Exodus 21:2-23
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 21
2If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you. 3If he comes alone, he shall leave alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall leave with him. 4If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave alone. 5But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’ 6then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7Now if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do.
8If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people, because of his unfairness to her.
9And if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.
10If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.
11But if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go free for nothing, without payment of money.
12He who strikes someone so that he dies shall certainly be put to death.
13Yet if he did not lie in wait for him, but God caused him to fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee.
14If, however, someone is enraged against his neighbor, so as to kill him in a cunning way, you are to take him even from My altar, to be put to death.
18Now if people have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
19if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his loss of time, and shall pay for his care until he is completely healed.
20And if someone strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies at his hand, he shall be punished.
21If, however, the slave survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; for the slave is his property.
22Now if people struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury, the guilty person shall certainly be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide.
23But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,
King James Version
Chapter 21
2If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. 5And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
7And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
8If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
12He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
13And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
18And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
19If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 21
2"When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man without paying anything. 3If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with a wife, his wife is to leave with him. 4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.
5"But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’
6his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.
7"When a man sells his daughter as a concubine, she is not to leave as the male slaves do.
8If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her.
9Or if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her according to the customary treatment of daughters.
10If he takes an additional wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.
11And if he does not do these three things for her, she may leave free of charge, without any payment.
12"Whoever strikes a person so that he dies must be put to death.
13But if he did not intend any harm, and yet God allowed it to happen, I will appoint a place for you where he may flee.
14If a person schemes and willfully acts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from my altar to be put to death.
18"When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed,
19if he can later get up and walk around outside leaning on his staff, then the one who struck him will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time and provide for his complete recovery.
20"When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse, the owner must be punished.
21However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished because he is his owner’s property.
22"When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment.
23If there is an injury, then you must give life for life,
New Living Translation
Chapter 21
2If 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. 3If 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.
4If 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.
5But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’
6If 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.
7When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.
8If 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.
9But 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.
10If 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.
11If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.
12Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.
13But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.
14However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.
18Now 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.
19If 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.
20If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished.
21But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.
22Now 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.
23But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,
English Standard Version
Chapter 21
2When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master 's, and he shall go out alone. 5But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
7"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.
8If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.
9If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter.
10If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
11And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
12"Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
13But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
14But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
16"Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
18"When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed,
19then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.
New International Version
Chapter 21
2"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4If 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"But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’
6then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
7"If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do.
8If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.
9If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter.
10If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.
11If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
12"Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.
13However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.
14But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.
18"If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed,
19the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.
New King James Version
Chapter 21
2If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
7“And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.
8If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.
9And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.
10If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights.
11And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.
12“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
13However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.
18“If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,
19if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.
