Exodus 22
Contemporary English Version
Property Laws
The Lord said:
22 If you steal an ox and slaughter or sell it, you must replace it with five oxen; if you steal a sheep and slaughter it or sell it, you must replace it with four sheep. 2-4 But if you cannot afford to replace the animals, you must be sold as a slave to pay for what you have stolen. If you steal an ox, donkey, or sheep, and are caught with it still alive, you must pay the owner double.
If you happen to kill a burglar who breaks into your home after dark, you are not guilty. But if you kill someone who breaks in during the day, you are guilty of murder.
5 If you allow any of your animals to stray from your property and graze[a] in someone else's field or vineyard, you must repay the damage from the best part of your own harvest of grapes and grain.
6 If you carelessly let a fire spread from your property to someone else's, you must pay the owner for any crops or fields destroyed by the fire.
7 Suppose a neighbor asks you to keep some silver or other valuables, and they are stolen from your house. If the thief is caught, the thief must repay double. 8 But if the thief isn't caught, some judges[b] will decide if you are the guilty one.
9 Suppose two people claim to own the same ox or donkey or sheep or piece of clothing. Then the judges[c] must decide the case, and the guilty person will pay the owner double.
10 Suppose a neighbor who is going to be away asks you to keep a donkey or an ox or a sheep or some other animal, and it dies or gets injured or is stolen while no one is looking. 11 If you swear with me as your witness that you did not harm the animal, you do not have to replace it. Your word is enough. 12 But if the animal was stolen while in your care, you must replace it. 13 If the animal was attacked and killed by a wild animal, and you can show the remains of the dead animal to its owner, you do not have to replace it.
14 Suppose you borrow an animal from a neighbor, and it gets injured or dies while the neighbor isn't around. Then you must replace it. 15 But if something happens to the animal while the owner is present, you do not have to replace it. If you had leased the animal, the money you paid the owner will cover any harm done to it.
Laws for Everyday Life
The Lord said:
16 (A) Suppose a young woman has never had sex and isn't engaged. If a man talks her into having sex, he must pay the bride price[d] and marry her. 17 But if her father refuses to let her marry the man, the bride price must still be paid.
18 (B) Death is the punishment for witchcraft.
19 (C) Death is the punishment for having sex with an animal.
20 (D) Death is the punishment for offering sacrifices to any god except me.
21 (E) Do not mistreat or abuse foreigners who live among you. Remember, you were foreigners in Egypt.
22 Do not mistreat widows or orphans. 23 If you do, they will beg for my help, and I will come to their rescue. 24 In fact, I will get so angry that I will kill your men and make widows of their wives and orphans of their children.
25 (F) Don't charge interest when you lend money to any of my people who are in need. 26 (G) Before sunset you must return any coat taken as security for a loan, 27 because that is the only cover the poor have when they sleep at night. I am a merciful God, and when they call out to me, I will come to help them.
28 (H) Don't speak evil of me[e] or of the ruler of your people.
29 Don't fail to give me the offerings of grain and wine that belong to me.[f]
Dedicate to me your first-born sons 30 and the first-born of your cattle and sheep. Let the animals stay with their mothers for seven days, then on the eighth day give them to me, your God.
31 (I) You are my chosen people, so don't eat the meat of any of your livestock that was killed by a wild animal. Instead, feed the meat to dogs.
Footnotes
- 22.5 graze: Or “eat everything.”
- 22.8 some judges: Or “I.”
- 22.9 the judges: Or “I.”
- 22.16 bride price: It was the custom for a man to pay his wife's family a bride price before the actual wedding ceremony took place.
- 22.28 me: Or “your judges.”
- 22.29 Don't fail … me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Exodus 22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 22
1 [If a thief is caught[a] in the act of housebreaking and beaten to death, there is no bloodguilt involved. 2 But if after sunrise he is thus beaten, there is bloodguilt.] He must make full restitution. If he has nothing, he shall be sold to pay for his theft. 3 If what he stole is found alive in his possession, be it an ox, a donkey or a sheep, he shall make twofold restitution.
4 When someone causes a field or a vineyard to be grazed over, by sending his cattle to graze in another’s field, he must make restitution with the best produce of his own field or vineyard. 5 If a fire breaks out, catches on to thorn bushes, and consumes shocked grain, standing grain, or the field itself, the one who started the fire must make full restitution.
Trusts and Loans. 6 When someone gives money or articles to another for safekeeping and they are stolen from the latter’s house, the thief, if caught, must make twofold restitution. 7 If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house shall be brought to God,[b] to swear that he himself did not lay hands on his neighbor’s property. 8 In every case of dishonest appropriation, whether it be about an ox, or a donkey, or a sheep, or a garment, or anything else that has disappeared, where another claims that the thing is his, the claim of both parties shall be brought before God; the one whom God convicts must make twofold restitution to the other.
9 When someone gives an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any other animal to another for safekeeping, if it dies, or is maimed or snatched away, without anyone witnessing the fact, 10 there shall be an oath before the Lord between the two of them that the guardian did not lay hands on his neighbor’s property; the owner must accept the oath, and no restitution is to be made. 11 But if the guardian has actually stolen from it, then he must make restitution to the owner. 12 If it has been killed by a wild beast, let him bring it as evidence; he need not make restitution for the mangled animal.(A)
13 When someone borrows an animal from a neighbor, if it is maimed or dies while the owner is not present, that one must make restitution. 14 But if the owner is present, that one need not make restitution. If it was hired, this was covered by the price of its hire.
Social Laws. 15 (B)When a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall make her his wife by paying the bride price. 16 If her father refuses to give her to him, he must still pay him the bride price for virgins.[c]
17 You shall not let a woman who practices sorcery live.(C)
18 Anyone who lies with an animal shall be put to death.(D)
19 Whoever sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord alone, shall be put under the ban.(E)
20 You shall not oppress or afflict a resident alien, for you were once aliens residing in the land of Egypt.(F) 21 You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. 22 If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely listen to their cry. 23 My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.
24 (G)If you lend money to my people, the poor among you, you must not be like a money lender; you must not demand interest from them. 25 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; 26 for this is his only covering; it is the cloak for his body. What will he sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will listen; for I am compassionate.(H)
27 You shall not despise God,[d] nor curse a leader of your people.(I)
28 You shall not delay the offering of your harvest and your press. You shall give me the firstborn of your sons. 29 You must do the same with your oxen and your sheep; for seven days the firstling may stay with its mother, but on the eighth day you must give it to me.(J)
30 You shall be a people sacred to me. Flesh torn to pieces in the field you shall not eat; you must throw it to the dogs.(K)
Footnotes
- 22:1–2 If a thief is caught: this seems to be a fragment of what was once a longer law on housebreaking, which has been inserted here into the middle of a law on stealing animals. At night the householder would be justified in killing a burglar outright, but not so in the daytime, when the burglar could more easily be caught alive. He must make full restitution: this stood originally immediately after 21:37.
- 22:7 Brought to God: either within the household or at the sanctuary, the owner of the house is required to take an oath before God.
- 22:16 The bride price for virgins: fifty shekels according to Dt 22:29.
- 22:27 Despise God: a turning away from God’s authority and so failing to honor God (cf. 1 Sm 2:30).
出埃及 22
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
赔偿条例
22 “倘若有人偷了别人的牛羊，然后宰了或卖了，他要用五头牛抵偿一头牛，四只羊抵偿一只羊。 2 倘若有人打死正入屋偷窃的贼，这人不算犯杀人罪。 3 倘若事情发生在白天，家主就犯了杀人罪。倘若盗贼被擒，他就要赔偿家主，若他一无所有，就要把他卖为奴隶作赔偿。 4 倘若他偷的牲畜如牛、羊或驴在他手上还活着，他要偿还失主双倍。
5 “倘若有人在田野或葡萄园里牧放牲畜，任由牲畜吃别人田里的农作物或葡萄，他必须拿自己田里最好的农作物或葡萄作赔偿。 6 倘若有人在自己的田间焚烧荆棘，不小心烧掉了别人的庄稼、禾捆或整个田园，那生火的人就要赔偿一切损失。
7 “倘若有人把金钱或物件交给邻居保管，邻居家遭盗，盗贼被缉拿归案后要赔偿双倍； 8 倘若没捉到盗贼，邻居就要到审判官那里证明自己没有偷拿。 9 倘若二人之间有什么纠纷，无论是为了牛、驴、羊、衣服或失物，争执的双方要把案件呈报审判官，审判官判谁败诉，谁就要赔偿双倍。 10 倘若有人把驴、牛、羊或别的牲畜交给邻居看管，牲畜死伤或被人抢走，并且无人看见， 11 看守的人就要在耶和华面前起誓没有动邻居的东西，这样失主就应当作罢，看守的人不用赔偿。 12 但若牲畜是被人偷去的，受托人就要赔偿失主。 13 倘若牲畜被野兽咬死，受托人要把残骸带来当证据，无需赔偿被咬死的牲畜。 14 倘若有人向邻居借牲畜，牲畜受伤或死掉，而当时物主不在场，借的人就要赔偿。 15 倘若物主当时在场，借的人就不用赔偿。倘若牲畜是租来的，租的人只需付租金不用赔偿。
社会条例
16 “倘若有人诱奸了尚未许配的处女，他就要交出聘礼，娶她为妻； 17 倘若女方家长反对婚事，男方要付出相当于聘礼的金钱给女方家长。
18 “凡行邪术的女人，必须被处死。
19 “与动物性交的人，必须被处死。
20 “祭拜耶和华以外的其他任何神明的人，必须被处死。
21 “不可欺压在你们中间寄居的人，因为你们在埃及也做过寄居的人。
22 “不可亏待寡妇和孤儿， 23 倘若你们欺凌他们，他们向我呼求，我必听他们的呼求， 24 向你们发怒，用刀杀掉你们，使你们的妻子变为寡妇，儿女成为孤儿。
25 “倘若有贫苦的同胞向你借钱，你不可像放债的一样从中取利。 26 倘若他把衣服给你作抵押，你要在日落之前把衣服还给他。 27 因为他只有这件蔽体的衣服，若是没有，他晚上如何睡觉？他若呼求我，我必定帮助他，因为我是仁慈的。 28 不可亵渎上帝，也不可咒诅百姓的官长。 29 你们要向我献上五谷和新酒，不可迟疑耽延。要把你们的长子献给我。 30 也要献上头生的牛羊，它们生下来后可以留在母亲身边七天，第八天要献给我。 31 你们要做我圣洁的子民，不要吃田野间被野兽咬死的牲畜，要把它丢给狗吃。
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