Exodus 21

¹ 'These are the laws you must give them:

² 'When you buy a Hebrew slave, his service will last for six years. In the seventh year he wil leave afree man without paying compensation.

³ If he came single, he wil depart single; if he came married, his wife wil depart with him.

⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children wilbelong to her master, and he wil depart alone.

⁵ But if the slave says, "I love my master and my wife and children; I do not wish to be freed,"

⁶ then his master wil bring him before God and then, leading him to the door or the doorpost, his masterwil pierce his ear with an awl, and the slave wil be permanently his.

⁷ If a man sel s his daughter as a slave, she wil not leave as male slaves do.

⁸ If she does not please her master who intended her for himself, he must let her be bought back: hehas not the right to sell her to foreigners, for this would be a breach of faith with her.

⁹ If he intends her for his son, he must treat her as custom requires daughters to be treated.

¹⁰ If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing or conjugal rights of the first one.

¹¹ Should he deprive her of these three things she wil leave a free woman, without payingcompensation.

¹² 'Anyone who by violence causes a death must be put to death.

¹³ If, however, he has not planned to do it but it comes from God by his hand, he can take refuge in aplace which I shal appoint for you.

¹⁴ But should any person dare to kill another with deliberate planning, you wil take that person evenfrom my altar to be put to death.

¹⁵ 'Anyone who strikes father or mother wil be put to death.

¹⁶ Anyone who abducts a person -- whether that person has since been sold or is stil held -- wil be putto death.

¹⁷ Anyone who curses father or mother will be put to death.

¹⁸ 'If people quarrel and one strikes the other a blow with stone or fist so that the injured party, thoughnot dead, is confined to bed,

¹⁹ but later recovers and can go about, even with a stick, the one who struck the blow wil have noliability, other than to compensate the injured party for the enforced inactivity and to take care of the injured partyuntil the cure is complete.

²⁰ 'If someone beats his slave, male or female, and the slave dies at his hands, he must pay thepenalty.

²¹ But should the slave survive for one or two days, he will pay no penalty because the slave is his byright of purchase.

²² 'If people, when brawling, hurt a pregnant woman and she suffers a miscarriage but no further harmis done, the person responsible wil pay compensation as fixed by the woman's master, paying as much as thejudges decide.

²³ If further harm is done, however, you wil award life for life,

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

²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, stroke for stroke.

²⁶ 'If anyone strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys the use of it, he wil give theslave his freedom to compensate for the eye.

²⁷ If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he wil give the slave his freedom tocompensate for the tooth.

²⁸ 'If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox wil be stoned and its meat wil not be eaten, but theowner of the ox wil not be liable.

²⁹ But if the ox has been in the habit of goring before, and if its owner has been warned but has not keptit under control, then should this ox kil a man or woman, it wil be stoned and its owner put to death.

³⁰ If a ransom is imposed on the owner, he wil pay whatever is imposed, to redeem his life.

³¹ If the ox gores a boy or a girl, it will be treated in accordance with this same rule.

³² If the ox gores a slave, male or female, its owner will pay the price -- thirty shekels -- to their master,and the ox will be stoned.

³³ 'If anyone leaves a pit uncovered, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox, or donkey fal s into it,

³⁴ then the owner of the pit will make good the loss by compensating its owner, and the dead animal willbe his.

³⁵ If anyone's ox injures anyone else's ox causing its death, the owners wil sel and share the moneyfor it; they will also share the dead animal.

³⁶ But if it is common knowledge that the ox has been in the habit of goring before, and its owner hasnot kept it under control, the owner wil repay ox for ox, and wil keep the dead animal.

³⁷ 'If anyone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sel s it, he wil pay back five beasts from theherd for the ox, and four animals from the flock for the sheep.'