21Exodus 21

Hebrew Slaves

1The Lord gave Moses the following laws for his people:Select Exodus 21:1

2If you buy a Hebrew slave, he must remain your slave for six years. But in the seventh year you must set him free, without cost to him.Select Exodus 21:2

3If he was single at the time you bought him, he alone must be set free. But if he was married at the time, both he and his wife must be given their freedom.Select Exodus 21:3

4If you give him a wife, and they have children, only the man himself must be set free; his wife and children remain the property of his owner.Select Exodus 21:4

5But suppose the slave loves his wife and children and his owner so much that he won't leave them.Select Exodus 21:5

6Then he must stand beside either the door or the doorpost at the place of worship, while his owner punches a small hole through one of his ears with a sharp metal rod. This makes him a slave for life.Select Exodus 21:6

7A young woman who was sold by her father doesn't gain her freedom in the same way that a man does.Select Exodus 21:7

8If she doesn't please the man who bought her to be his wife, he must let her be bought back. He cannot sell her to foreigners; this would break the contract he made with her.Select Exodus 21:8

9If he selects her as a wife for his son, he must treat her as his own daughter.Select Exodus 21:9

10If the man later marries another woman, he must continue to provide food and clothing for the one he bought and to treat her as a wife.Select Exodus 21:10

11If he fails to do any of these things, she must be given her freedom without paying for it.Select Exodus 21:11

Murder and Other Violent Crimes / The said:

12Death is the punishment for murder.Select Exodus 21:12

13But if you did not intend to kill someone, and I, the Lord, let it happen anyway, you may run for safety to a place that I have set aside.Select Exodus 21:13

14If you plan in advance to murder someone, there's no escape, not even by holding on to my altar. You will be dragged off and killed.Select Exodus 21:14

15Death is the punishment for attacking your father or mother.Select Exodus 21:15

16Death is the punishment for kidnapping. If you sell the person you kidnapped, or if you are caught with that person, the penalty is death.Select Exodus 21:16

17Death is the punishment for cursing your father or mother.Select Exodus 21:17

18Suppose two of you are arguing, and you hit the other with either a rock or your fist, without causing a fatal injury. If the victim has to stay in bed,Select Exodus 21:18

19and later has to use a stick when walking outside, you must pay for the loss of time and do what you can to help until the injury is completely healed. That's your only responsibility.Select Exodus 21:19

20Death is the punishment for beating to death any of your slaves.Select Exodus 21:20

21However, if the slave lives a few days after the beating, you are not to be punished. After all, you have already lost the services of that slave who was your property.Select Exodus 21:21

22Suppose a pregnant woman suffers a miscarriage as the result of an injury caused by someone who is fighting. If she isn't badly hurt, the one who injured her must pay whatever fine her husband demands and the judges approve.Select Exodus 21:22

23But if she is seriously injured, the payment will be life for life,Select Exodus 21:23

24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,Select Exodus 21:24

25burn for burn, cut for cut, and bruise for bruise.Select Exodus 21:25

26If you hit one of your slaves and cause the loss of an eye, the slave must be set free.Select Exodus 21:26

27The same law applies if you knock out a slave's tooth—the slave goes free.Select Exodus 21:27

28A bull that kills someone with its horns must be killed and its meat destroyed, but the owner of the bull isn't responsible for the death.Select Exodus 21:28

29Suppose you own a bull that has been in the habit of attacking people, but you have refused to keep it fenced in. If that bull kills someone, both you and the bull must be put to death by stoning.Select Exodus 21:29

30However, you may save your own life by paying whatever fine is demanded.Select Exodus 21:30

31This same law applies if the bull gores someone's son or daughter.Select Exodus 21:31

32If the bull kills a slave, you must pay the slave owner 30 pieces of silver for the loss of the slave, and the bull must be killed by stoning.Select Exodus 21:32

33Suppose someone's ox or donkey is killed by falling into an open pit that you dug or left uncovered on your property.Select Exodus 21:33

34You must pay for the dead animal, and it becomes yours.Select Exodus 21:34

35If your bull kills someone else's, yours must be sold. Then the money from your bull and the meat from the dead bull must be divided equally between you and the other owner.Select Exodus 21:35

36If you refuse to fence in a bull that is known to attack others, you must replace any animal it kills, but the dead animal will belong to you.Select Exodus 21:36