Exodus - The Old Testament

¹ 'If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck a mortal blow, his blood may not be avenged,

² but if it happens after sunrise, his blood may be avenged. He will make full restitution; if he has not the means, he will be sold to pay for what he has stolen.

³ If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, be it ox, donkey or animal from the flock, he will pay back double.

⁴ 'If anyone puts his animals out to graze in a field or vineyard and lets them graze in someone else's field, he will make restitution for the part of the field that has been grazed on the basis of its yield. But if he has let the whole field be grazed, he will make restitution in proportion to the best crop of the field or vineyard.

⁵ 'If a fire breaks out, setting light to thorn bushes and burning stacks, standing corn or the field as a result, the person who started the fire will make full restitution.

⁶ 'If anyone entrusts money or goods to someone else's keeping and these are stolen from that person's house, the thief, if he can be discovered, will repay double.

⁷ Should the thief not be discovered, the owner of the house will come into the presence of God, to declare that he has not laid hands on the other person's property.

⁸ 'In every case of law-breaking involving an ox, donkey, animal from the flock, clothing or lost property of any sort, the ownership of which is disputed, both parties will lay their case before God. The party whom God pronounces guilty will pay back double to the other.

⁹ 'If anyone entrusts a donkey, ox, animal from the flock or any other animal to someone else's keeping, and it dies or breaks a limb or is carried off without anyone seeing,

¹⁰ an oath by Yahweh will decide between the two parties whether the keeper has laid hands on the other's property or not. The owner will take what remains, the keeper will not have to make good the loss.

¹¹ Only if the animal has been stolen from him, will he make restitution to the owner.

¹² If it has been savaged by a wild animal, he must bring the savaged remains of the animal as evidence, and will then not have to make restitution.

¹³ 'If anyone borrows an animal from someone else, and it breaks a limb or dies in the owner's absence, he will make full restitution.

¹⁴ But if the animal's owner has been present, he will not have to make good the loss. If the owner has hired it out, he will get the cost of its hire.

¹⁵ 'If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married, he will pay her bride-price and make her his wife.

¹⁶ If her father absolutely refuses to let him have her, he will pay a sum equivalent to the bride-price of a virgin.

¹⁷ 'You will not allow a sorceress to live.

¹⁸ 'Anyone who has intercourse with an animal will be put to death.

¹⁹ 'Anyone who sacrifices to other gods will be put under the curse of destruction.

²⁰ 'You will not molest or oppress aliens, for you yourselves were once aliens in Egypt.

²¹ You will not ill-treat widows or orphans;

²² if you ill-treat them in any way and they make an appeal to me for help, I shall certainly hear their appeal,

²³ my anger will be roused and I shall put you to the sword; then your own wives will be widows and your own children orphans.

²⁴ 'If you lend money to any of my people, to anyone poor among you, you will not play the usurer with him: you will not demand interest from him.

²⁵ 'If you take someone's cloak in pledge, you will return it to him at sunset.

²⁶ It is all the covering he has; it is the cloak he wraps his body in; what else will he sleep in? If he appeals to me, I shall listen. At least with me he will find compassion!

²⁷ 'You will not revile God, nor curse your people's leader.

²⁸ 'Do not be slow about making offerings from your abundance and your surplus. You will give me the first-born of your children;

²⁹ you will do the same with your flocks and herds. For the first seven days the first-born will stay with its mother; on the eighth day you will give it to me.

³⁰ 'You must be people consecrated to me. You will not eat the meat of anything in the countryside savaged by wild animals; you will throw it to the dogs.'