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22 “Now if people struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that [a]she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury, the guilty person shall certainly be fined as the woman’s husband [b]may demand of him, and he shall (A)pay [c]as the judges decide. 23 But if there is any further injury, (B)then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, 24 (C)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, [d]bruise for bruise.
26 “And if someone strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he shall let [e]the slave go free on account of the eye. 27 And if he [f]knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let [g]the slave go free on account of the tooth.
28 “Now if an ox gores a man or a woman [h]to death, (D)the ox shall certainly be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished. 29 If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If a ransom is [i]demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is [j]demanded of him. 31 Whether it gores a son or [k]a daughter, it shall be done to him according to [l]the same rule. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, [m]the owner shall give his or her master [n](E)thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
Property Rights
33 “Now if someone opens a pit, or [o]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 [p]give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
35 “And if someone’s ox injures another’s ox so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its proceeds equally; and they shall also divide the dead ox. 36 Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.
Property Rights
22 “[q]If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and (F)four sheep for the sheep— 2 [r]If the (G)thief is [s]caught while [t]breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no guilt for bloodshed on his account. 3 If the sun has risen on him, there will be guilt for bloodshed on his account—A thief shall certainly make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be (H)sold for his theft. 4 If what he stole is actually found alive in his [u]possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, (I)he shall pay double.
5 “If someone lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare and lets his animal loose so that it grazes in another person’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, and stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, the one who started the fire must make restitution.
7 “(J)If someone gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it is stolen from the [v]neighbor’s house, if the thief is [w]caught, then the thief shall pay double. 8 If the thief is not [x]caught, then the owner of the house shall [y]appear before [z](K)the judges, to determine whether he [aa]laid his hands on his neighbor’s property. 9 For every [ab]breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the [ac]case of both parties shall come before [ad](L)the judges; he whom [ae]the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.
10 “If someone gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is injured or is driven away while no one is looking, 11 an (M)oath before the Lord shall be [af]taken by the two of them [ag]that he has not [ah]laid a hand on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not be compelled to make restitution. 12 But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. 13 If it is all torn to pieces, have him bring it as evidence; he shall not be compelled to make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.
14 “And if someone [ai]borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution. 15 If its owner is with it, the borrower shall not be compelled to make restitution. If it is hired, it [aj]came by its hire.
Various Laws
16 “(N)If a man seduces a virgin who is not [ak]betrothed and sleeps with her, he must pay a [al]dowry for her to be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall [am]pay money equal to the (O)dowry for virgins.
18 “You shall not allow a (P)sorceress to live.
19 “(Q)Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.
20 “(R)He who sacrifices to [an]any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be [ao]utterly destroyed.
21 “(S)You shall not oppress a stranger nor torment him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22 (T)You shall not oppress any widow or orphan. 23 If you oppress him at all, and (U)if he does cry out to Me, (V)I will assuredly hear his cry; 24 and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, (W)and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25 “(X)If you lend money to My people, to the poor [ap]among you, you are not to [aq]act as a creditor to him; you shall not [ar]charge him (Y)interest. 26 If you ever seize your neighbor’s cloak (Z)as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, 27 for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his [as]body. What else is he to sleep in? And it will come about that (AA)when he cries out to Me, I will listen to him, for (AB)I am gracious.
28 “You shall not [at](AC)curse God, (AD)nor curse a ruler of your people.
29 “(AE)You shall not hold back the offering from your entire harvest and your [au]wine. (AF)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30 (AG)You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother for seven days; (AH)on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
31 “(AI)You shall be holy people to Me, therefore (AJ)you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Various Laws
23 “(AK)You shall not give a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked person to be a (AL)malicious witness. 2 You shall not follow [av]the crowd in doing evil, nor shall you [aw]testify in a dispute so as to join together with [ax]a crowd in order to (AM)pervert justice; 3 (AN)nor shall you [ay]show favor to a poor person in his dispute.
4 “(AO)If you encounter your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you must return it to him. 5 (AP)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall not leave it helpless for [az]its owner; you must arrange the load with him.
6 “(AQ)You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. 7 (AR)Keep far from a false charge, and (AS)do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for (AT)I will not acquit the guilty.
8 “(AU)You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and [ba]subverts the cause of the just.
9 “(AV)You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the [bb]feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Sabbath and the Land
10 “Now (AW)you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, 11 but in the seventh year you shall let it [bc]rest and lie uncultivated, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the animal of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “(AX)For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as the stranger residing with you, may refresh themselves. 13 Now (AY)concerning everything which I have said to you, be careful; and (AZ)do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard [bd]from your mouth.
Signs of Christ’s Return
24 (A)Jesus (B)left the temple area and was going on His way [a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, (C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 And as He was sitting on (D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of (E)Your coming, and of the [b]end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “(F)See to it that no one [c]misleads you. 5 For (G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the [d]Christ,’ and they will [e]mislead many people. 6 And you will be hearing of (H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For (I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be (J)famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
9 “(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and (M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will [f](N)fall away, and they will [g]betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many (O)false prophets will rise up and [h]mislead many people. 12 And because lawlessness is increased, [i]most people’s love will become cold. 13 (P)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. 14 This (Q)gospel of the kingdom (R)shall be preached in the whole [j](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Perilous Times
15 “Therefore when you see the (T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in (U)the holy place—[k](V)let the [l]reader understand— 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 [m]Whoever is on (W)the [n]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. 18 And [o]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But (X)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Moreover, pray that [p]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a (Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no [q]life would have been saved; but for (Z)the sake of the [r]elect those days will be cut short. 23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [s]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and (AB)false prophets will arise and will provide great [t](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even (AD)the [u]elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 (AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the (AF)coming of the (AG)Son of Man [v]be. 28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the [w]vultures will gather.
The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.
A Psalm of David.
29 (A)Ascribe to the Lord, [a]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory [b]due His name;
Worship the Lord (B)in holy attire.
3 The (C)voice of the Lord is on the waters;
The God of glory (D)thunders,
The Lord is over [c](E)many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is (F)powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks (G)the cedars of Lebanon in pieces.
6 He makes Lebanon (H)skip like a calf,
And (I)Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord divides [d]flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord [e]shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of (J)Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes (K)the deer give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And (L)in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
6 For (A)at the window of my house
I looked out (B)through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the (C)naive,
And discerned among the [a]youths
A young man (D)lacking [b]sense,
8 Passing through the street near (E)her corner;
And he walks along the way to (F)her house,
9 In the (G)twilight, in the [c]evening,
In the [d]middle of the night and the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
(H)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.
11 She is (I)boisterous and rebellious,
Her (J)feet do not remain at home;
12 She is now in the streets, now (K)in the public squares,
And (L)lurks by every corner.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him,
[e]And with a (M)brazen face she says to him:
14 “[f]I was due to offer (N)peace offerings;
Today I have (O)paid my vows.
15 Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (P)coverings,
With colored (Q)linens of Egypt.
17 I have sprinkled my bed
With (R)myrrh, aloes, and (S)cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning;
Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.
19 For [g]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey.
20 He has taken a (T)bag of money [h]with him.
At the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her [i](U)flattering lips she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as [j]one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a (V)bird hurries to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.