Êxodo 21

¹ Now these are the lawes, which thou shalt set before them:

² If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free forPaying no money for his freedom.nothing.

³ If heNot having wife nor children.came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

⁴ If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be herTill her time of servitude was expired which might be the seventh year or the fiftieth.master's, and he shall go out by himself.

⁵ But if the seruant saye thus, I loue my master, my wife and my children, I will not goe out free,

⁶ Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to theWhere the judges sat.door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him forThat is, to the year of Jubile, which was every fiftieth year.ever.

⁷ And if a manForced either by poverty, or else with the intent that the master should marry her.sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

⁸ If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shallBy giving another money to buy her from him.he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

⁹ And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with herThat is, he shall give his dowry.after the manner of daughters.

¹⁰ If he takeFor his son.him another [wife]; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

¹¹ And if he do not theseNeither marry her himself, nor give another money to buy her, nor bestow her on his son.three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

¹² He that smiteth a man, and he die, shal dye the death.

¹³ And if a man lie not in wait, butThough a man be killed unawares, yet it is God's providence that it should so be.God deliver [him] into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

¹⁴ But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mineThe holiness of the place should not defend the murderer.altar, that he may die.

¹⁵ Also hee that smiteth his father or his mother, shall die the death.

¹⁶ And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, if it be founde with him, shal die the death.

¹⁷ And hee that curseth his father or his mother, shall die the death.

¹⁸ And if men strive together, and one smite another with aEither far away from him or near.stone, or with [his] fist, and he die not, but keepeth [his] bed:

¹⁹ If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote [him] beBy the civil justice.quit: only he shall pay [for] the loss of his time, and shall cause [him] to be thoroughly healed.

²⁰ And if a man smite his seruant, or his maide with a rod, and he die vnder his hande, he shalbe surely punished.

²¹ Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall notBy the civil magistrate, but before God he is a murderer.be punished: for he [is] his money.

²² If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart [from her], and yet noOr, «death»: of the mother or child in the event she miscarries. Also the death on the unborn infant.mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges [determine].

²³ But if death followe, then thou shalt paye life for life,

²⁴ The execution of this law only belonged to the magistrate, (Mat_5:38).Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

²⁵ Burning for burning, wound for wounde, stripe for stripe.

²⁶ And if a man smite his seruant in the eie, or his maide in the eye, and hath perished it, hee shall let him goe free for his eye.

²⁷ And if he smiteSo God revenges cruelty in the even the least things.out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.

²⁸ If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surelyIf the beast be punished, much more shall the murderer.stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox [shall be] quit.

²⁹ If the oxe were wont to push in times past, and it hath bene tolde his master, and hee hath not kept him, and after he killeth a man or a woman, the oxe shall be stoned, and his owner shall die also.

³⁰ If there be laid on him aBy the next of the kindred of him that is so slain.sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

³¹ Whether he hath gored a sonne or gored a daughter, he shalbe iudged after the same maner.

³² If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirtyRead (Gen_23:15).shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³ And when a man shall open a well, or when he shall dig a pit and couer it not, and an oxe or an asse fall therein,

³⁴ The owner of the pit shallThis law forbids not only to hurt, but to beware lest any be hurt.make [it] good, [and] give money unto the owner of them; and the dead [beast] shall be his.

³⁵ And if a mans oxe hurt his neighbours oxe that he die, then they shal sel the liue oxe, & deuide the money thereof, and the dead oxe also they shall deuide.

³⁶ Or if it bee knowen that the oxe hath vsed to push in times past, & his master hath not kept him, he shal pay oxe for oxe, but the dead shall be his owne.