2.Mose 21 | King James Version

1 Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master', and he shall go out by himself.

5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

10 If he take him another wife ; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

14 But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

18 And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

19 If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.

21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.

22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her , and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman' husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine .

23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

26 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye' sake.

27 And if he smite out his manservant' tooth, or his maidservant' tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth' sake.

28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

29 But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

31 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.

32 If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;

34 The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.

35 And if one man' ox hurt another', that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.

36 Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.

King James Bible (1769). Public Domain. Please note the following exceptions for use and publication in the United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

New International Reader’s Version

1 ‘Here are the laws you must explain to the people of Israel.

Other laws

Set your Hebrew servants free

2 ‘Suppose you buy a Hebrew servant. He must serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, you must set him free. He does not have to pay anything.

3 If he does not have a wife when he comes, he must go free alone. But if he has a wife when he comes, she must go with him.

4 Suppose his master gives him a wife. And suppose she has sons or daughters by him. Then only the man will go free. The woman and her children will belong to her master.

5 ‘But suppose the servant says, “I love my master and my wife and children. I don’t want to go free.”

6 Then his master must take him to the judges. His master must take him to the door or doorpost of his master’s house. His master must poke a hole through his servant’s earlobe into the door or doorpost. Then he will become his servant for life.

7 ‘Suppose a man sells his daughter as a servant. Then she can’t go free as male servants do.

8 But what if the master who has chosen her does not like her? Then he must let the man buy her back. He has no right to sell her to strangers. He has broken his promise to her.

9 What if he chooses her to marry his son? Then he must grant her the rights of a daughter.

10 What if her master marries another woman? He must still give the first one her food and clothes and sleep with her.

11 If he does not provide her with those three things, she can go free. She does not have to pay anything.

Laws about harming others

12 ‘Anyone who hits and kills someone else must be put to death.

13 Suppose they did not do it on purpose. Suppose I let it happen. Then they can escape to a place I will choose.

14 But suppose they kill someone on purpose. Then take them away from my altar and put them to death.

15 ‘Anyone who attacks their father or mother must be put to death.

16 ‘Anyone who kidnaps and sells another person must be put to death. If they still have the person with them when they are caught, they must be put to death.

17 ‘Anyone who asks for something bad to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.

18 ‘Suppose two people get into a fight and argue with each other. One hits the other with a stone or his fist. And the person who was hit does not die but has to stay in bed.

19 And later that person gets up and walks around outside with a walking stick. Then the person who hit the other person will not be held responsible. But that person must pay the one who was hurt for the time spent in bed. The one who hit the other person must be sure that person is completely healed.

20 ‘Suppose a person beats their male or female slave to death with a club. That person must be punished.

21 But they will not be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two. After all, the slave is their property.

22 ‘Suppose some people are fighting and one of them hits a pregnant woman. And suppose she has her baby early but is not badly hurt. Then the one who hurt her must pay a fine. That person must pay what the woman’s husband asks for and the court allows.

23 But if someone is badly hurt, a life must be taken for a life.

24 An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. A hand must be cut off for a hand and a foot for a foot.

25 A burn must be given for a burn, a wound for a wound, and a bruise for a bruise.

26 ‘Suppose an owner hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it. Then the owner must let the slave go free to pay for the eye.

27 Suppose an owner knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave. Then he must let the slave go free to pay for the tooth.

28 ‘Suppose a bull kills a man or woman with its horns. Then you must kill the bull by throwing stones at it. Its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held accountable.

29 But suppose the bull has had the habit of attacking people. And suppose the owner has been warned but has not kept it fenced in. Then if it kills a man or woman, you must kill it with stones. The owner must also be put to death.

30 But suppose payment is required of him instead. Then the owner can save his life by paying what is required.

31 The same law applies if the bull wounds a son or daughter with its horns.

32 Suppose the bull wounds a male or female slave. Then the owner must pay the slave’s master 360 grams of silver. You must kill the bull with stones.

33 ‘Suppose someone uncovers a pit or digs one and does not cover it. And suppose an ox or donkey falls into it.

34 Then the person who opened the pit must pay the animal’s owner for the loss. The dead animal will belong to the person who opened the pit.

35 ‘Suppose someone’s bull wounds a neighbour’s bull and it dies. Then the owner and the neighbour must sell the live one. And they must share the money and the dead animal equally.

36 But suppose people knew that the bull had the habit of attacking. And suppose the owner did not keep it fenced in. Then the owner must give another animal to pay for the dead animal. And the dead animal will belong to the owner.

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