Exodus 21-24

New American Standard Bible 1995

Ordinances for the People

21 “Now these are the ^(A)ordinances which you are to set before them:

² “If you buy ^(B)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. ³ If he comes ^[a]alone, he shall go out ^[b]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, 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 belong to her master, and he shall go out ^[c]alone. ⁵ But ^(C)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him to ^[d]God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

⁷ “^(D)If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to ^[e]go free ^(E)as the male slaves ^[f]do. ⁸ If she is ^[g]displeasing in the eyes of her master ^[h]who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his ^[i]unfairness to her. ⁹ If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. ¹⁰ If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her ^[j]food, her clothing, or ^(F)her conjugal rights. ¹¹ If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

Personal Injuries

¹² “^(G)He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. ^13 (H)But ^[k]if he did not lie in wait for him, but ^(I)God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. ^14 (J)If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die.

¹⁵ “He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁶ “^(K)He who ^[l]kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his ^[m]possession, shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷ “^(L)He who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸ “If men have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but ^[n]remains in bed, ¹⁹ if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his ^[o]loss of time, and ^[p]shall take care of him until he is completely healed.

²⁰ “If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies ^[q]at his hand, he shall ^[r]be punished. ²¹ If, however, he ^[s]survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; ^(M)for he is his ^[t]property.

²² “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that ^[u]she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband ^[v]may demand of him, and he shall ^(N)pay ^[w]as the judges decide. ²³ But if there is any further injury, ^(O)then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, ^24 (P)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, ^[x]bruise for bruise.

²⁶ “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye. ²⁷ And if he ^[y]knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.

²⁸ “If an ox gores a man or a woman ^[z]to death, ^(Q)the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished. ²⁹ If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰ If a ransom is ^[aa]demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is ^[ab]demanded of him. ³¹ Whether it gores a son or ^[ac]a daughter, it shall be done to him according to ^[ad]the same rule. ³² If the ox gores a male or female slave, ^[ae]the owner shall give his or her master ^(R)thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³ “If a man opens a pit, or ^[af]digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall ^[ag]give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.

³⁵ “If one man’s ox hurts another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide the dead ox. ³⁶ Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.

Property Rights

22 “^[ah]If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and ^(S)four sheep for the sheep.

² “^[ai]If the ^(T)thief is ^[aj]caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. ³ But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be ^(U)sold for his theft. ⁴ If what he stole is actually found alive in his ^[ak]possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, ^(V)he shall pay double.

⁵ “If a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare and lets his animal loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶ “If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, so that stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, he who started the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷ “^(W)If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is ^[al]caught, he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not ^[am]caught, then the owner of the house shall ^[an]appear before ^[ao](X)the judges, to determine whether he ^[ap]laid his hands on his neighbor’s property. ⁹ For every ^[aq]breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the ^[ar]case of both parties shall come before ^[as](Y)the judges; he whom ^[at]the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰ “If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is hurt or is driven away while no one is looking, ¹¹ an ^(Z)oath before the Lord shall be made by the two of them ^[au]that he has not ^[av]laid hands on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. ¹² But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If it is all torn to pieces, let him bring it as evidence; he shall not make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.

¹⁴ “If a man ^[aw]borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution. ¹⁵ If its owner is with it, he shall not make restitution; if it is hired, it came for its hire.

Sundry Laws

¹⁶ “^(AA)If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall ^[ax]pay money equal to the ^(AB)dowry for virgins.

¹⁸ “You shall not allow a ^(AC)sorceress to live.

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

²⁰ “^(AE)He who sacrifices to ^[ay]any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be ^[az]utterly destroyed.

²¹ “^(AF)You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ^22 (AG)You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. ²³ If you afflict him at all, and ^(AH)if he does cry out to Me, ^(AI)I will surely hear his cry; ²⁴ and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, ^(AJ)and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵ “^(AK)If you lend money to My people, to the poor ^[ba]among you, you are not to ^[bb]act as a creditor to him; you shall not ^[bc]charge him ^(AL)interest. ²⁶ If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak ^(AM)as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, ²⁷ for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his ^[bd]body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that ^(AN)when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for ^(AO)I am gracious.

²⁸ “You shall not ^[be](AP)curse God, ^(AQ)nor curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹ “^(AR)You shall not delay the offering from ^[bf]your harvest and your vintage. ^(AS)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ^30 (AT)You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; ^(AU)on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “^(AV)You shall be holy men to Me, therefore ^(AW)you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Sundry Laws

23 “^(AX)You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a ^(AY)malicious witness. ² You shall not follow ^[bg]the masses in doing evil, nor shall you ^[bh]testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after ^[bi]a multitude in order to ^(AZ)pervert justice; ^3 (BA)nor shall you ^[bj]be partial to a poor man in his dispute.

⁴ “^(BB)If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. ^5 (BC)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

⁶ “^(BD)You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. ^7 (BE)Keep far from a false charge, and ^(BF)do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for ^(BG)I will not acquit the guilty.

⁸ “^(BH)You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and ^[bk]subverts the cause of the just.

⁹ “^(BI)You shall not oppress a ^[bl]stranger, since you yourselves know the ^[bm]feelings of a ^[bn]stranger, for you also were ^[bo]strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Sabbath and Land

¹⁰ “^(BJ)You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, ¹¹ but on the seventh year you shall let it ^[bp]rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

¹² “^(BK)Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as ^[bq]your stranger, may refresh themselves. ¹³ Now ^(BL)concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and ^(BM)do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard ^[br]from your mouth.

Three National Feasts

¹⁴ “^(BN)Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. ¹⁵ You shall observe ^(BO)the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the ^(BP)month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And ^[bs](BQ)none shall appear before Me empty-handed. ¹⁶ Also you shall observe ^(BR)the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year ^(BS)when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. ^17 (BT)Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^[bt]God.

¹⁸ “^(BU)You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; ^(BV)nor is the fat of My ^[bu]feast to remain overnight until morning.

¹⁹ “You shall bring ^(BW)the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.

“^(BX)You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Conquest of the Land

²⁰ “Behold, I am going to send ^(BY)an angel before you to guard you along the way and ^(BZ)to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; ^(CA)do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since ^(CB)My name is in him. ²² But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then ^(CC)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ^23 (CD)For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. ^24 (CE)You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; ^(CF)but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their ^(CG)sacred pillars in pieces. ^25 (CH)But you shall serve the Lord your God, ^[bv]and He will bless your bread and your water; and ^(CI)I will remove sickness from your midst. ²⁶ There shall be no one miscarrying or ^(CJ)barren in your land; ^(CK)I will fulfill the number of your days. ²⁷ I will ^(CL)send My terror ahead of you, and ^(CM)throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will ^(CN)make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ I will send ^(CO)hornets ahead of you so that they will ^(CP)drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. ^29 (CQ)I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ I will drive them out before you ^(CR)little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land. ^31 (CS)I will fix your boundary from the ^[bw]Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; ^(CT)for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will ^(CU)drive them out before you. ^32 (CV)You shall ^[bx]make no covenant with them ^(CW)or with their gods. ^33 (CX)They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, ^(CY)it will surely be a snare to you.”

People Affirm Their Covenant with God

24 Then He said to Moses, “^(CZ)Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, ^(DA)Nadab and Abihu and ^(DB)seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. ² Moses alone, however, shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”

³ Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ^[by]ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “^(DC)All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” ^4 (DD)Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an ^(DE)altar ^[bz]at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ He sent young men of the sons of Israel, ^(DF)and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. ^6 (DG)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he took ^(DH)the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “^(DI)All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” ⁸ So ^(DJ)Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold ^(DK)the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has ^[ca]made with you ^[cb]in accordance with all these words.”

⁹ Then Moses went up ^[cc]with Aaron, ^(DL)Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, ¹⁰ and ^(DM)they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet ^[cd](DN)there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, ^[ce]as clear as the sky itself. ¹¹ Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and ^(DO)they saw God, and they ate and drank.

¹² Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and ^[cf]remain there, and ^(DP)I will give you the stone tablets ^[cg]with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.” ¹³ So Moses arose ^[ch]with ^(DQ)Joshua his ^[ci]servant, and Moses went up to ^(DR)the mountain of God. ¹⁴ But to the elders he said, “^(DS)Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, ^(DT)Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever ^[cj]has a legal matter, let him approach them.” ¹⁵ Then Moses went up to the mountain, and ^(DU)the cloud covered the mountain. ^16 (DV)The glory of the Lord ^[ck]rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He ^(DW)called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. ^17 (DX)And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a ^(DY)consuming fire on the mountain top. ¹⁸ Moses entered the midst of the cloud ^[cl]as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain ^(DZ)forty days and forty nights.