Laws About Slaves

21 “Now these are the ^(A)rules that you shall set before them. ^2 (B)When you buy a Hebrew slave,^[a] he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. ³ If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴ If 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. ⁵ But ^(C)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him to ^(D)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.

⁷ “When a man ^(E)sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. ⁸ If she does not please her master, who has designated her^[b] 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. ⁹ If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or ^(F)her marital rights. ¹¹ And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

^12 (G)“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. ^13 (H)But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then ^(I)I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. ¹⁴ But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, ^(J)you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

¹⁵ “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.

^16 (K)“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found ^(L)in possession of him, shall be put to death.

^17 (M)“Whoever curses^[c] his father or his mother shall 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, ¹⁹ then 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.

²⁰ “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. ²¹ But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the ^(N)slave is his money.

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 ^(O)he shall pay as the ^(P)judges determine. ²³ But if there is harm,^[d] then you shall pay ^(Q)life for life, ^24 (R)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

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. ²⁷ If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.

²⁸ “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ^(S)ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. ²⁹ But 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. ³⁰ If ^(T)a ransom is imposed on him, then ^(U)he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. ³¹ If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. ³² If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master ^(V)thirty shekels^[e] of silver, and ^(W)the ox shall be stoned.

Laws About Restitution

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, ³⁴ the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.

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. ³⁶ Or 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.

22 ^[f] “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and ^(X)four sheep for a sheep. ^2 [g] If a thief is found ^(Y)breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, ³ but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He^[h] shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then ^(Z)he shall be sold for his theft. ⁴ If the stolen beast ^(AA)is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, ^(AB)he shall pay double.

⁵ “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard.

⁶ “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.

⁷ “If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man's house, then, if the thief is found, ^(AC)he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. ⁹ For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰ “If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, ^11 (AD)an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. ¹² But if ^(AE)it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.

¹⁴ “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. ¹⁵ If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.^[i]

Laws About Social Justice

^16 (AF)“If a man seduces a virgin^[j] who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price^[k] for her and make her his wife. ¹⁷ If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, ^(AG)he shall pay money equal to the ^(AH)bride-price for virgins.

^18 (AI)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

^19 (AJ)“Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

^20 (AK)“Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.^[l]

^21 (AL)“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ^22 (AM)You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you do mistreat them, and they ^(AN)cry out to me, I will surely ^(AO)hear their cry, ²⁴ and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and ^(AP)your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

^25 (AQ)“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. ^26 (AR)If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷ for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he ^(AS)cries to me, I will hear, for I am ^(AT)compassionate.

^28 (AU)“You shall not revile God, nor ^(AV)curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹ “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. ^(AW)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. ^30 (AX)You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: ^(AY)seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

^31 (AZ)“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore ^(BA)you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; ^(BB)you shall throw it to the dogs.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16 ^(A)And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^(B)to test him ^(C)they asked him to show them ^(D)a sign from heaven. ² He answered them,^{[a] (E)}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^(F)You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^(G)the signs of the times. ^4 (H)An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ^(I)he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^(J)beware of ^(K)the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸ But ^(L)Jesus, aware of this, said, ^(M)“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ^9 (N)Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^(O)the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or ^(P)the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^(Q)Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^12 (R)Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^(S)the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13 (T)Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(U)John the Baptist, others say ^(V)Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, ^(W)“You are ^(X)the Christ, ^(Y)the Son of ^(Z)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, ^(AA)“Blessed are you, ^(AB)Simon Bar-Jonah! For ^(AC)flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^(AD)but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, ^(AE)you are Peter, and ^(AF)on this rock^[b] I will build my church, and ^(AG)the gates of ^(AH)hell^[c] shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(AI)the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ^(AJ)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[d] in heaven.” ^20 (AK)Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^21 (AL)From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^(AM)he must go to Jerusalem and ^(AN)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(AO)the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!^[e] This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, ^(AP)“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^(AQ)a hindrance^[f] to me. For you ^(AR)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(AS)deny himself and ^(AT)take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For ^(AU)whoever would save his life^[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For ^(AV)what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^(AW)what shall a man give in return for his soul? ^27 (AX)For the Son of Man is going to come with ^(AY)his angels in the glory of his Father, and ^(AZ)then he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^(BA)taste death ^(BB)until they see the Son of Man ^(BC)coming in his kingdom.”