Exodus 20 - 23
The Commandments of Yahweh
20Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2“aI am Yahweh your God, bwho brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of 1slavery. 3“aYou shall have no other bgods 1before Me. 4“aYou shall not make for yourself 1an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5“aYou shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a bjealous God, cvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to athousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7“aYou shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not 1leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. 8“Remember athe sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9“aSix days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh your God; in it ayou shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female slave or your cattle or your sojourner who is within your gates. 11“aFor in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12“aHonor your father and your mother, that your bdays may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. 13“aYou shall not murder. 14“aYou shall not commit adultery. 15“aYou shall not steal. 16“aYou shall not bear false witness against your bneighbor. 17“aYou shall not covet your neighbor’s house; byou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male slave or his female slave or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 18aAnd all the people perceived the 1thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and the people perceived it, and they shook and stood at a distance. 19aThen they said to Moses, “Speak 1to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak 2to us, lest we die.” 20And Moses said to the people, “aDo not be afraid; for God has come in order bto test you, and in order that cthe fear of Him may 1be with you, so that you may not sin.” 21So the people stood at a distance, but Moses came near athe dense gloom where God was.
22Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that aI have spoken 1to you from heaven. 23‘aYou shall not make other gods besides Me; bgods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24‘You shall make aan altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your bburnt offerings and your cpeace offerings, dyour sheep and your oxen; in every place ewhere I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25‘And if you make an altar of stone for Me, ayou shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 26‘And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that ayour nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
Judgments About Slaves
21“Now these are the ajudgments which you are to set before them:
2“If you buy aa Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. 3“If he comes 1alone, he shall go out 2alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. 4“If 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 go out 1alone. 5“But aif the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6then his master shall bring him to 1God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. Then his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7“aAnd if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to 1go free bas the male slaves 2do. 8“If she is 1displeasing in the eyes of her master 2who 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 treachery to her. 9“And if he designates her for his son, he shall do to her according to the custom of daughters. 10“If he takes for himself another woman, he may not reduce her 1food, her clothing, or aher conjugal rights. 11“And if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
Judgments About Personal Injuries
12“aHe who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13“aBut 1if he did not lie in wait for him, but bGod let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. 14“aIf, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him by deceit, you shall take him even from My altar, that he may die.
15“And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
16“aHe who 1kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.
17“aAnd he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
18“And if men contend with each other and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but 1remains in 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 1his loss of time, and 2he shall take care of him until he is completely healed.
20“And if a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies 1at his hand, he shall surely 2be punished. 21“But if for a day or two he is able to stand, no punishment shall be taken; afor he is his 1property.
22“And if men struggle with each other and 1strike a woman with child so that 2she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband 3will set for him, and he shall apay 4as the judges decide. 23“But if there is any further injury, athen you shall pay life for life, 24aeye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.
26“And if a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and ruins it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye. 27“And if he 1knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.
28“And if an ox gores a man or a woman 1to death, athe ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished. 29“If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it puts a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30“If a ransom is 1demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is 2demanded of him. 31“Whether it gores a son or 1a daughter, it shall be done to him according to 2the same judgment. 32“If the ox gores a male or female slave, 1the owner shall give his or her master 2,athirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33“And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall 1give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
35“And if one man’s ox 1hurts another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide the dead ox. 36“Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.
Judgments About Property Rights
22“1If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and afour sheep for the sheep.
2“1If the athief is 2caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. 3“But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be asold for his theft. 4“If what he stole is actually found alive in his hand, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, ahe shall pay double.
5“If a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare and lets his animal loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
6“If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, so that stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, he who started the fire shall surely make restitution.
7“aIf a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is 1caught, he shall pay double. 8“If the thief is not 1caught, then the owner of the house shall 2appear before 3,athe judges to determine whether he 4laid his hands on his neighbor’s property. 9“For every 1breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the 2case of both parties shall come before 3,athe judges; he whom 4the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.
10“If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is injured or is driven away while no one is looking, 11then an aoath before Yahweh shall be made by the two of them 1that he has not 2laid hands on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. 12“But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. 13“Now if it is all torn to pieces, let him bring it as evidence; he shall not make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.
14“If a man 1borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution. 15“But if its owner is with it, he shall not make restitution; if it is hired, it came for its hire.
Various Judgments
16“aIf a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. 17“If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall 1pay money equal to the adowry for virgins.
18“You shall not allow a asorceress to live.
19“aWhoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.
20“aAnd he who sacrifices to 1any god, other than to Yahweh alone, shall be 2devoted to destruction.
21“aYou shall not mistreat a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22“aYou shall not afflict any widow or orphan. 23“And if you indeed afflict him, and aif he earnestly cries out to Me, bI will surely hear his cry; 24and My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, aand your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25“aIf you lend money to My people, to the afflicted 1among you, you are not to 2act as a creditor to him; you shall not 3charge him binterest. 26“If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak aas a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun sets, 27for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his 1body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall be that awhen he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for bI am gracious.
29“aYou shall not delay the offering from 1the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat. bThe firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30“aAnd you shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; bon the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
31“aYou shall be holy men to Me, therefore byou shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
23“aYou shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a bmalicious witness. 2“You shall not follow 1the masses in doing evil, nor shall you 2testify in a case so as to turn aside after 3the masses in order to 4,acause justice to be turned aside; 3anor shall you 1be partial to a poor man in his case.
4“aIf you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. 5“aIf you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.
6“aYou shall not cause the justice due to your needy brother to be turned aside in his case. 7“aKeep far from a 1false charge, and bdo not kill the innocent or the righteous, for cI will not justify the guilty.
8“aAnd you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and 1subverts the cause of the 2just.
9“aAnd you shall not oppress a sojourner, since you yourselves know the soul of a sojourner, for you also were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Judgments About Work and Rest
10“aNow you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its produce, 11but on the seventh year you shall let it 1rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. Thus you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12“aSix days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall 1rest so that your ox and your donkey may 2rest, and the son of your maidservant, as well as your sojourner, may refresh themselves. 13“Now aconcerning everything which I have said to you, beware; and bdo not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard 1from your mouth.
Judgments About National Feasts
14“aThree times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15“You shall keep athe Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the bmonth Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And 1,cnone shall appear before Me empty-handed. 16“Also you shall keep athe Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year bwhen you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17“aThree times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh.
18“aYou shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; bnor is the fat of My 1feast to remain overnight until morning.
19“You shall bring athe choice first fruits of your ground into the house of Yahweh your God. “bYou shall not boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.
Yahweh Will Drive Out Israel’s Enemies
20“Behold, I am going to send aan angel before you to keep you along the way and bto bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21“Keep watch of yourself before him and listen to his voice; ado not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since bMy name is in him. 22“But if you truly listen to his voice and do all that I speak, then aI will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23“aFor My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will annihilate them. 24“aYou shall not worship their gods, you shall not serve them, and you shall not do according to their deeds; bbut you shall utterly pull them down and shatter their csacred pillars in pieces. 25“aBut you shall serve Yahweh your God, 1and He will bless your bread and your water; and bI will remove sickness from your midst. 26“There shall be no one miscarrying or abarren in your land; bI will fulfill the number of your days. 27“I will asend My terror ahead of you and bthrow into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will cmake all your enemies 1turn their backs to you. 28“And I will send ahornets ahead of you so that they will bdrive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. 29“aI will not drive them out before you in a single year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30“I will drive them out before you alittle by little, until you become fruitful and take the land as an inheritance. 31“aAnd I will set your boundary from the 1Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the 2River; bfor I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will cdrive them out from before you. 32“aYou shall cut no covenant with them bor with their gods. 33“aThey shall not live in your land, lest they make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, bit will surely be a snare to you.”