Exodus 21

Chapter 21

Fair Treatment of Slaves

1 “These are the regulations you must present to Israel.
2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.

3 If he was single when he became your slave, he shall leave single. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife must be freed with him.
4 “If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave and they had sons or daughters, then only the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.5 But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’

6 If he does this, his master must present him before God.t Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.
7 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.8 If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.

9 But if the slave’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave but as a daughter.
10 “If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy.

11 If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.

Cases of Personal Injury

12 “Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.13 But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.

14 However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.

15 “Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.

16 “Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.

17 “Anyone who dishonorst father or mother must be put to death.
18 “Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.

19 If he is later able to walk outside again, even with a crutch, the assailant will not be punished but must compensate his victim for lost wages and provide for his full recovery.
20 “If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished.

21 But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.
22 “Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely.t If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve.23 But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: 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 wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.
26 “If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.

27 And if a man knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
28 “If an oxt gores a man or woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable.29 But suppose the ox had a reputation for goring, and the owner had been informed but failed to keep it under control. If the ox then kills someone, it must be stoned, and the owner must also be put to death.

30 However, the dead person’s relatives may accept payment to compensate for the loss of life. The owner of the ox may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.
31 “The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.

32 But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins,t and the ox must be stoned.
33 “Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.

34 The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.
35 “If someone’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and the injured ox dies, then the two owners must sell the live ox and divide the price equally between them. They must also divide the dead animal.

36 But if the ox had a reputation for goring, yet its owner failed to keep it under control, he must pay full compensation—a live ox for the dead one—but he may keep the dead ox.

EXODUS 21

Hebrew Slaves

(Deuteronomy 15.12-18)

1 The [Lord] gave Moses the following laws for his people:
2  t If 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. 3 If 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.

4 If 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.
5 But suppose the slave loves his wife and children and his owner so much that he won't leave them.

6 Then he must stand beside either the door or the doorpost at the place of worship, t while his owner punches a small hole through one of his ears with a sharp metal rod. This makes him a slave for life.
7 A young woman who was sold by her father doesn't gain her freedom in the same way that a man does. 8 If she doesn't please the man who bought her to be his wife, he must let her be bought back.t He cannot sell her to foreigners; this would break the contract he made with her.

9 If he selects her as a wife for his son, he must treat her as his own daughter.
10 If 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.

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

Murder //and Other Violent Crimes

The [Lord] said:

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

15 Death is the punishment for attacking your father or mother.

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

17  t Death is the punishment for cursing your father or mother.
18 Suppose 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,

19 and 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.
20 Death is the punishment for beating to death any of your slaves.

21 However, 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.
22 Suppose a pregnant woman suffers a miscarriaget 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. 23 But if she is seriously injured, the payment will be life for life, 24 t eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 burn for burn, cut for cut, and bruise for bruise.
26 If you hit one of your slaves and cause the loss of an eye, the slave must be set free.

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

28 A 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.
29 Suppose 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. 30 However, you may save your own life by paying whatever fine is demanded. 31 This same law applies if the bull gores someone's son or daughter.

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

34 You must pay for the dead animal, and it becomes yours.

35 If 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.
36 If 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.