Day 36 of 730

¹"Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them.

²"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything.

³If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him.

⁴If 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 by himself.

⁵But if the servant shall plainly say, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;'

⁶then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.

⁷"If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do.

⁸If she doesn't please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, seeing he has dealt deceitfully with her.

⁹If he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

¹⁰If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights.

¹¹If he doesn't do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.

¹²"One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death,

¹³but not if it is unintentional, but God allows it to happen: then I will appoint you a place where he shall flee.

¹⁴If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbor to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

¹⁵"Anyone who attacks his father or his mother shall be surely put to death.

¹⁶"Anyone who kidnaps someone and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷"Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸"If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he doesn't die, but is confined to bed;

¹⁹if he rises again and walks around with his staff, then he who struck him shall be cleared: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for his healing until he is thoroughly healed.

²⁰"If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.

²¹Notwithstanding, if he gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for he is his property.

²²"If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman's husband demands and the judges allow.

²³But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life,

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

²⁵burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.

²⁶"If a man strikes his servant's eye, or his maid's eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.

²⁷If he strikes out his male servant's tooth, or his female servant's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.

²⁸"If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible.

²⁹But if the bull had a habit of goring in the past, and it has been testified to its owner, and he has not kept it in, but it has killed a man or a woman, the bull shall be stoned, and its owner shall also be put to death.

³⁰If a ransom is laid on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is laid on him.

³¹Whether it has gored a son or has gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.

³²If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³"If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and doesn't cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,

³⁴the owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall be his.

³⁵"If one man's bull injures another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live bull, and divide its price; and they shall also divide the dead animal.

³⁶Or if it is known that the bull was in the habit of goring in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall surely pay bull for bull, and the dead animal shall be his own.

¹"If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it, or sells it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

²If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him.

³If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt of bloodshed for him; he shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

⁴If the stolen property is found in his hand alive, whether it is ox, donkey, or sheep, he shall pay double.

⁵"If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten, and lets his animal loose, and it grazes in another man's field, [he shall make restitution from his own field according to his produce; and if he shall have grazed over the whole field,] he shall make restitution from the best of his own field, and from the best of his own vineyard.

⁶"If fire breaks out, and catches in thorns so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are consumed; he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷"If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man's house; if the thief is found, he shall pay double.

⁸If the thief isn't found, then the master of the house shall come near to God, to find out if he hasn't put his hand to his neighbor's goods.

⁹For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one says, 'This is mine,' the cause of both parties shall come before God. He whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰"If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies or is injured, or driven away, no man seeing it;

¹¹the oath of the Lord shall be between them both, whether he hasn't put his hand to his neighbor's goods; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.

¹²But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.

¹³If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it for evidence. He shall not make good that which was torn.

¹⁴"If a man borrows anything of his neighbor's, and it is injured, or dies, its owner not being with it, he shall surely make restitution.

¹⁵If its owner is with it, he shall not make it good. If it is a leased thing, it came for its lease.

¹⁶"If a man entices a virgin who isn't pledged to be married, and lies with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife.

¹⁷If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

¹⁸"You shall not allow a sorceress to live.

¹⁹"Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death.

²⁰"He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, shall be utterly destroyed.

²¹"You shall not wrong a foreigner, neither shall you oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

²²"You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child.

²³If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry;

²⁴and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

²⁵"If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor; neither shall you charge him interest.

²⁶If you take your neighbor's garment as collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down,

²⁷for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious.

²⁸"You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹"You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. "You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me.

³⁰You shall do likewise with your cattle and with your sheep. Seven days it shall be with its mother, then on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

³¹"You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.

¹An oracle is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: "There is no fear of God before his eyes."

²For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin.

³The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.

⁴He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn't abhor evil.

⁵Your loving kindness, Lord, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

⁶Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Lord, you preserve man and animal.

⁷How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

⁸They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures.

⁹For with you is the spring of life. In your light shall we see light.

¹⁰Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.

¹¹Do not let the foot of pride come against me. Do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹²There the workers of iniquity are fallen. They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

²that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.

⁷Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸Remove your way far from her. Do not come near the door of her house,

⁹lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man's house.

¹¹You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

¹²and say, "How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

¹³neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly."

¹⁵Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹A loving doe and a graceful deer- let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. He examines all his paths.

²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

²³He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.