The Treatment of Slaves

¹“Give the Israelites the following laws:

²If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve you for six years. In the seventh year he is to be set free without having to pay anything.

³If he was unmarried when he became your slave, he is not to take a wife with him when he leaves; but if he was married when he became your slave, he may take his wife with him.

⁴If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the woman and her children belong to the master, and the man is to leave by himself.

⁵But if the slave declares that he loves his master, his wife, and his children and does not want to be set free,

⁶then his master shall take him to the place of worship. There he is to make him stand against the door or the doorpost and put a hole through his ear. Then he will be his slave for life.

⁷“If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to be set free, as male slaves are.

⁸If she is sold to someone who intends to make her his wife, but he doesn't like her, then she is to be sold back to her father; her master cannot sell her to foreigners, because he has treated her unfairly.

⁹If a man buys a female slave to give to his son, he is to treat her like a daughter.

¹⁰If a man takes a second wife, he must continue to give his first wife the same amount of food and clothing and the same rights that she had before.

¹¹If he does not fulfill these duties to her, he must set her free and not receive any payment.

Laws about Violent Acts

¹²“Whoever hits someone and kills him is to be put to death.

¹³But if it was an accident and he did not mean to kill him, he can escape to a place which I will choose for you, and there he will be safe.

¹⁴But when someone gets angry and deliberately kills someone else, he is to be put to death, even if he has run to my altar for safety.

¹⁵“Whoever hits his father or his mother is to be put to death.

¹⁶“Whoever kidnaps someone, either to sell him or to keep him as a slave, is to be put to death.

¹⁷“Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.

^18-19“If there is a fight and someone hits someone else with a stone or with his fist, but does not kill him, he is not to be punished. If the one who was hit has to stay in bed, but later is able to get up and walk outside with the help of a cane, the one who hit him is to pay for his lost time and take care of him until he gets well.

²⁰“If a slave owner takes a stick and beats his slave, whether male or female, and the slave dies on the spot, the owner is to be punished.

²¹But if the slave does not die for a day or two, the master is not to be punished. The loss of his property is punishment enough.

²²“If some men are fighting and hurt a pregnant woman so that she loses her child, but she is not injured in any other way, the one who hurt her is to be fined whatever amount the woman's husband demands, subject to the approval of the judges.

²³But if the woman herself is injured, the punishment shall be life for life,

²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

²⁶“If someone hits his male or female slave in the eye and puts it out, he is to free the slave as payment for the eye.

²⁷If he knocks out a tooth, he is to free the slave as payment for the tooth.

The Responsibility of Owners

²⁸“If a bull gores someone to death, it is to be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but its owner is not to be punished.

²⁹But if the bull had been in the habit of attacking people and its owner had been warned, but did not keep it penned up—then if it gores someone to death, it is to be stoned, and its owner is to be put to death also.

³⁰However, if the owner is allowed to pay a fine to save his life, he must pay the full amount required.

³¹If the bull kills a boy or a girl, the same rule applies.

³²If the bull kills a male or female slave, its owner shall pay the owner of the slave thirty pieces of silver, and the bull shall be stoned to death.

³³“If someone takes the cover off a pit or if he digs one and does not cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,

³⁴he must pay for the animal. He is to pay the money to the owner and may keep the dead animal.

³⁵If someone's bull kills someone else's bull, the two of them shall sell the live bull and divide the money; they shall also divide up the meat from the dead animal.

³⁶But if it was known that the bull had been in the habit of attacking and its owner did not keep it penned up, he must make good the loss by giving the other man a live bull, but he may keep the dead animal.

Purification after Having Skin Diseases

¹The Lord gave Moses

²the following regulations about the ritual purification of those of you cured of a dreaded skin disease. On the day you are to be pronounced clean, you shall be brought to the priest,

³and the priest shall take you outside the camp and examine you. If the disease is healed,

⁴the priest shall order that two ritually clean birds be brought, along with a piece of cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.

⁵Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water.

⁶He shall take the other bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the red cord, and the hyssop, in the blood of the bird that was killed.

⁷He shall sprinkle the blood seven times on the one of you who is to be purified from your skin disease, and then he shall pronounce you clean. He shall let the live bird fly away over the open fields.

⁸You shall wash your clothes, shave off all your hair, and take a bath; you will then be ritually clean. You may enter the camp, but you must live outside your tent for seven days.

⁹On the seventh day you shall again shave your head, your beard, your eyebrows, and all the rest of the hair on your body; you shall wash your clothes and take a bath, and then you will be ritually clean.

¹⁰On the eighth day you shall bring two male lambs and one female lamb a year old that are without any defects, five pounds of flour mixed with olive oil, and half a pint of olive oil.

¹¹The priest shall take you and these offerings to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

¹²Then the priest shall take one of the male lambs and together with the half pint of oil he shall offer it as a repayment offering. He shall present them as a special gift to the Lord for the priest.

¹³He shall kill the lamb in the holy place where the animals for the sin offerings and the burnt offerings are killed. He must do this because the repayment offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest and is very holy.

¹⁴The priest shall take some of the blood of the lamb and put it on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one of you to be declared ritually clean.

¹⁵The priest shall take some of the olive oil and pour it in the palm of his own left hand,

¹⁶dip a finger of his right hand in it, and sprinkle some of it seven times there in the Lord's presence.

¹⁷He shall take some of the oil that is in the palm of his hand and some of the blood of the lamb and put them on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one of you to be declared ritually clean.

¹⁸He shall put the rest of the oil that is in the palm of his hand on your head. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification.

¹⁹Then the priest shall offer the sin offering and perform the ritual of purification. After that, he shall kill the animal for the burnt offering

²⁰and offer it with the grain offering on the altar. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification, and you will be ritually clean.

²¹If you are poor and cannot afford any more, you shall bring for your purification only one male lamb as your repayment offering, a special gift to the Lord for the priest. You shall bring only two pounds of flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering and half a pint of olive oil.

²²You shall also bring two doves or two pigeons, one for the sin offering and one for the burnt offering.

²³On the eighth day of your purification you shall bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent.

²⁴The priest shall take the lamb and the olive oil and present them as a special gift to the Lord for the priest.

²⁵He shall kill the lamb and take some of the blood and put it on the lobe of your right ear, on the thumb of your right hand, and on the big toe of your right foot.

²⁶The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand

²⁷and with a finger of his right hand sprinkle some of it seven times there in the Lord's presence.

²⁸He shall put some of the oil on the same places he put the blood: on the lobe of your right ear, on the thumb of your right hand, and on the big toe of your right foot.

²⁹The rest of the oil that is in his palm he shall put on your head and in this way perform the ritual of purification.

³⁰Then he shall offer one of the doves or pigeons

³¹as the sin offering and the other as the burnt offering with the grain offering. In this way the priest shall perform the ritual of purification.

³²This is the law for those who have a dreaded skin disease but who cannot afford the normal offerings required for his purification.

Mildew in Houses

³³The Lord gave Moses and Aaron

^34-35the following regulations about houses affected by spreading mildew. (These were to apply after the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan, which the Lord was going to give them as their possession.) If any of you find that the Lord has sent mildew on your house, then you must go and tell the priest about it.

³⁶The priest shall order everything to be moved out of the house before he goes to examine the mildew; otherwise everything in the house will be declared unclean. Then he shall go to the house

³⁷and examine the mildew. If there are greenish or reddish spots that appear to be eating into the wall,

³⁸he shall leave the house and lock it up for seven days.

³⁹On the seventh day he shall return and examine it again. If the mildew has spread,

⁴⁰he shall order that the stones on which the mildew is found be removed and thrown into some unclean place outside the city.

⁴¹After that he must have all the interior walls scraped and the plaster dumped in an unclean place outside the city.

⁴²Then other stones are to be used to replace the stones that were removed, and new plaster will be used to cover the walls.

⁴³If the mildew breaks out again in the house after the stones have been removed and the house has been scraped and plastered,

⁴⁴the priest shall go and look. If it has spread, the house is unclean.

⁴⁵It must be torn down, and its stones, its wood, and all its plaster must be carried out of the city to an unclean place.

⁴⁶Any who enter the house while it is locked up will be unclean until evening.

⁴⁷Any who lie down or eat in the house must wash their clothes.

⁴⁸If, when the priest comes to look, the mildew has not reappeared after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house ritually clean, because the mildew has been completely removed.

⁴⁹To purify the house, he shall take two birds, some cedar wood, a red cord, and a sprig of hyssop.

⁵⁰He shall kill one of the birds over a clay bowl containing fresh spring water.

⁵¹Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the red cord, and the live bird and shall dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water. And he shall sprinkle the house seven times.

⁵²In this way he shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red cord.

⁵³Then he shall let the live bird fly away outside the city over the open fields. In this way he shall perform the ritual of purification for the house, and it will be ritually clean.

⁵⁴These are the laws about dreaded skin diseases;

^55-56sores, boils, or inflammations; and about mildew in clothes or houses.

⁵⁷These laws determine when something is unclean and when it is clean.

God the Judge

¹We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you! We proclaim how great you are and tell of the wonderful things you have done.

²“I have set a time for judgment,” says God, “and I will judge with fairness.

³Though every living creature tremble and the earth itself be shaken, I will keep its foundations firm.

⁴I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;

⁵I tell them to stop their boasting.”

⁶Judgment does not come from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south;

⁷it is God who is the judge, condemning some and acquitting others.

⁸The Lord holds a cup in his hand, filled with the strong wine of his anger. He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it; they drink it down to the last drop.

⁹But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob or singing praises to him.

¹⁰He will break the power of the wicked, but the power of the righteous will be increased.