The Laws Given to Moses

God spoke these things while the trumpets sounded, the lamps blazed, and smoke covered the mountain. The people trembled with terror, and they begged Moses that God would speak to him alone, and that he would report to the people what he heard. Now these were the commands God gave to Moses. A Hebrew servant bought with money is to serve six years, and after that he is to go free; but if he chooses to remain a slave, his ear is to be pierced. Anyone who kills a man is to be put to death; anyone who does it unintentionally is to be formally banished. Anyone who strikes his father or his mother and speaks evil of them is to die. If anyone sells a Hebrew who has been kidnapped, he is to be put to death. If anyone strikes his own male or female servant, and the servant dies of the blow, he is to be brought to trial for it. If anyone causes a woman to miscarry, he is to be put to death. If anyone knocks out the eye or the tooth of his servant, that servant is to be formally given his freedom. [a]

If a bull kills a man, it is to be stoned. If its owner knew the animal was vicious and took no precautions with it, he too is to be stoned, or he may buy back his life for as large a price as the accuser demands. If a bull kills a servant, thirty double drachmas are to be paid to the servant’s master. If anyone does not cover a pit that has been dug, and an animal falls into it, he is to pay the animal’s owner its price. If one man’s bull kills another man’s bull, the living animal is to be sold and the two owners are to share the price; they are also to divide the animal that was killed. But if the owner knew the bull was vicious and took no precautions with it, he is to hand the bull over. If anyone steals a calf, he is to give back five; if he steals a sheep, the penalty is fourfold; and if the animals are found alive in the hands of the man who drove them off, he is to give back double. It is lawful to kill a thief by night, but not by day. If anyone’s cattle eat up another man’s grain, the owner of the cattle is to make good what was destroyed. If something left in safekeeping disappears, the person it was entrusted to is to swear that he has not been guilty of any deceit. A thief who is caught is to pay double. An animal given in trust, if a wild beast devours it, need not be made good.

If anyone violates a virgin who is not yet engaged, he is to give the girl a dowry and so take her as his wife; but if the girl’s father refuses to give her in marriage, the man who violated her is to give her a dowry. If anyone lies with an animal, he is to be put to death. Whoever sacrifices to idols is to perish. The widow and the orphan are not to be oppressed. The poor debtor is not to be treated harshly, and no interest is to be demanded from him. The garment of the poor is not to be taken as a pledge. No one is to speak evil of a ruler of the people. All the firstborn are to be offered to God. Meat taken from a wild beast is not to be eaten. No agreements are to be made to give false testimony, or for any evil purpose. You must not pass by an animal of your enemy that has strayed, but must bring it back. If you find your enemy’s animal fallen down under its load, it is your duty to help it up. You must not kill the innocent and the righteous. You must not acquit the wicked for a reward. Gifts are not to be accepted. A foreigner is to be treated kindly. Work is to be done on six days, and rest is to be taken on the Sabbath. The crops of the seventh year are not to be harvested, but left for the poor and needy.