have to pay the owner for the animal. ¹² But if the neighbor stole the animal, then he must pay the owner for the animal. ¹³ If wild animals killed the animal, then the neighbor should bring the body as proof. The neighbor will not have to pay the owner for the animal that was killed.

¹⁴ “If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor, and the animal is hurt or dies, then the neighbor must pay the owner for the animal. The neighbor is responsible, because the owner was not there himself. ¹⁵ But if the owner was there, then the neighbor does not have to pay. Or if the neighbor was paying money to use the animal for work, he will not have to pay if the animal dies or is hurt. The money he paid to use the animal will be enough payment.