Laws Concerning the Treatment of Slaves

21 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Here are the legal decisions to be used by the Israelites:

² “Whenever you buy a Hebrew slave, he will be your slave for six years. In the seventh year he may leave as a free man, without paying for his freedom. ³ If he comes to you by himself, he must leave by himself. If he comes as a married man, his wife may leave with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to the master, and the slave must leave by himself. ⁵ But if he makes this statement: ‘I hereby declare my love for my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to leave as a free man,’ ⁶ then his master must bring him to God. The master must bring him to the door or the doorframe and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his slave for life.

⁷ “Whenever a man sells his daughter into slavery, she will not go free the way male slaves do. ⁸ If she doesn’t please the master who has chosen her as a wife,^[a] he must let her be bought back by one of her close relatives. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has treated her unfairly. ⁹ But if he has chosen her for his son, he must treat her like a daughter. ¹⁰ If that son marries another woman, he must not deprive the first wife of food, clothes, or sex. ¹¹ If he doesn’t give her these three things, she can go free, without paying any money for her freedom.

Laws Concerning Injury to People

¹² “Whoever strikes someone and kills him must be put to death. ¹³ If it wasn’t done intentionally, but God let it happen, the killer should flee to a place I will set aside for you. ¹⁴ But whenever someone becomes so angry that he plans to kill his neighbor, you must take him away from my altar and put him to death.

¹⁵ “Whoever hits his father or mother must be put to death.

¹⁶ “Whoever kidnaps another person must be put to death, whether he has sold the kidnapped person or still has him.

¹⁷ “Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death.

¹⁸ “This is what you must do whenever men quarrel and one hits the other with a rock or with his fist and injures him so that he has to stay in bed. ¹⁹ If the injured man can get up again and walk around outside with a cane, the one who hit him must not be punished. He must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and for all his medical expenses.

²⁰ “Whenever an owner hits his male or female slave with a stick so that the slave dies from the beating, the owner must be punished. ²¹ But if the slave gets up in a day or two, the owner must not be punished. The slave is his property.

²² “This is what you must do whenever men fight and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely. If there are no other injuries, the offender must pay whatever fine the court allows the woman’s husband to demand. ²³ If anyone is injured, the offender must pay a life for a life, ²⁴ an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, ²⁵ a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a wound for a wound.

²⁶ “Whenever an owner hits his male or female slave in the eye and the slave is blinded, he must let the slave go free to make up for the loss of the eye. ²⁷ If the owner knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to make up for the loss of the tooth.

²⁸ “Whenever a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat may not be eaten. The bull’s owner is free from any liability. ²⁹ But if the bull has had the habit of goring, and the owner has been warned but has not kept it confined, and it kills a man or a woman, then the bull must be stoned and its owner must be put to death, too. ³⁰ However, if only a cash settlement is demanded from the owner, the bull’s owner may save his life by paying whatever price is demanded of him. ³¹ If the bull gores someone’s son or daughter, this same ruling applies. ³² If the bull gores a male or female slave, its owner must pay 12 ounces of silver to the slave’s master, and the bull must be stoned.

Laws Concerning Property

³³ “Whenever someone opens up a cistern or digs a new one and doesn’t cover it and a bull or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the cistern must make up for the loss. He must pay money to the animal’s owner, and then the dead animal will be his.

³⁵ “Whenever one person’s bull kills another person’s bull, they must sell the live bull and divide the money between them. They must divide the dead bull, too. ³⁶ However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, and its owner didn’t keep it confined, the owner must make up for the loss—bull for bull—and then the dead bull will be his.”

22 ^[b]⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Whenever someone steals a bull or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must make up for the loss with five head of cattle to replace the bull or four sheep to replace the sheep.

² “If anyone catches a thief breaking in and hits him so that he dies, he is not guilty of murder. ³ But if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of murder.

“A thief must make up for what he has stolen. If he is unable to do so, he must be sold ⌞as a slave⌟ to pay for what he stole. ⁴ But if the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it’s a bull, donkey, or a sheep, he must make up for the loss with double the amount.

⁵ “Whenever someone lets his livestock graze in a field or a vineyard, and they stray and graze in another person’s field, he must make up for what the damaged field was expected to produce. But if he lets them ruin the whole field with their grazing,^[c] he must make up from his own field for the loss with the best from his field and vineyard.

⁶ “Whenever a fire starts and spreads into the underbrush so that it burns up stacked or standing grain or ruins a field, the person who started the fire must make up for the loss.

⁷ “This is what you must do whenever someone gives his neighbor silver or ⌞other⌟ valuables to keep for him, and they are stolen from that person’s house: If the thief is caught, he must make up for the loss with double the amount. ⁸ If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must be brought to God to find out whether or not he took his neighbor’s valuables. ⁹ If there is a dispute over the ownership of a bull, a donkey, a sheep, an article of clothing, or any ⌞other⌟ lost property which two people claim as their own, both people must bring their case to God. The one whom God declares guilty must make up for his neighbor’s loss with double the amount.

¹⁰ “This is what you must do whenever someone gives his neighbor a donkey, a bull, a sheep, or any other kind of animal to keep for him, and it dies, is injured, or is captured in war, and there are no witnesses. ¹¹ The case between them must be settled by swearing an oath to the Lord that the neighbor did not take the other person’s animal. The owner must accept the oath. The neighbor doesn’t have to make up for the loss. ¹² But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make up for the owner’s loss. ¹³ If it was killed by a wild animal, he must bring in the dead body as evidence. He doesn’t have to make up for an animal that has been killed.

¹⁴ “Whenever someone borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, the borrower must make up for the loss. ¹⁵ If the owner is with the animal, the borrower doesn’t have to make up for the loss. If it is rented, the rental fee covers the loss.

Laws for Living as God’s Holy People

¹⁶ “Whenever a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sexual intercourse with her, he must pay the bride-price and marry her. ¹⁷ If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount of money equal to the bride-price for virgins.

¹⁸ “Never let a witch live.

¹⁹ “Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.

²⁰ “Whoever sacrifices to any god except the Lord must be condemned and destroyed.

²¹ “Never mistreat or oppress foreigners, because you were foreigners living in Egypt.

²² “Never take advantage of any widow or orphan. ²³ If you do and they cry out to me, you can be sure that I will hear their cry. ²⁴ I will become angry and have you killed in combat. Then your wives and children will become widows and orphans.

²⁵ “If you lend money to my people—to any poor person among you—never act like a moneylender. Charge no interest. ²⁶ If you take any of your neighbor’s clothes as collateral, give it back to him by sunset. ²⁷ It may be the only clothes he has to cover his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will listen because I am compassionate.

²⁸ “Never show disrespect for God or curse a leader of your people.

²⁹ “Never withhold your best wine from me.

“You must give me your firstborn son. ³⁰ You must do the same with your cattle and your sheep. They will stay with their mothers seven days, but on the eighth day you must give them to me.

³¹ “You must be my holy people. Never eat the meat of an animal that has been killed by wild animals out in the countryside. Throw it to the dogs.”