Exodus 21-24

Exodus 21

¹Now these are the laws which you are to put before them.

²If you get a Hebrew servant for money, he is to be your servant for six years, and in the seventh year you are to let him go free without payment.

³If he comes to you by himself, let him go away by himself: if he is married, let his wife go away with him.

⁴If his master gives him a wife, and he gets sons or daughters by her, the wife and her children will be the property of the master, and the servant is to go away by himself.

⁵But if the servant says clearly, My master and my wife and children are dear to me; I have no desire to be free:

⁶Then his master is to take him to the gods of the house, and at the door, or at its framework, he is to make a hole in his ear with a sharp-pointed instrument; and he will be his servant for ever.

⁷And if a man gives his daughter for a price to be a servant, she is not to go away free as the men-servants do.

⁸If she is not pleasing to her master who has taken her for himself, let a payment be made for her so that she may go free; her master has no power to get a price for her and send her to a strange land, because he has been false to her.

⁹And if he gives her to his son, he is to do everything for her as if she was his daughter.

¹⁰And if he takes another woman, her food and clothing and her married rights are not to be less.

¹¹And if he does not do these three things for her, she has the right to go free without payment.

¹²He who gives a man a death-blow is himself to be put to death.

¹³But if he had no evil purpose against him, and God gave him into his hand, I will give you a place to which he may go in flight.

¹⁴But if a man makes an attack on his neighbour on purpose, to put him to death by deceit, you are to take him from my altar and put him to death.

¹⁵Any man who gives a blow to his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.

¹⁶Any man who gets another into his power in order to get a price for him is to be put to death, if you take him in the act.

¹⁷Any man cursing his father or his mother is to be put to death.

¹⁸If, in a fight, one man gives another a blow with a stone, or with the shut hand, not causing his death, but making him keep in bed;

¹⁹If he is able to get up again and go about with a stick, the other will be let off; only he will have to give him payment for the loss of his time, and see that he is cared for till he is well.

²⁰If a man gives his man-servant or his woman-servant blows with a rod, causing death, he is certainly to undergo punishment.

²¹But, at the same time, if the servant goes on living for a day or two, the master is not to get punishment, for the servant is his property.

²²If men, while fighting, do damage to a woman with child, causing the loss of the child, but no other evil comes to her, the man will have to make payment up to the amount fixed by her husband, in agreement with the decision of the judges.

²³But if damage comes to her, let life be given in payment for life,

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

²⁵Burning for burning, wound for wound, blow for blow.

²⁶If a man gives his man-servant or his woman-servant a blow in the eye, causing its destruction, he is to let him go free on account of the damage to his eye.

²⁷Or if the loss of a tooth is caused by his blow, he will let him go free on account of his tooth.

²⁸If an ox comes to be the cause of death to a man or a woman, the ox is to be stoned, and its flesh may not be used for food; but the owner will not be judged responsible.

²⁹But if the ox has frequently done such damage in the past, and the owner has had word of it and has not kept it under control, so that it has been the cause of the death of a man or woman, not only is the ox to be stoned, but its owner is to be put to death.

³⁰If a price is put on his life, let him make payment of whatever price is fixed.

³¹If the death of a son or of a daughter has been caused, the punishment is to be in agreement with this rule.

³²If the death of a man-servant or of a woman-servant is caused by the ox, the owner is to give their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox is to be stoned.

³³If a man makes a hole in the earth without covering it up, and an ox or an ass dropping into it comes to its death;

³⁴The owner of the hole is responsible; he will have to make payment to their owner, but the dead beast will be his.

³⁵And if one man's ox does damage to another man's ox, causing its death, then the living ox is to be exchanged for money, and division made of the price of it, and of the price of the dead one.

³⁶But if it is common knowledge that the ox has frequently done such damage in the past, and its owner has not kept it under control, he will have to give ox for ox; and the dead beast will be his.

Exodus 22

¹If a man takes without right another man's ox or his sheep, and puts it to death or gets a price for it, he is to give five oxen for an ox, or four sheep for a sheep, in payment: the thief will have to make payment for what he has taken; if he has no money, he himself will have to be exchanged for money, so that payment may be made.

²If a thief is taken in the act of forcing his way into a house, and his death is caused by a blow, the owner of the house is not responsible for his blood.

³But if it is after dawn, he will be responsible.

⁴If he still has what he had taken, whatever it is, ox or ass or sheep, he is to give twice its value.

⁵If a man makes a fire in a field or a vine-garden, and lets the fire do damage to another man's field, he is to give of the best produce of his field or his vine-garden to make up for it.

⁶If there is a fire and the flames get to the thorns at the edge of the field, causing destruction of the cut grain or of the living grain, or of the field, he who made the fire will have to make up for the damage.

⁷If a man puts money or goods in the care of his neighbour to keep for him, and it is taken from the man's house, if they get the thief, he will have to make payment of twice the value.

⁸If they do not get the thief, let the master of the house come before the judges and take an oath that he has not put his hand on his neighbour's goods.

⁹In any question about an ox or an ass or a sheep or clothing, or about the loss of any property which anyone says is his, let the two sides put their cause before God; and he who is judged to be in the wrong is to make payment to his neighbour of twice the value.

¹⁰If a man puts an ass or an ox or a sheep or any beast into the keeping of his neighbour, and it comes to death or is damaged or is taken away, without any person seeing it:

¹¹If he takes his oath before the Lord that he has not put his hand to his neighbour's goods, the owner is to take his word for it and he will not have to make payment for it.

¹²But if it is taken from him by a thief, he is to make up for the loss of it to its owner.

¹³But if it has been damaged by a beast, and he is able to make this clear, he will not have to make payment for what was damaged.

¹⁴If a man gets from his neighbour the use of one of his beasts, and it is damaged or put to death when the owner is not with it, he will certainly have to make payment for the loss.

¹⁵If the owner is with it, he will not have to make payment: if he gave money for the use of it, the loss is covered by the payment.

¹⁶If a man takes a virgin, who has not given her word to another man, and has connection with her, he will have to give a bride-price for her to be his wife.

¹⁷If her father will not give her to him on any account, he will have to give the regular payment for virgins.

¹⁸Any woman using unnatural powers or secret arts is to be put to death.

¹⁹Any man who has sex connection with a beast is to be put to death.

²⁰Complete destruction will come on any man who makes offerings to any other god but the Lord.

²¹Do no wrong to a man from a strange country, and do not be hard on him; for you yourselves were living in a strange country, in the land of Egypt.

²²Do no wrong to a widow, or to a child whose father is dead.

²³If you are cruel to them in any way, and their cry comes up to me, I will certainly give ear;

²⁴And in the heat of my wrath I will put you to death with the sword, so that your wives will be widows and your children without fathers.

²⁵If you let any of the poor among my people have the use of your money, do not be a hard creditor to him, and do not take interest.

²⁶If ever you take your neighbour's clothing in exchange for the use of your money, let him have it back before the sun goes down:

²⁷For it is the only thing he has for covering his skin; what is he to go to sleep in? and when his cry comes up to me, I will give ear, for my mercy is great.

²⁸You may not say evil of the judges, or put a curse on the ruler of your people.

²⁹Do not keep back your offerings from the wealth of your grain and your vines. The first of your sons you are to give to me.

³⁰In the same way with your oxen and your sheep: for seven days let the young one be with its mother; on the eighth day give it to me.

³¹You are to be holy men to me: the flesh of no animal whose death has been caused by the beasts of the field may be used for your food; it is to be given to the dogs.

Exodus 23

¹Do not let a false statement go further; do not make an agreement with evil-doers to be a false witness.

²Do not be moved to do wrong by the general opinion, or give the support of your words to a wrong decision:

³But, on the other hand, do not be turned from what is right in order to give support to a poor man's cause.

⁴If you come across the ox or the ass of one who is no friend to you wandering from its way, you are to take it back to him.

⁵If you see the ass of one who has no love for you bent down to the earth under the weight which is put on it, you are to come to its help, even against your desire.

⁶Let no wrong decisions be given in the poor man's cause.

⁷Keep yourselves far from any false business; never let the upright or him who has done no wrong be put to death: for I will make the evil-doer responsible for his sin.

⁸Take no rewards in a cause: for rewards make blind those who have eyes to see, and make the decisions of the upright false.

⁹Do not be hard on the man from a strange country who is living among you; for you have had experience of the feelings of one who is far from the land of his birth, because you yourselves were living in Egypt, in a strange land.

¹⁰For six years put seed into your fields and get in the increase;

¹¹But in the seventh year let the land have a rest and be unplanted; so that the poor may have food from it: and let the beasts of the field take the rest. Do the same with your vine-gardens and your olive-trees.

¹²For six days do your work, and on the seventh day keep the Sabbath; so that your ox and your ass may have rest, together with the son of your servant and the man from a strange land living among you.

¹³Take note of all these things which I have said to you, and let not the names of other gods come into your minds or from your lips.

¹⁴Three times in the year you are to keep a feast to me.

¹⁵You are to keep the feast of unleavened bread; for seven days let your bread be without leaven, as I gave you orders, at the regular time in the month Abib (for in it you came out of Egypt); and let no one come before me without an offering:

¹⁶And the feast of the grain-cutting, the first-fruits of your planted fields: and the feast at the start of the year, when you have got in all the fruit from your fields.

¹⁷Three times in the year let all your males come before the Lord God.

¹⁸Do not give the blood of my offering with leavened bread; and do not let the fat of my feast be kept all night till the morning.

¹⁹The best of the first-fruits of your land are to be taken into the house of the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother's milk.

²⁰See, I am sending an angel before you, to keep you on your way and to be your guide into the place which I have made ready for you.

²¹Give attention to him and give ear to his voice; do not go against him; for your wrongdoing will not be overlooked by him, because my name is in him.

²²But if you truly give ear to his voice, and do whatever I say, then I will be against those who are against you, fighting those who are fighting you.

²³And my angel will go before you, guiding you into the land of the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, and they will be cut off by my hand.

²⁴Do not go down on your faces and give worship to their gods, or do as they do; but overcome them completely, and let their pillars be broken down.

²⁵And give worship to the Lord your God, who will send his blessing on your bread and on your water; and I will take all disease away from among you.

²⁶All your animals will give birth without loss, not one will be without young in all your land; I will give you a full measure of life.

²⁷I will send my fear before you, putting to flight all the people to whom you come; all those who are against you will go in flight, turning their backs before you.

²⁸I will send hornets before you, driving out the Hivite and the Canaanite and the Hittite before your face.

²⁹I will not send them all out in one year, for fear that their land may become waste, and the beasts of the field be increased overmuch against you.

³⁰Little by little I will send them away before you, till your numbers are increased and you take up your heritage in the land.

³¹I will let the limits of your land be from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the waste land to the river Euphrates: for I will give the people of those lands into your power; and you will send them out before you.

³²Make no agreement with them or with their gods.

³³Let them not go on living in your land, or they will make you do evil against me: for if you give worship to their gods, it will certainly be a cause of sin to you.

Exodus 24

¹And he said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the chiefs of Israel; and give me worship from a distance.

²And Moses only may come near to the Lord; but the others are not to come near, and the people may not come up with them.

³Then Moses came and put before the people all the words of the Lord and his laws: and all the people, answering with one voice, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do.

⁴Then Moses put down in writing all the words of the Lord, and he got up early in the morning and made an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁵And he sent some of the young men of the children of Israel to make burned offerings and peace-offerings of oxen to the Lord.

⁶And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins; draining out half of the blood over the altar.

⁷And he took the book of the agreement, reading it in the hearing of the people: and they said, Everything which the Lord has said we will do, and we will keep his laws.

⁸Then Moses took the blood and let it come on the people, and said, This blood is the sign of the agreement which the Lord has made with you in these words.

⁹Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the chiefs of Israel went up:

¹⁰And they saw the God of Israel; and under his feet there was, as it seemed, a jewelled floor, clear as the heavens.

¹¹And he put not his hand on the chiefs of the children of Israel: they saw God, and took food and drink.

¹²And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain, and take your place there: and I will give you the stones on which I have put in writing the law and the orders, so that you may give the people knowledge of them.

¹³Then Moses and Joshua his servant got up; and Moses went up into the mountain of God.

¹⁴And he said to the chiefs, Keep your places here till we come back to you: Aaron and Hur are with you; if anyone has any cause let him go to them.

¹⁵And Moses went up into the mountain, and it was covered by the cloud.

¹⁶And the glory of the Lord was resting on Mount Sinai, and the cloud was over it for six days; and on the seventh day he said Moses' name out of the cloud.

¹⁷And the glory of the Lord was like a flame on the top of the mountain before the eyes of the children of Israel.

¹⁸And Moses went up the mountain, into the cloud, and was there for forty days and forty nights.