Sinai & The Law

except that if the slave lives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his property.

"If people are fighting with each other and happen to hurt a pregnant woman so badly that her unborn child dies, then, even if no other harm follows, he must be fined. He must pay the amount set by the woman's husband and confirmed by judges.

But if any harm follows, then you are to give life for life,

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

burn for burn, wound for wound and bruise for bruise.

"If a person hits his male or female slave's eye and destroys it, he must let him go free in compensation for his eye.

If he knocks out his male or female slave's tooth, he must let him go free in compensation for his tooth.

"If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox is to be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner of the ox will have no further liability.

However, if the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner was warned but did not confine it, so that it ended up killing a man or a woman; then the ox is to be stoned, and its owner too is to be put to death.

However, a ransom may be imposed on him; and the death penalty will be commuted if he pays the amount imposed.

If the ox gores a son or daughter, the same rule applies.

If the ox gores a male or female slave, its owner must give their master twelve ounces of silver; and the ox is to be stoned to death.

"If someone removes the cover from a cistern or digs one and fails to cover it, and an ox or donkey falls in,

the owner of the cistern must make good the loss by compensating the animal's owner; but the dead animal will be his.

"If one person's ox hurts another's, so that it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the revenue from the sale; and they are also to divide the dead animal.

But if it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner did not confine it; he must pay ox for ox, but the dead animal will be his.

"If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

"If a thief caught in the act of breaking in is beaten to death, it is not murder;

unless it happens after sunrise, in which case it is murder. A thief must make restitution; so if he has nothing, he himself is to be sold to make good the loss from the theft.

If what he stole is found alive in his possession, he is to pay double, no matter whether it is an ox, a donkey or a sheep.

"If a person causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over or lets his animal loose to graze in someone else's field, he is to make restitution from the best produce of his own field and vineyard.

"If a fire is started and spreads to thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain or a field is destroyed, the person who lit it must make restitution.

"If a person entrusts a neighbor with money or goods, and they are stolen from the trustee's house, then, if the thief is found, he must pay double.

But if the thief is not found, then the trustee must state before God that he did not take the person's goods himself.

In every case of dispute over ownership, whether of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any missing property, where one person says, 'This is mine,' both parties are to come before God; and the one whom God condemns must pay the other one double.