| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them: | 1“These are the regulations you must present to Israel. |
| 2If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything. | 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. |
| 3If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave 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. |
| 4If 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. | 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. |
| 5But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ | 5But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’ |
| 6then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life. | 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. |
| 7And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants 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. |
| 8If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with 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. |
| 9And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter. | 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. |
| 10If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. | 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. |
| 11If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment. | 11If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment. Cases of Personal Injury |
| 12Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death. | 12“Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death. |
| 13If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where 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. |
| 14But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death. | 14However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death. |
| 15Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death. | 15“Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death. |
| 16Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession. | 16“Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves. |
| 17Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death. | 17“Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. |
| 18If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to 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. |
| 19then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that 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. |
| 20If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely 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. |
| 21However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant 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. |
| 22If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows. | 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. |
| 23But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a 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, and stripe for stripe. | 25a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. |
| 26If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the 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. |
| 27And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the 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. |
| 28If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible. | 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. |
| 29But if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also 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. |
| 30If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount 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. |
| 31If the ox 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. |
| 32If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must 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. |
| 33If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, 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 must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be 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. |
| 35If a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live one and divide the proceeds; they also must divide 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. |
| 36But if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring, yet its owner failed to restrain it, he shall pay full compensation, ox for ox, and the dead animal will be 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. |
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