Hebrew Servants (Deuteronomy 15:12–18)
1 UST These are the laws that you must establish for the Israelite nation: BSB BSB: “These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:
3 UST If he became your slave alone, you will free him alone. But if he had a wife, you must free both him and his wife. BSB BSB: If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.
4 UST If the master of a slave gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters while her husband is a slave, you only have to free the man. His wife and children will continue to be slaves of their master. 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 UST But when it is time for you to free the slave if he clearly states:‘I love my master and my wife and my children, and I do not want to go 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 UST then his master must take him to the place where they worship God. There he must make the slave stand against the door or the doorpost. Then the master will use an awl to make a hole in the slave’ s ear and he will own that slave for the rest of his 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 UST If a man sells his daughter to become a slave, she should not go free like the male slaves. BSB BSB: And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.
8 UST If the man who bought her wanted her to be his concubine, but later he is not pleased with her, he must sell her back to her father. He must not sell her to a foreigner, because that was not what he and the girl’ s father agreed to. 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 UST If the man who buys her wants her to be a wife for his son, he must then treat her as though she were his own daughter. BSB BSB: And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.
10 UST If the master marries another woman, he must continue to give the first woman the same amount of food, clothing, and sexual attention that he gave to her before. BSB BSB: If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.
11 UST If he does not do these three things for her, he must free her from being a slave, and she is not required to pay anything to go free. 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 UST If someone hits a man in order to kill him and the man dies, then you absolutely must execute the murderer; BSB BSB: Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
13 UST but if he did not plan the murder— if God allowed the accident— the one who hit him can escape to a place that I will choose for you, and he will be safe there. 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 UST But if someone gets angry with another person and kills him on purpose, you must kill the murderer even if he runs to God’ s altar. 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 UST You must kill anyone who strikes his father or mother. BSB BSB: Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death.
17 UST You must kill anyone who curses or insults his father or his mother. BSB BSB: Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
18 UST Suppose two people fight, and one hits the other with a stone or his fist. Suppose the person he strikes does not die but is injured and has to stay in bed for a while, 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 UST but later he is able to walk outside using a cane. Then they must not punish the person who hit him, except that they must make him pay the injured person the money he could not earn while he was recovering as well as the costs for healing. 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 UST If someone hits his male or female slave with a stick, and if the slave dies from the blow, then you must avenge the slave’ s death. 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 UST But if the slave recovers after a few days, you must not punish the one who hit him, because the slave was his property. 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 UST If some men are fighting, and they hit a pregnant woman so that she gives birth, but she and the baby are unharmed, whoever hit her must pay a fine. He must pay whatever the woman’ s husband asks after a judge approves of the fine. 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 UST { In the same way, if he harmed} an eye, a tooth, a hand, or a foot, BSB BSB: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 UST or caused a burn, a wound, or a bruise—{ you must cause the same harm to him}. BSB BSB: burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe.
27 UST If someone knocks out one of his slave’ s teeth, he must free the slave because of what he did to the slave’ s 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 UST If a bull gores a man or woman with the result that the person dies, you must kill the bull by throwing stones at it, but do not eat it. The owner of the bull is not guilty. 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 UST But if the bull had attacked people several times before and if people had told its owner about that, but he did not keep the bull inside a fence, and it kills a man or woman by goring, then you must kill the bull by throwing stones at it, and you must also kill its owner. 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 UST However, if{ the family of the dead} chooses to demand compensation instead, to save his life he must pay the full amount they demand. BSB BSB: If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.
31 UST If someone’ s bull attacks and gores someone’ s son or daughter, you must treat the bull’ s owner according to that same rule. BSB BSB: If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
32 UST If a bull attacks and gores a male or female slave, its owner must pay to the slave’ s owner thirty pieces of silver, and you must kill the bull by throwing stones at it. 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 UST Suppose someone uncovers a hole for storing water or digs one and does not cover it. If someone’ s bull or donkey falls into it{ and dies}, 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 UST the owner of the pit must give the animal’ s owner as much money as the animal was worth, but then he will own the dead animal. BSB BSB: the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
35 UST If someone’ s bull hurts another person’ s bull, so that it dies, the owners of both bulls must sell the bull that is living, and they must divide between them the money that they get for it. They must also divide between them the meat of the animal that died. 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 UST However, if the owner knew that the bull often attacked other animals before, and he did not secure it, then the owner of that bull must give the owner of the bull that died a living bull, but then he will own the dead animal. 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.