| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them: | 1“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them: |
| 2If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. | 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. |
| 3If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. | 3If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him. |
| 4If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. | 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. |
| 5But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ | 5But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ |
| 6then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever. | 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. |
| 7“And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. | 7And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do. |
| 8If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. | 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. |
| 9And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. | 9And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter. |
| 10If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights. | 10If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. |
| 11And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money. | 11If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment. |
| 12“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. | 12Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death. |
| 13However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. | 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. |
| 14“But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die. | 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. |
| 15“And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. | 15Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death. |
| 16“He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely 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. |
| 17“And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. | 17Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death. |
| 18“If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, | 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, |
| 19if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed. | 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. |
| 20“And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. | 20If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished. |
| 21Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property. | 21However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property. |
| 22“If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. | 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. |
| 23But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, | 23But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life— |
| 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, | 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, |
| 25burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. | 25burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe. |
| 26“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. | 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. |
| 27And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth. | 27And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth. |
| 28“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. | 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. |
| 29But if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. | 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. |
| 30If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. | 30If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him. |
| 31Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. | 31If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule. |
| 32If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. | 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. |
| 33“And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, | 33If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, |
| 34the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his. | 34the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his. |
| 35“If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. | 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. |
| 36Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own. | 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. |
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