New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 “These are the regulations you must present to Israel.
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These are the case laws that you should set before them:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.
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When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he will go free without any payment.
3 If he was single when he became your slave, he shall leave single. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife must be freed with him.
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If he came in single, he will leave single. If he came in married, then his wife will leave with him.
4 “If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave and they had sons or daughters, then only the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.
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If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master. He will leave single.
5 But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’
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However, if the slave clearly states, "I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I don't want to go free,"
6 If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.
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then his master will bring him before God. He will bring him to the door or the doorpost. There his master will pierce his ear with a pointed tool, and he will serve him as his slave for life.
7 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.
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When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shouldn't be set free in the same way as male slaves are set free.
8 If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.
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If she doesn't please her master who chose her for himself, then her master must let her be bought back by her family. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people since he has treated her unfairly.
9 But if the slave’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave but as a daughter.
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If he assigns her to his son, he must give her the rights of a daughter.
10 “If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy.
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If he takes another woman for himself, he may not reduce her food, clothing, or marital rights.
11 If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.
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If he doesn't do these three things for her, she will go free without any payment, for no money.
12 “Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.
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Anyone who hits and kills someone should be put to death.
13 But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.
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If the killing wasn't on purpose but an accident allowed by God, then I will designate a place to which the killer can run away.
14 However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.
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But if someone plots and kills another person on purpose, you should remove the killer from my altar and put him to death.
15 “Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.
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Anyone who violently hits their father or mother should be put to death.
16 “Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.
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Anyone who kidnaps a person, whether they have been sold or are still being held, should be put to death.
17 “Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death.
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Anyone who curses their father or mother should be put to death.
18 “Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.
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When two people are fighting and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist so that he is in bed for a while but doesn't die—
19 If he is later able to walk outside again, even with a crutch, the assailant will not be punished but must compensate his victim for lost wages and provide for his full recovery.
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if he recovers and is able to walk around outside with a cane, then the one who hit him shouldn't be punished, except to pay for the loss of time from work and to pay for his full recovery.
20 “If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished.
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When a slave owner hits a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner should be punished.
21 But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.
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But if the slave gets up after a day or two, the slave owner shouldn't be punished because the slave is the owner's property.
22 “Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve.
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When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage but no other injury occurs, then the guilty party will be fined what the woman's husband demands, as negotiated with the judges.
23 But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,
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If there is further injury, then you will give a life for a life,
24 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,
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an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,
25 a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.
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a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a wound for a wound.
26 “If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.
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When a slave owner hits and blinds the eye of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the eye.
27 And if a man knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
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If he knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the tooth.
28 “If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable.
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When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox should be stoned to death, and the meat of the ox shouldn't be eaten. But the owner of the ox shouldn't be punished.
29 But suppose the ox had a reputation for goring, and the owner had been informed but failed to keep it under control. If the ox then kills someone, it must be stoned, and the owner must also be put to death.
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However, if the ox had gored people in the past and its owner had been warned but didn't watch out for it, and the ox ends up killing a man or a woman, then the ox should be stoned to death, and its owner should also be put to death.
30 However, the dead person’s relatives may accept payment to compensate for the loss of life. The owner of the ox may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.
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If the owner has to pay compensation instead, he must pay the agreed amount to save his life.
31 “The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.
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If the ox gores a boy or a girl, this same case law applies to the owner.
32 But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins, and the ox must be stoned.
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If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner will pay thirty silver shekels to the slave's owner, and the ox will be stoned to death.
33 “Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.
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When someone leaves a pit open or digs a pit and doesn't cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into the pit,
34 The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.
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the owner of the pit must make good on the loss. He should pay money to the ox's owner, but he may keep the dead animal.
35 “If someone’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and the injured ox dies, then the two owners must sell the live ox and divide the price equally between them. They must also divide the dead animal.
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When someone's ox hurts someone else's ox and it dies, then they should sell the live ox and divide its price. They should also divide the dead animal between them.
36 But if the ox had a reputation for goring, yet its owner failed to keep it under control, he must pay full compensation—a live ox for the dead one—but he may keep the dead ox.
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But if the ox was known for goring in the past and its owner hadn't watched out for it, the owner must make good the loss, an ox for an ox, but may keep the dead animal.
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Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible