Old/New Testament
Laws for Living
21 Then God said to Moses, “These are the laws for living that you will give to the Israelites:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. In the seventh year you are to set him free. And he will have to pay nothing. 3 He might not be married when he becomes your slave. Then he must leave without a wife. The man might be married when he becomes your slave. Then he may take his wife with him. 4 The slave’s master might give him a wife, and she might give birth to sons or daughters. Then the woman and her children will belong to the master. When the slave is set free, only he may leave.
5 “But the slave might say, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children. I don’t want to go free.’ 6 Then the slave’s master will take him to God. The master will take him to a door or doorframe. And he will punch a hole through the slave’s ear using a sharp tool. Then the slave will serve that master all his life.
7 “A man might sell his daughter as a slave. There are rules for setting her free. They are different from the rules for setting the men slaves free. 8 Maybe the master wanted to marry her but then decided he was not pleased with her. He must let one of her close relatives buy her back. He has no right to sell her to foreigners. This is because he has treated her unfairly. 9 The man who bought her might promise to let the woman marry his son. Then he must treat her as a daughter. 10 The man who bought her might marry another woman. Then he must not keep his slave woman from having food or clothing or physical relations. 11 If he does not give her these three things, she may go free. She owes him no money.
Injuries
12 “Anyone who hits a person and kills him must be put to death. 13 But if a person kills someone accidentally, God allowed that to happen. So the person must go to a place I will choose. 14 A person might plan and murder another person on purpose. Put him to death, even if he has run to my altar for safety.
15 “Anyone who hits his father or his mother must be put to death.
16 “A person might kidnap someone. Then he either sells him as a slave or still has him when he is caught. That person must be put to death.
17 “Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.
18 “Two men might argue. And one might hit the other with a rock or with his fist. The hurt man might not be killed. But he might have to stay in bed. 19 Later he might be able to get up. And he might be able to walk around outside with his walking stick. Then the one who hit him is not to be punished. But he must pay the injured man for the loss of his time. And he must support the injured man until he is completely healed.
20 “A man might beat his male or female slave with a stick. And the slave might die on the spot. Then the owner must be punished. 21 But the slave might get well after a day or two. Then that owner will not be punished since the slave belongs to him.
22 “Two men might be fighting, and they might hit a pregnant woman so that the baby comes out. But there is no further injury. Then the man who caused the injury must pay money. He must pay what the woman’s husband says and the court allows. 23 But if there is further injury, then the punishment is that life must be paid for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth. It is also hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound and bruise for bruise.
26 “A man might hit his male or female slave in the eye. And the eye might be blinded. Then the man is to free the slave to pay for the eye. 27 A master might knock out a tooth of his male or female slave. Then the man is to free the slave to pay for the tooth.
28 “A man’s bull might kill a man or woman. Then you must kill that bull with stones. You should not eat the bull. But the owner of the bull is not guilty. 29 But the bull might have hurt people in the past. The owner might have been warned. If he did not keep it in a pen and then it kills a man or woman, the bull must be killed with stones. And the owner must also be put to death. 30 But the family of the dead man might accept money. Then the man who owned the bull may buy back his life. But he must pay whatever is demanded. 31 Use this same law if the bull kills a person’s son or daughter. 32 But the bull might kill a male or female slave. Then the owner must pay the master the price for a new slave. That is 12 ounces of silver. And the bull must also be killed with stones.
33 “A man might take the cover off a pit. Or he might dig one and not cover it. Another man’s ox or donkey might come and fall into it. 34 The owner of the pit must pay the owner of the animal for his loss. The dead animal will belong to the one who pays.
35 “One man’s bull might kill another man’s bull. Then they must sell the bull that is alive. Both men get half of the money. And both men will also get half of the bull that was killed. 36 A man’s bull might have hurt other animals in the past. But the owner might not have kept it in a pen. Then that owner must pay bull for bull. And the dead animal is his.
Property Laws
22 “A man might steal a bull or a sheep and kill or sell it. Then he must pay back five bulls for the one bull he stole. Or he must pay back four sheep for the one sheep he stole.
2-4 “The robber who is caught must pay back what he stole. He might own nothing. Then he must be sold as a slave to pay for what he stole. The stolen animal might be found alive with the robber. Then he must give the owner two animals for every animal he stole. He must pay, whether he stole a bull, donkey or sheep.
“A thief might be killed while breaking into a house at night. Then the one who killed him is not guilty of murder. But if this happens during the day, he is guilty of murder.
5 “A person might let his farm animal graze in his field or vineyard. And it might wander into another person’s field or vineyard. Then the owner of the animal must pay back the loss. The payment must come from the best of his crop.
6 “A man might start a fire that spreads through the thornbushes to his neighbor’s field. The fire might burn his neighbor’s growing grain or grain that has been stacked. Or it might burn his whole field. Then the person who started the fire must pay for what was burned.
7 “A man might give his neighbor money or other things to keep for him. Those things might be stolen from the neighbor’s house. And the thief might be caught. Then he must pay back twice as much as he stole. 8 But maybe the thief is never found. Then the owner of the house must make a promise before God. He must promise that he has not stolen his neighbor’s things.
9 “Two men might disagree about who owns something. It might be an ox, donkey, sheep or clothing. Or it might be something else that is lost. Each says, ‘This is mine.’ Each man must bring his case to God. God’s judges will decide who is guilty. Then he must pay the other man twice as much as the thing is worth.
10 “A man might ask his neighbor to keep his animal for him. This animal might be a donkey, ox, sheep or some other animal. And that animal might die, be hurt or be taken away. And no one saw what happened. 11 That neighbor must promise before the Lord that he did not harm or kill the other man’s animal. The owner of the animal must accept his promise made before God. The neighbor does not have to pay the owner for the animal. 12 But the animal might have been stolen from the neighbor. Then he must pay the owner for it. 13 Wild animals might have killed the animal. Then the neighbor must bring the body as proof. He will not have to pay for the animal that was killed.
14 “A man might borrow an animal from his neighbor. It might get hurt or die while the owner is not there. Then the one who borrowed it must pay the owner for the animal. 15 The owner might be with the animal. Then the one who borrowed it does not have to pay. If the animal was rented, the rental price covers the loss.
Laws and Relationships
16 “A man might find a woman who is not pledged to be married. She has never had physical relations with a man. He might trick her into having physical relations with him. Then he must give her family the payment to marry her. And she will be his wife. 17 But her father might refuse to allow his daughter to marry him. Then the man must still give the payment for a bride. He must pay the usual charge for a woman who is a virgin.
18 “Put to death any woman who does evil magic.
19 “Put to death anyone who has unnatural physical relations with an animal.
20 “Destroy completely any person who makes a sacrifice to any god except the Lord.
21 “Do not cheat or hurt a foreigner. Remember that you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
22 “Do not cheat a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do, they will cry out to me for help. I certainly will hear their cry. 24 And I will be very angry and kill you in war. Then your wives will become widows, and your children will become orphans.
25 “You might lend money to one of my people who is poor. Then do not treat him as a moneylender would. Charge him nothing for using your money. 26 Your neighbor might give you his coat as a promise. He is promising to pay you the money he owes you. But you must give it back to him by sunset. 27 That coat is the only cover to keep his body warm. He has nothing else to sleep in. If he cries out to me for help, I will listen because I am merciful.
28 “You must not speak against God. You must not curse a leader of your people.
29 “Do not hold back your offering from the first of your harvest. Give me the first grain that you harvest. Give me the first wine that you make. Also, you must give me your firstborn sons. 30 You must do the same with your bulls and your sheep. Let the firstborn males stay with their mothers for seven days. On the eighth day you must give them to me.
31 “You are to be my holy people. You must not eat the meat of any animal that has been killed by wild animals. Instead, give it to the dogs.
Jesus Teaches About Divorce
19 After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee. He went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. 2 Large crowds followed Jesus, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”
4 Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’[a] 5 And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife. And the two people will become one body.’[b] 6 So the two are not two, but one. God joined the two people together. No person should separate them.”
7 The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?”
8 Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching. But divorce was not allowed in the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery.[c] The only reason for a man to divorce and marry again is if his first wife has been unfaithful to him.”
10 The followers said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, then it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus answered, “Not everyone can accept this truth about marriage. But God has made some able to accept it. 12 There are different reasons why some men cannot marry. Some men were born without the ability to become fathers. Others were made that way later in life by other people. And other men have given up marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. But the person who can marry should accept this teaching about marriage.”[d]
Jesus Welcomes Children
13 Then the people brought their little children to Jesus so that he could put his hands on them[e] and pray for them. When his followers saw this, they told the people to stop bringing their children to Jesus. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like these children.” 15 After Jesus put his hands on the children, he left there.
A Rich Young Man’s Question
16 A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have life forever?”
17 Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. But if you want to have life forever, obey the commands.”
18 The man asked, “Which commands?”
Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court. 19 Honor your father and mother.[f] Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”[g]
20 The young man said, “I have obeyed all these things. What else do I need to do?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell all the things you own. Give the money to the poor. If you do this, you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me!”
22 But when the young man heard this, he became very sad because he was very rich. So he left Jesus.
23 Then Jesus said to his followers, “I tell you the truth. It will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the followers heard this, they were very surprised. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible. But for God all things are possible.”
27 Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything we had and followed you. So what will we have?”
28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth. When the new age comes, the Son of Man will sit on his great throne. And all of you who followed me will also sit on 12 thrones. And you will judge the 12 tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother,[h] children, or farms to follow me will get much more than he left. And he will have life forever. 30 Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.