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Exodus 21
Living Bible
Exodus 21
Living Bible
21 “Here are other laws you must obey:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave,[a] he shall serve only six years and be freed in the seventh year, and need pay nothing to regain his freedom.
3 “If he sold himself as a slave before he married, then if he married afterwards, only he shall be freed; but if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife shall be freed with him at the same time. 4 But if his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they have sons or daughters, the wife and children shall still belong to the master, and he shall go out by himself free.
5 “But if the man shall plainly declare, ‘I prefer my master, my wife, and my children, and I would rather not go free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him before the judges and shall publicly bore his ear with an awl, and after that he will be a slave forever.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. 8 If she does not please the man who bought her, then he shall let her be bought back again; but he has no power to sell her to foreigners, since he has wronged her by no longer wanting her after marrying her. 9 And if he arranges an engagement between a Hebrew slave girl and his son, then he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but must treat her as a daughter. 10 If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing, or fail to sleep with her as his wife. 11 If he fails in any of these three things, then she may leave freely without any payment.
12 “Anyone who hits a man so hard that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 But if it is accidental—an act of God—and not intentional, then I will appoint a place where he can run and get protection. 14 However, if a man deliberately attacks another, intending to kill him, drag him even from my altar, and kill him.
15 “Anyone who strikes his father or mother shall surely be put to death.
16 “A kidnapper must be killed, whether he is caught in possession of his victim or has already sold him as a slave.
17 “Anyone who reviles or curses his mother or father shall surely be put to death.
18 “If two men are fighting, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and injures him so that he must be confined to bed, but doesn’t die, 19 if later he is able to walk again, even with a limp,[b] the man who hit him will be innocent except that he must pay for the loss of his time until he is thoroughly healed, and pay any medical expenses.
20 “If a man beats his slave to death—whether the slave is male or female—that man shall surely be punished. 21 However, if the slave does not die for a couple of days, then the man shall not be punished—for the slave is his property.
22 “If two men are fighting, and in the process hurt a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage, but she lives, then the man who injured her shall be fined whatever amount the woman’s husband shall demand, and as the judges approve. 23 But if any harm comes to the woman and she dies, he shall be executed.
24 “If her eye is injured, injure his; if her tooth is knocked out, knock out his; and so on—hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, lash for lash.
26 “If a man hits his slave in the eye, whether man or woman, and the eye is blinded, then the slave shall go free because of his eye. 27 And if a master knocks out his slave’s tooth, he shall let him go free to pay for the tooth.
28 “If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner shall not be held— 29 unless the ox was known to gore people in the past, and the owner had been notified and still the ox was not kept under control; in that case, if it kills someone, the ox shall be stoned and the owner also shall be killed. 30 But the dead man’s relatives may accept a fine instead, if they wish. The judges will determine the amount.[c]
31 “The same law holds if the ox gores a boy or a girl. 32 But if the ox gores a slave, whether male or female, the slave’s master shall be given thirty pieces of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 “If a man digs a well and doesn’t cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the well shall pay full damages to the owner of the animal, and the dead animal shall belong to him.
35 “If a man’s ox injures another, and it dies, then the two owners shall sell the live ox and divide the price between them—and each shall also own half of the dead ox. 36 But if the ox was known from past experience to gore, and its owner has not kept it under control, then there will not be a division of the income; but the owner of the living ox shall pay in full for the dead ox, and the dead one shall be his.
Footnotes
- Exodus 21:2 If you buy a Hebrew slave, that is, “If he owes you money and defaults in the payment, and thus becomes your slave.”
- Exodus 21:19 if later he is able to walk again, even with a limp, literally, “if he walks abroad with his staff.”
- Exodus 21:30 Literally, v. 30 reads: “But if a ransom is laid upon him, he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is laid upon him.”
Exodus 21
New International Version
Exodus 21
New International Version
21 “These are the laws(A) you are to set before them:
Hebrew Servants(B)(C)
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant,(D) he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free,(E) without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’(F) 6 then his master must take him before the judges.[a](G) He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce(H) his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.(I)
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself,[b] he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.(J) 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
Personal Injuries
12 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.(K) 13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place(L) I will designate. 14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately,(M) that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.(N)
15 “Anyone who attacks[c] their father or mother is to be put to death.
16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death,(O) whether the victim has been sold(P) or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.
17 “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.(Q)
18 “If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist[d] and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, 19 the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.
20 “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, 21 but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.(R)
22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely[e] but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands(S) and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,(T) 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth,(U) hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26 “An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. 27 And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death,(V) 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(W) 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.(X) 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[f](Y) of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.
33 “If anyone uncovers a pit(Z) 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,(AA) the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.
Footnotes
- Exodus 21:6 Or before God
- Exodus 21:8 Or master so that he does not choose her
- Exodus 21:15 Or kills
- Exodus 21:18 Or with a tool
- Exodus 21:22 Or she has a miscarriage
- Exodus 21:32 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.