Êxodo 22

¹ »A man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it. He must pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

² »If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guiltiness on his account.

³ »But if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of murder. A thief must make up for what he has stolen. If he is unable to do so, he should be sold as a slave to pay for what he stole.

⁴ »If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it is a bull, donkey, or a sheep, he must make up for the loss with double the amount.

⁵ »Someone lets his livestock graze in a field or a vineyard. They stray and graze in another person’s field. He must make up for what the damaged field was expected to produce. If he lets them ruin the whole field with their grazing, he must make up from his own field for the loss with the best from his field and vineyard.

⁶ »A fire starts and spreads into the underbrush so that it burns up stacked or standing grain or ruins a field. The person who started the fire must make up for the loss.

⁷ »Someone gives his neighbor silver or other valuables to keep for him. They are stolen from that person’s house. If the thief is caught, he must make up for the loss with double the amount.

⁸ »If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must be brought to God to find out whether or not he took his neighbor’s valuables.

⁹ »There is a dispute over the ownership of a bull, a donkey, a sheep, an article of clothing, and any other lost property which two people claim as their own. Both people must bring their case to God. The one whom God declares guilty must make up for his neighbor’s loss with double the amount.

¹⁰ »Someone gives his neighbor a donkey, a bull, a sheep, or any other kind of animal to keep for him, and it dies, is injured, or is captured in war, and there are no witnesses.

¹¹ »The case between them must be settled by swearing an oath to Jehovah that the neighbor did not take the other person’s animal. The owner must accept the oath. The neighbor does not have to make up for the loss.

¹² »However, if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make up for the owner’s loss.

¹³ »If a wild animal killed the neighbor’s animal he must bring in the dead body of the wild animal as evidence. He does not have to make up for an animal that has been killed.

¹⁴ »Whenever someone borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, the borrower must make up for the loss.

¹⁵ »If the owner is with the animal, the borrower does not have to make up for the loss. If it is rented, the rental fee covers the loss.

¹⁶ »When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sexual intercourse with her, he must pay the bride price and marry her.

¹⁷ »If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount of money equal to the bride price for virgins.

¹⁸ »Never allow a witch to live.

¹⁹ »The person who has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.

²⁰ »The person who sacrifices to any god except Jehovah must be condemned and destroyed.

²¹ »Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner. Remember that you were foreigners in Egypt.

²² »Do not mistreat any widow or orphan.

²³ »If you do, I, Jehovah, will answer them when they cry out to me for help,

²⁴ and I will become angry and kill you in war. Your wives will become widows, and your children will be fatherless.

²⁵ »When you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest.

²⁶ »If you take someone’s cloak as a pledge that he will pay you, you must give it back to him before the sunsets,

²⁷ for it is the only covering he has to keep him warm. What else can he sleep in? When he cries out to me for help, I will answer him because I am merciful.

²⁸ »Do not curse God. Do not curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹ »Do not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. Give the firstborn of your sons to me.

³⁰ »Do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. Its mother may keep it for seven days. On the eighth day give it to me.

³¹ »You are to be my holy people. Do not eat any flesh torn to bits in the field. Throw it to the dogs.