his master shall take him before God.abefore God In contrast to others “to the judges.” He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall then remain his master’s slave for life.
If she proves to be displeasing to her master, who designated her for himself, he must let her be redeemed; he shall not have the right to sell her to outsiders, since he broke faith with her.
If it was not by design—it came about by an act of God—I will assign you a place to which that person can flee.ca place to which that person can flee The case of a female culprit may have been more complex.
When [two or more] parties fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and a miscarriage results, but no other damage ensues, [the one responsible] shall be fined according as the woman’s husband may exact, the payment to be based on reckoning.fon reckoning In contrast to others “as the judges determine.”
If, however, that ox has been in the habit of goring, and its owner, though warned, has failed to guard it, and it kills a man or a woman—the ox shall be stoned and its owner, too, shall be put to death.
If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has failed to guard it, [that party] must restore ox for ox, but shall keep the dead animal.
gThis verse is labeled as 22.1 in some editions. When someone steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, five oxen shall be paid for the ox, and four sheep for the sheep.—
If the sun had already risen, there is bloodguilt in that case.—[The thief] must make restitution, and if lacking the means, shall be sold for the theft.
When someone who owns livestock lets it loose to graze in another’s land, and so allows a field or a vineyard to be grazed bare, restitution must be made for the impairmentbimpairment Lit. “excellence.” of that field or vineyard.
When a fire is started and spreads to thorns, so that stacked, standing, or growingcgrowing Lit. “field.” grain is consumed, the one who started the fire must make restitution.
(In all charges of misappropriation—pertaining to an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other loss, whereof one party alleges, “This is it”—the case of both parties shall come before God: the one whom God declares guilty shall pay double to the other.)
When one person gives to another a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to guard, and it dies or is injured or is carried off, with no witness about,
an oath before GOD shall decide between the two of them that the one has not laid hands on the property of the other; the owner must acquiesce, and no restitution shall be made.
If a man seduces a virgin for whom the bride-price has not been paid,ethe bride-price has not been paid So that she is unmarried; cf. Deut. 20.7; 22.23ff. and lies with her, he must make her his wife by payment of a bride-price.
it is the only available clothing—it is what covers their skin. In what else shall they sleep? Therefore, if [your neighbor] cries out to Me, I will pay heed, for I am compassionate.
You shall not put off the skimming of the first yield of your vats.iput off the skimming of the first yield of your vats Meaning of Heb. uncertain. You shall give Me the male first-born among your children.
You shall do the same with your cattle and your flocks: seven days their male first-bornjtheir male first-born Heb. “it.” shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
You shall neither side with the mightyamighty In contrast to others “multitude.” to do wrong—you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty—
וְדָ֕ל לֹ֥א תֶהְדַּ֖ר בְּרִיבֽוֹ׃ {ס}
nor shall you show deference to a poor person in a dispute.
When you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raisingbraising For this use of the verb ʻzb, cf. Neh. 3.8, 34. For the whole verse, see Deut. 22.4. it, you must nevertheless help raise it.
לֹ֥א תַטֶּ֛ה מִשְׁפַּ֥ט אֶבְיֹנְךָ֖ בְּרִיבֽוֹ׃
Fifth חמישי
You shall not subvert the rights of your needy in their disputes.
but in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat. You shall do the same with your vineyards and your olive groves.
Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest, and that your home-born slave and the stranger may be refreshed.
You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread—eating unleavened bread for seven days as I have commanded you—at the set time in the monthcin the month See note at 13.4. of Abib, for in it you went forth from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty-handed;
and the Feast of the Harvest, of the first fruits of your work, of what you sow in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in the results of your work from the field.
I am sending an angeldan angel Or “a messenger,” namely Moses; cf. Gersonides, Luzzatto. before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have made ready.
When My angeleangel See note at v. 20. goes before you and brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I annihilate them,
I will send forth My terror before you, and I will throw into panic all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn tailftail Lit. “back.” before you.
I will send a plaguegplague Meaning of Heb. ṣirʻah uncertain. Cf. Deut. 7.20. ahead of you, and it shall drive out before you the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites.
I will set your borders from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of Philistia, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you will drive them out before you.
לֹֽא־תִכְרֹ֥ת לָהֶ֛ם וְלֵאלֹֽהֵיהֶ֖ם בְּרִֽית׃
You shall make no covenant with them and their gods.
Moses went and repeated to the people all GOD’s commands and all the rules; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, “All the things that GOD has commanded we will do!”
Moses then wrote down all GOD’s commands. Early in the morning, he set up an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
He designated some assistantsaassistants Or “young men.” among the Israelites, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as offerings of well-being to GOD.
Then he took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, “All that GOD has spoken we will faithfully do!”bwe will faithfully do Lit. “we will do and obey.”
Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that GOD now makes with you concerning all these commands.”
Yet [God] did not raise a hand against the leaderscleaders Meaning of Heb. ʼaṣilim uncertain. of the Israelites; they beheld God, and they ate and drank.
GOD
said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and wait there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and commandments that I have inscribed to instruct them.”
To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us until we return to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you; let anyone who has a legal matter approach them.”