English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1“Now these are the rules that you shall set before them.

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

2When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.

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 comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, 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.

4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, 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.

5But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out 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 shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

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“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out 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.

8If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, 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.

9If he designates her for his son, he shall 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 to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital 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.

11And if he does not do these three things for her, 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“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.

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

13But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for 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.

14But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him 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“Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.

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

16“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall 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“Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

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

18“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his 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 if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly 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“When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged.

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.

21But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.

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

22“When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.

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 there is harm, then you shall pay 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, stripe for stripe.

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

26“When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because 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.

27If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because 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“When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.

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 been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, 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.

30If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on 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 it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule.

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

32If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their 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“When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not 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 restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall 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.

35“When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share.

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.

36Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall 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.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

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.