New American Standard Bible 1995

New Living Translation

1"Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them:

1“These are the regulations you must present to Israel.

2"If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.

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 comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him.

3If 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 gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.

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 if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,'

5But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’

6then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

6If he does this, his master must present him before God. 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"If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do.

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 is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his unfairness to her.

8If 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"If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.

9But 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 he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.

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 will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

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

12"He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.

12“Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.

13"But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee.

13But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.

14"If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die.

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

15"He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

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

16"He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely 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"He who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

17“Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death.

18"If men have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but remains in bed,

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.

19if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his loss of time, and shall take care of him until he is completely healed.

19If 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 strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies at his hand, he shall be punished.

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"If, however, he survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; for he is his property.

21But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.

22"If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide.

22“Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. 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 any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,

23But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,

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

24an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,

25burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

25a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.

26"If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye.

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 he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.

27And 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 ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.

28“If an ox 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"If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.

29But 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"If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him.

30However, 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"Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.

31“The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.

32"If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

32But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins, and the ox must be stoned.

33"If a man opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

33“Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.

34the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.

34The 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 one man's ox hurts another's so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide the dead ox.

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"Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.

36But 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.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.