Exodus 20:20-21:11
New American Standard Bible 1995
20 Moses said to the people, “(A)Do not be afraid; for God has come in order (B)to test you, and in order that (C)the fear of Him may [a]remain with you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached (D)the thick cloud where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that (E)I have spoken [b]to you from heaven. 23 (F)You shall not make other gods besides Me; (G)gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make (H)an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your (I)burnt offerings and your (J)peace offerings, (K)your sheep and your oxen; in every place (L)where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for Me, (M)you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that (N)your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
Ordinances for the People
21 “Now these are the (O)ordinances which you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy (P)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. 3 If he comes [c]alone, he shall go out [d]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out [e]alone. 5 But (Q)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to [f]God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7 “(R)If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to [g]go free (S)as the male slaves [h]do. 8 If she is [i]displeasing in the eyes of her master [j]who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his [k]unfairness to her. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her [l]food, her clothing, or (T)her conjugal rights. 11 If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
Footnotes
- Exodus 20:20 Lit be before
- Exodus 20:22 Lit with
- Exodus 21:3 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:3 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:4 Lit by himself
- Exodus 21:6 Or the judges who acted in God’s name
- Exodus 21:7 Lit go out
- Exodus 21:7 Lit go out
- Exodus 21:8 Lit bad
- Exodus 21:8 Another reading is so that he did not designate her
- Exodus 21:8 Lit dealing treacherously
- Exodus 21:10 Lit flesh
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
