Making Bricks Without Straw
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold ta feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, u“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, vI will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The wGod of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your xburdens.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, ythe people of the land are now many,1 and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the ztaskmasters of the people and their aforemen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”
The Song of Moses
1 Then Moses and the people of Israel fsang this song to the Lord, saying,
g“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider1 he has thrown into the sea.
2 hThe Lord is my strength and my isong,
and he has become jmy salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
kmy father’s God, and lI will exalt him.
3 The Lord is ma man of war;
nthe Lord is his name.
4 o“Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen pofficers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The qfloods covered them;
they rwent down into the depths like a stone.
6 sYour right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord, tshatters the enemy.
7 In the ugreatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it vconsumes them like stubble.
8 At the wblast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the xfloods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, y‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I zwill divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You ablew with your wind; the bsea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 c“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in dglorious deeds, edoing wonders?
12 You stretched out fyour right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
13 “You have gled in your steadfast love the people whom hyou have redeemed;
you have iguided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14 jThe peoples have heard; they tremble;
pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Now are the chiefs of Edom kdismayed;
trembling seizes the leaders of lMoab;
mall the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 Terror and ndread fall upon them;
because of the greatness of your arm, they are still oas a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
till the people pass by whom pyou have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and qplant them on your own mountain,
the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
rthe sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
18 sThe Lord will reign forever and ever.”
19 For when tthe horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, uthe Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then vMiriam wthe prophetess, the xsister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and yall the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:
z“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Bitter Water Made Sweet
22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of aShur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to bMarah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.2 24 And the people cgrumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he dcried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,3 and he ethrew it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the Lord4 made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ftested them, 26 saying, g“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the hdiseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, iyour healer.”
27 Then jthey came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
Bread from Heaven
1 They kset out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel lgrumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, m“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, nwhen we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain obread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may ptest them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, qit will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, r“At evening syou shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the tglory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For uwhat are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—vwhat are we? Your grumbling is not wagainst us but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses xsaid to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, y‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the tglory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I zhave heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At atwilight you shall eat meat, and bin the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 In the evening cquail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning ddew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, e“What is it?”5 For they fdid not know what it was. And Moses said to them, g“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an homer,6 according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, iwhoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and jit bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 On kthe sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of lsolemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and mit did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for ltoday is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, n“How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people orested on the seventh day.
31 Now the house of Israel called its name pmanna. It was qlike coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a rjar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before sthe testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel tate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till uthey came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is vthe tenth part of an ephah.)7
Water from the Rock
1 wAll the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 xTherefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you ytest the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and zthe people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready ato stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with bwhich you struck the Nile, and go. 6 cBehold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place dMassah8 and eMeribah,9 because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Israel Defeats Amalek
8 fThen Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to gJoshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with hthe staff of God in my hand.” 10 So gJoshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and iHur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses jheld up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and iHur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And gJoshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of gJoshua, that kI will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses lbuilt an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne10 of the Lord! kThe Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Jethro’s Advice
1 mJethro, nthe priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along with her otwo sons. The name of the one was Gershom (pfor he said, q“I have been a sojourner11 in a foreign land”), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer12 (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the rmountain of God. 6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I,13 your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” 7 Moses swent out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and tkissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Then Moses told his father-in-law uall that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 Jethro said, v“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that wthe Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they xdealt arrogantly with the people.”14 12 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law ybefore God.
13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because zthe people come to me to inquire of God; 16 awhen they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I bmake them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. cYou are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall drepresent the people before God and ebring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know fthe way in which they must walk and gwhat they must do. 21 Moreover, look for hable men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And ilet them judge the people at all times. jEvery great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will kbear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be lable to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 mMoses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And nthey judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ohe went away to his own country.
Israel at Mount Sinai
1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they pcame into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from qRephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before rthe mountain, 3 while sMoses went up to God. tThe Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 u‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how vI bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be wmy treasured possession among all peoples, for xall the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a ykingdom of priests and za holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 aAll the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you bin a thick cloud, that cthe people may hear when I speak with you, and may also dbelieve you forever.”
When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and econsecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them fwash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day gthe Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. hWhoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;15 whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When ithe trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses jwent down from the mountain to the people and econsecrated the people; fand they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the kthird day; ldo not go near a woman.”
16 On the morning of the kthird day there were mthunders and lightnings and na thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud otrumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp ptrembled. 17 Then qMoses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now rMount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and sthe whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the osound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and tGod answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord uto look and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near to the Lord vconsecrate themselves, lest the Lord wbreak out against them.” 23 And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, x‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24 And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people ybreak through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
The Ten Commandments
1 zAnd aGod spoke all these words, saying,
2 b“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 c“You shall have no other gods before16 me.
4 d“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 eYou shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am fa jealous God, gvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands17 of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 h“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 i“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 jSix days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the kseventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the lsojourner who is within your gates. 11 For min six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 n“Honor your father and your mother, othat your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
14 q“You shall not commit adultery.
15 r“You shall not steal.
16 s“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 t“You shall not covet uyour neighbor’s house; vyou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
18 Now when all the people saw wthe thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid19 and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, x“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 yMoses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to ztest you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the athick darkness where God was.
Laws About Altars
22 And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have btalked with you from heaven. 23 cYou shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. dIn every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and ebless you. 25 fIf you make me an altar of stone, gyou shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’
Laws About Slaves
1 “Now these are the hrules that you shall set before them. 2 iWhen you buy a Hebrew slave,20 he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, 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 be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. 5 But jif the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to kGod, 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 lsells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has designated her21 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. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or mher marital rights. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
12 n“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. 13 oBut if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then pI will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, qyou shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
16 r“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found sin possession of him, shall be put to death.
17 t“Whoever curses22 his father or his mother 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, 19 then 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.
20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the uslave is his money.
22 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and vhe shall pay as the wjudges determine. 23 But if there is harm,23 then you shall pay xlife for life, 24 yeye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 “When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
28 “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the zox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. 29 But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If aa ransom is imposed on him, then vhe shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. 31 If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. 32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master bthirty shekels24 of silver, and zthe ox shall be stoned.
Laws About Restitution
33 “When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
35 “When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. 36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.
251 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and cfour sheep for a sheep. 2 26 If a thief is found dbreaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, 3 but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He27 shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then ehe shall be sold for his theft. 4 If the stolen beast fis found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, ghe shall pay double.
5 “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard.
6 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.
7 “If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man’s house, then, if the thief is found, ghe shall pay double. 8 If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. 9 For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.
10 “If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, 11 han oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. 12 But if iit is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. 13 If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.
14 “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. 15 If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.28
Laws for a Just Community
16 j“If a man seduces a virgin29 who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price30 for her and make her his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, jhe shall pay money equal to the kbride-price for virgins.
18 l“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
19 m“Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.
20 n“Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.31
21 o“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 pYou shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they qcry out to me, I will surely rhear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and syour wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25 t“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 uIf ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he qcries to me, I will hear, for I am vcompassionate.
28 w“You shall not revile God, nor wcurse a ruler of your people.
29 “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. xThe firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 30 yYou shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: zseven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.
31 a“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore byou shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; cyou shall throw it to the dogs.
1 d“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a emalicious witness. 2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, 3 fnor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.
4 g“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.
6 h“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 7 dKeep far from a false charge, and ido not kill the innocent and righteous, for jI will not acquit the wicked. 8 kAnd you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
9 l“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Laws About the Sabbath and Festivals
10 m“For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
12 n“Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.
13 o“Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.
14 p“Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15 qYou shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of rAbib, for in it you came out of Egypt. sNone shall appear before me empty-handed. 16 You shall keep tthe Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the uFeast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 17 pThree times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.
18 v“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning.
19 “The best of the wfirstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.
x“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Conquest of Canaan Promised
20 y“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; zdo not rebel against him, afor he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
22 “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then bI will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 y“When my angel goes before you and brings you cto the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24 you shall dnot bow down to their gods nor serve them, enor do as they do, but fyou shall utterly overthrow them and break their gpillars in pieces. 25 You hshall serve the Lord your God, and ihe32 will bless your bread and your water, and jI will take sickness away from among you. 26 kNone shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the lnumber of your days. 27 I will send mmy terror before you and will throw into nconfusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And oI will send hornets33 before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 pI will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 31 qAnd I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates,34 for rI will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 sYou shall make no covenant with them and their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, tit will surely be a snare to you.”
