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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Exodus 21 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/exodus/21.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/exodus/21-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Exodus 21</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../exodus/20.htm" title="Exodus 20">◄</a> Exodus 21 <a href="../exodus/22.htm" title="Exodus 22">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/exodus/21.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">Fair Treatment of Slaves</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>“These are the regulations you must present to Israel.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>“If 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>If 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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>“If 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>If he does this, his master must present him before God.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> 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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>If 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>But 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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>“If 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.</p><p class="hdg">Cases of Personal Injury</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>“Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>“Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>“Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>“Anyone who dishonors<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> father or mother must be put to death.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>“Now 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>If 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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>“If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>“If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>And if a man knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>“If an ox<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a> gores a man or woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>But suppose the ox had a reputation for goring, and the owner had been informed but failed to keep it under control. If the ox then kills someone, it must be stoned, and the owner must also be put to death. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>However, the dead person’s relatives may accept payment to compensate for the loss of life. The owner of the ox may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>“The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> and the ox must be stoned.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>“Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>“If someone’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and the injured ox dies, then the two owners must sell the live ox and divide the price equally between them. They must also divide the dead animal. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/21-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>But if the ox had a reputation for goring, yet its owner failed to keep it under control, he must pay full compensation—a live ox for the dead one—but he may keep the dead ox.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">21:6 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">before the judges.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">21:17 </span><span class="ft">Greek version reads </span><span class="it">Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of.</span><span class="ft"> Compare Matt 15:4; Mark 7:10.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">21:22 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">so she has a miscarriage;</span><span class="ft"> Hebrew reads </span><span class="it">so her children come out.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">21:28 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">bull,</span><span class="ft"> or </span><span class="it">cow;</span><span class="ft"> also in 21:29-36.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">21:32 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">30 shekels of silver,</span><span class="ft"> about 12 ounces or 342 grams in weight.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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