Hebrew Servants (Deuteronomy 15:12–18)
1 UEB "Now these are the decrees that you must set before them: BSB BSB: “These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:
3 UEB If he came by himself, he must go free by himself; if he is married, then his wife must go free with him. BSB BSB: If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.
4 UEB If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and he must go free by himself. BSB BSB: If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 UEB But if the servant plainly says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free," BSB BSB: But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’
6 UEB then his master must bring him to God. The master must bring him to a door or doorpost, and his master must bore his ear through with an awl. Then the servant will serve him for life. BSB BSB: then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.
7 UEB If a man sells his daughter as a female servant, she must not go free as the male servants do. BSB BSB: And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.
8 UEB If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he must let her be bought back. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people. He has no such right, since he has treated her deceitfully. BSB BSB: If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.
9 UEB If her master designates her as a wife for his son, he must treat her the same as if she were his daughter. BSB BSB: And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.
10 UEB If he takes another wife for himself, he must not diminish her food, clothing, or her marital rights. BSB BSB: If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.
11 UEB But if he does not provide these three things for her, then she can go free without paying any money. BSB BSB: If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.
Personal Injury Laws 12 UEB Whoever strikes a man so that he dies, that person must surely be put to death. BSB BSB: Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
13 UEB If the man did not do it with premeditation, but instead by accident, then I will fix a place to where he can flee. BSB BSB: If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.
14 UEB If a man willfully attacks his neighbor and kills him according to a cunning plan, then you must take him, even if he is at God's altar, so that he may die. BSB BSB: But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.
15 UEB Whoever hits his father or mother must surely be put to death. BSB BSB: Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death.
17 UEB Whoever curses his father or his mother must surely be put to death. BSB BSB: Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
18 UEB If men fight and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist, and that person does not die, but is confined to his bed; BSB BSB: If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
19 UEB then if he recovers and is able to walk about using his staff, the man who struck him must pay for the loss of his time; he must also pay for his complete recovery. But that man is not guilty of murder. BSB BSB: then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.
20 UEB If a man hits his male servant or his female servant with a staff, and if the servant dies as a result of the blow, then that man must surely be punished. BSB BSB: If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.
21 UEB However, if the servant lives for a day or two, the master must not be punished, for he will have suffered the loss of the servant. BSB BSB: However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property.
22 UEB If men fight together and hurt a pregnant woman so that she miscarries, but there is no other injury to her, then the guilty man must surely be fined as the woman's husband demands it from him, and he must pay as the judges determine. BSB BSB: If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.
24 UEB an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, BSB BSB: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 UEB a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, or a bruise for a bruise. BSB BSB: burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe.
27 UEB If he knocks out a tooth of his male servant or female servant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth. BSB BSB: And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.
28 UEB If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its flesh must not be eaten; but the ox's owner must be acquitted of guilt. BSB BSB: If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.
29 UEB But if the ox had a habit of goring in the past, and its owner was warned but did not keep it in, and the ox has killed a man or a woman, that ox must be stoned, and its owner also must be put to death. BSB BSB: But if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death.
30 UEB If a payment is required for his life, he must pay whatever he is required to pay. BSB BSB: If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.
31 UEB If the ox has gored a man's son or daughter, the ox's owner must do what this decree requires him to do. BSB BSB: If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
32 UEB If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the ox's owner must pay thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned. BSB BSB: If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.
33 UEB 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, BSB BSB: If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34 UEB the owner of the pit must repay the loss. He must give money to the dead animal's owner, and the dead animal will become his. BSB BSB: the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
35 UEB If one man's ox hurts another man's ox so that it dies, then they must sell the live ox and divide its price, and they must also divide the dead ox. BSB BSB: If a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live one and divide the proceeds; they also must divide the dead animal.
36 UEB But if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring in time past, and its owner has not kept it in, he must surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal will become his own. BSB BSB: But if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring, yet its owner failed to restrain it, he shall pay full compensation, ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.