Thematic Bible




Exodus 21:1 (show verse)

“Now these are the ordinances (laws) which you shall set before the Israelites:

Exodus 21:2 (show verse)

“If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing.

Exodus 21:3 (show verse)

If he came [to you] alone, he shall leave alone; if he came married, then his wife shall leave with him.

Exodus 21:4 (show verse)

If his master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave [your service] alone.

Exodus 21:5 (show verse)

But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’

Exodus 21:6 (show verse)

then his master shall bring him to God [that is, to the judges who act in God’s name], then he shall bring him to the door or doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl (strong needle); and he shall serve him for life.

Exodus 21:7 (show verse)

“If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go free [after six years] as male servants do.

Exodus 21:8 (show verse)

If she does not please her master who has chosen her for himself [as a wife], he shall let her be redeemed [by her family]. He does not have the authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has been unfair to her.

Exodus 21:9 (show verse)

If her master chooses her [as a wife] for his son, he shall act toward her as if she were legally his daughter.

Exodus 21:10 (show verse)

If her master marries another wife, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her privilege as a wife.

Exodus 21:11 (show verse)

If he does not do these three things for her, then shall she leave free, without payment of money.

Exodus 21:12 (show verse)

“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies must be put to death.

Exodus 21:13 (show verse)

However, if he did not lie in wait [for him], but God allowed him to fall into his hand, then I will establish for you a place to which he may escape [for protection until duly tried].

Exodus 21:14 (show verse)

But if a man acts intentionally against another and kills him by [design through] treachery, you are to take him from My altar [to which he may have fled for protection], so that he may be put to death.

Exodus 21:15 (show verse)

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

Exodus 21:16 (show verse)

“Whoever kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or is found with him in his possession, must be put to death.

Exodus 21:17 (show verse)

“Whoever curses his father or his mother or treats them contemptuously must be put to death.

Exodus 21:18 (show verse)

“If men quarrel and one strikes another with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,

Exodus 21:19 (show verse)

if he gets up and walks around leaning on his cane, then the one who struck him shall be left [physically] unpunished; he must only pay for his loss of time [at work], and the costs [of treatment and recuperation] until he is thoroughly healed.

Exodus 21:20 (show verse)

“If a man strikes his male or his female servant with a staff and the servant dies at his hand, he must be punished.

Exodus 21:21 (show verse)

If, however, the servant survives for a day or two, the offender shall not be punished, for the [injured] servant is his own property.

Exodus 21:22 (show verse)

“If men fight with each other and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely [and the baby lives], yet there is no further injury, the one who hurt her must be punished with a fine [paid] to the woman’s husband, as much as the judges decide.

Exodus 21:23 (show verse)

But if there is any further injury, then you shall require [as a penalty] life for life,

Exodus 21:24 (show verse)

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

Exodus 21:25 (show verse)

burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

Exodus 21:26 (show verse)

“If a man hits the eye of his male servant or female servant and it is destroyed, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the eye.

Exodus 21:27 (show verse)

And if he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or female servant, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the tooth.

Exodus 21:28 (show verse)

“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be cleared [of responsibility].

Exodus 21:29 (show verse)

But if the ox has tried to gore on a previous occasion, and its owner has been warned, but has not kept it confined and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner shall be put to death as well.

Exodus 21:30 (show verse)

If a ransom is demanded of him [in return for his life], then he shall give whatever is demanded for the redemption of his life.

Exodus 21:31 (show verse)

If the ox has gored another’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule.

Exodus 21:32 (show verse)

If the ox gores a male or a female servant, the owner shall give to the servant’s master thirty shekels of silver [the purchase price for a slave], and the ox shall be stoned.

Exodus 21:33 (show verse)

“If a man leaves a pit open, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

Exodus 21:34 (show verse)

the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to the animal’s owner, but the dead [animal] shall be his.

Exodus 21:35 (show verse)

“If one man’s ox injures another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the proceeds equally; they shall also divide the dead ox [between them].

Exodus 21:36 (show verse)

Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, and its owner has not kept it confined, he must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead [animal] shall be his.