Old/New Testament
The Ordinances
21 [a] “These are the ordinances that you will set before them:
Hebrew Servants
2 [b] “If you buy[c] a Hebrew servant,[d] he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free[e] without paying anything.[f] 3 If he came in[g] by himself[h] he will go out by himself; if he had[i] a wife when he came in, then his wife will go out with him. 4 If his master gave[j] him a wife, and she bore sons or daughters, the wife and the children will belong to her master, and he will go out by himself. 5 But if the servant should declare,[k] ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out[l] free,’ 6 then his master must bring him to the judges,[m] and he will bring him to the door or the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.[n]
7 “If a man sells his daughter[o] as a female servant,[p] she will not go out as the male servants do. 8 If she does not please[q] her master, who has designated her[r] for himself, then he must let her be redeemed.[s] He has no right[t] to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully[u] with her. 9 If he designated her for his son, then he will deal with her according to the customary rights[v] of daughters. 10 If he takes another wife,[w] he must not diminish the first one’s food,[x] her clothing, or her marital rights.[y] 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, then she will go out free, without paying money.[z]
Personal Injuries
12 [aa] “Whoever strikes someone[ab] so that he dies[ac] must surely be put to death.[ad] 13 But if he does not do it with premeditation,[ae] but it happens by accident,[af] then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly,[ag] you will take him even from my altar that he may die.
15 “Whoever strikes[ah] his father or his mother must surely be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps someone[ai] and sells him,[aj] or is caught still holding him,[ak] must surely be put to death.
17 “Whoever treats his father or his mother disgracefully[al] must surely be put to death.
18 “If men fight, and one strikes his neighbor with a stone or with his fist and he does not die, but must remain in bed,[am] 19 and then[an] if he gets up and walks about[ao] outside on his staff, then the one who struck him is innocent, except he must pay[ap] for the injured person’s[aq] loss of time[ar] and see to it that he is fully healed.
20 “If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she[as] dies as a result of the blow,[at] he will surely be punished.[au] 21 However, if the injured servant[av] survives one or two days, the owner[aw] will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss.[ax]
22 “If men fight and hit a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely,[ay] but there is no serious injury, the one who hit her[az] will surely be punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he will pay what the court decides.[ba] 23 But if there is serious injury, then you will give a life for a life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.[bb]
26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it,[bc] he will let the servant[bd] go free[be] as compensation for the eye. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or his female servant, he will let the servant[bf] go free as compensation for the tooth.
Laws about Animals
28 [bg] “If an ox[bh] gores a man or a woman so that either dies,[bi] then the ox must surely[bj] be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted. 29 But if the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner was warned[bk] but he did not take the necessary precautions,[bl] and then it killed a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned and the man must be put to death. 30 If a ransom is set for him,[bm] then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for him. 31 If the ox[bn] gores a son or a daughter, the owner[bo] will be dealt with according to this rule.[bp] 32 If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner[bq] must pay thirty shekels of silver,[br] and the ox must be stoned.[bs]
33 “If a man opens a pit or if 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 must repay the loss.[bt] He must give money[bu] to its owner, and the dead animal[bv] will become his. 35 If the ox of one man injures the ox of his neighbor so that it dies, then they will sell the live ox and divide its proceeds,[bw] and they will also divide the dead ox.[bx] 36 Or if it is known that the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner did not take the necessary precautions, he must surely pay[by] ox for ox, and the dead animal will become his.[bz]
Laws about Property
22 [ca] (21:37)[cb] “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back[cc] five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep.[cd]
2 “If a thief is caught[ce] breaking in[cf] and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guilt for him.[cg] 3 If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief[ch] must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft. 4 If the stolen item should in fact be found[ci] alive in his possession,[cj] whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he must pay back double.[ck]
5 “If a man grazes[cl] his livestock[cm] in a field or a vineyard and he lets the livestock loose and they graze in the field of another man, he must 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[cn] thorn bushes,[co] so that stacked grain or standing grain or the whole field is consumed, the one who started[cp] the fire must surely make restitution.
7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or articles[cq] for safekeeping[cr] and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught,[cs] he must repay double. 8 If the thief is not caught,[ct] then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges[cu] to see[cv] whether he has laid[cw] his hand on his neighbor’s goods. 9 In all cases of illegal possessions,[cx] whether for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any kind of lost item, about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’[cy] the matter of the two of them will come before the judges,[cz] and the one whom[da] the judges declare guilty[db] must repay double to his neighbor. 10 If a man gives his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep, and it dies or is injured[dc] or is carried away[dd] without anyone seeing it,[de] 11 then there will be an oath to the Lord[df] between the two of them, that he has not laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods, and its owner will accept this, and he will not have to pay. 12 But if it was stolen[dg] from him,[dh] he will pay its owner. 13 If it is torn in pieces, then he will bring it for evidence,[di] and he will not have to pay for what was torn.
14 “If a man borrows an animal[dj] from his neighbor and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it[dk] will surely pay. 15 If its owner was with it, he will not have to pay; if it was hired, what was paid for the hire covers it.[dl]
Moral and Ceremonial Laws
16 [dm] “If a man seduces a virgin[dn] who is not engaged[do] and goes to bed[dp] with her, he must surely pay the marriage price[dq] for her to be his wife. 17 If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay money for the bride price of virgins.
18 “You must not allow a sorceress to live.[dr]
19 “Whoever has sexual relations[ds] with a beast must surely be put to death.
20 “Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord[dt] alone must be utterly destroyed.[du]
21 “You must not wrong[dv] a resident foreigner[dw] nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
22 “You must not afflict[dx] any widow or orphan. 23 If you afflict them[dy] in any way[dz] and they cry to me, I will surely hear[ea] their cry, 24 and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless.[eb]
25 “If you lend money to any of[ec] my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender[ed] to him; do not charge[ee] him interest.[ef] 26 If you do take[eg] the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down,[eh] 27 for it is his only covering—it is his garment for his body.[ei] What else can he sleep in?[ej] And[ek] when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
28 “You must not blaspheme[el] God[em] or curse the ruler of your people.
29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats.[en] You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 30 You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.
31 “You will be holy[eo] people to me; you must not eat any meat torn by animals in the field.[ep] You must throw it to the dogs.
Questions About Divorce
19 Now when[a] Jesus finished these sayings, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan River.[b] 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Then some Pharisees[c] came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful[d] to divorce a wife for any cause?”[e] 4 He answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female,[f] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?[g] 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?”[h] 8 Jesus[i] said to them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts,[j] but from the beginning it was not this way. 9 Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another commits adultery.” 10 The[k] disciples said to him, “If this is the case of a husband with a wife, it is better not to marry!” 11 He[l] said to them, “Not everyone can accept this statement, except those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are some eunuchs who were that way from birth,[m] and some who were made eunuchs[n] by others,[o] and some who became eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.”
Jesus and Little Children
13 Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray.[p] But the disciples scolded those who brought them.[q] 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”[r] 15 And he placed his hands on them and went on his way.[s]
The Rich Young Man
16 Now[t] someone came up to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to gain eternal life?”[u] 17 He said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he asked. Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,[v] and love your neighbor as yourself.”[w] 20 The young man said to him, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed[x] all these laws.[y] What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money[z] to the poor, and you will have treasure[aa] in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.[ab]
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth,[ac] it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! 24 Again I say,[ad] it is easier for a camel[ae] to go through the eye of a needle[af] than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.” 25 The[ag] disciples were greatly astonished when they heard this and said, “Then who can be saved?”[ah] 26 Jesus[ai] looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans,[aj] but for God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said[ak] to him, “Look,[al] we have left everything to follow you![am] What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus[an] said to them, “I tell you the truth:[ao] In the age when all things are renewed,[ap] when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging[aq] the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much[ar] and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
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