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Exodus 21:28-24:18
King James Version
Exodus 21:28-24:18
King James Version
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's ox hurt another's, 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.
22 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.
8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.
9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:
11 Then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
14 And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
15 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
23 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.
18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
24 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 21:28-24:18
New International Version
Exodus 21:28-24:18
New International Version
28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death,(A) and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. 29 If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up(B) and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. 30 However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded.(C) 31 This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. 32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels[a](D) of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.
33 “If anyone uncovers a pit(E) or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.
35 “If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. 36 However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up,(F) the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.
Protection of Property
22 [b]“Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back(G) five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
2 “If a thief is caught breaking in(H) at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;(I) 3 but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.
“Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution,(J) but if they have nothing, they must be sold(K) to pay for their theft. 4 If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession(L)—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.(M)
5 “If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution(N) from the best of their own field or vineyard.
6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks(O) of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.(P)
7 “If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping(Q) and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.(R) 8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges,(S) and they must[c] determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property. 9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges.[d](T) The one whom the judges declare[e] guilty must pay back double to the other.
10 “If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping(U) and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, 11 the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath(V) before the Lord that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required. 12 But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, restitution(W) must be made to the owner. 13 If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbor shall bring in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn animal.(X)
14 “If anyone borrows an animal from their neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, they must make restitution.(Y) 15 But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.(Z)
Social Responsibility
16 “If a man seduces a virgin(AA) who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price,(AB) and she shall be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.
18 “Do not allow a sorceress(AC) to live.
19 “Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal(AD) is to be put to death.
20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god(AE) other than the Lord must be destroyed.[f](AF)
21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner,(AG) for you were foreigners(AH) in Egypt.
22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.(AI) 23 If you do and they cry out(AJ) to me, I will certainly hear their cry.(AK) 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.(AL)
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.(AM) 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,(AN) return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in?(AO) When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.(AP)
28 “Do not blaspheme God[g](AQ) or curse(AR) the ruler of your people.(AS)
29 “Do not hold back offerings(AT) from your granaries or your vats.[h]
“You must give me the firstborn of your sons.(AU) 30 Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.(AV) Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.(AW)
31 “You are to be my holy people.(AX) So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts;(AY) throw it to the dogs.
Laws of Justice and Mercy
23 “Do not spread false reports.(AZ) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.(BA)
2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice(BB) by siding with the crowd,(BC) 3 and do not show favoritism(BD) to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s(BE) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(BF) 5 If you see the donkey(BG) of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6 “Do not deny justice(BH) to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge(BI) and do not put an innocent(BJ) or honest person to death,(BK) for I will not acquit the guilty.(BL)
8 “Do not accept a bribe,(BM) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9 “Do not oppress a foreigner;(BN) you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Sabbath Laws
10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.(BO) Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Six days do your work,(BP) but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.(BQ)
13 “Be careful(BR) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;(BS) do not let them be heard on your lips.(BT)
The Three Annual Festivals
14 “Three times(BU) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(BV) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(BW) for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(BX)
16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(BY) with the firstfruits(BZ) of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(CA) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(CB)
17 “Three times(CC) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.(CD)
“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.(CE)
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(CF) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(CG)
God’s Angel to Prepare the Way
20 “See, I am sending an angel(CH) ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.(CI) 21 Pay attention to him and listen(CJ) to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive(CK) your rebellion,(CL) since my Name(CM) is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do(CN) all that I say, I will be an enemy(CO) to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,(CP) and I will wipe them out. 24 Do not bow down before their gods or worship(CQ) them or follow their practices.(CR) You must demolish(CS) them and break their sacred stones(CT) to pieces. 25 Worship the Lord your God,(CU) and his blessing(CV) will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness(CW) from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren(CX) in your land. I will give you a full life span.(CY)
27 “I will send my terror(CZ) ahead of you and throw into confusion(DA) every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.(DB) 28 I will send the hornet(DC) ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites(DD) out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals(DE) too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession(DF) of the land.
31 “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea[i] to the Mediterranean Sea,[j] and from the desert to the Euphrates River.(DG) I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out(DH) before you. 32 Do not make a covenant(DI) with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare(DJ) to you.”
The Covenant Confirmed
24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron,(DK) Nadab and Abihu,(DL) and seventy of the elders(DM) of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach(DN) the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”
3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws,(DO) they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”(DP) 4 Moses then wrote(DQ) down everything the Lord had said.
He got up early the next morning and built an altar(DR) at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars(DS) representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings(DT) and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings(DU) to the Lord. 6 Moses(DV) took half of the blood(DW) and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed(DX) against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant(DY) and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”(DZ)
8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people(EA) and said, “This is the blood of the covenant(EB) that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders(EC) of Israel went up 10 and saw(ED) the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli,(EE) as bright blue as the sky.(EF) 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw(EG) God, and they ate and drank.(EH)
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone(EI) with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
13 Then Moses set out with Joshua(EJ) his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain(EK) of God. 14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur(EL) are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute(EM) can go to them.”
15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud(EN) covered it, 16 and the glory(EO) of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai.(EP) For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.(EQ) 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire(ER) on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty(ES) days and forty nights.(ET)
Footnotes
- Exodus 21:32 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
- Exodus 22:1 In Hebrew texts 22:1 is numbered 21:37, and 22:2-31 is numbered 22:1-30.
- Exodus 22:8 Or before God, and he will
- Exodus 22:9 Or before God
- Exodus 22:9 Or whom God declares
- Exodus 22:20 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Exodus 22:28 Or Do not revile the judges
- Exodus 22:29 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Exodus 23:31 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 23:31 Hebrew to the Sea of the Philistines
New International Version (NIV) 
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