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Personal Injuries
"Anyone who hits a man so hard that he dies shall surely be put to death. But if it is accidental--an act of God--and not intentional, then I will appoint a place where he can run and get protection. However, if a man deliberately attacks another, intending to kill him, drag him even from my altar, and kill him.
"Anyone who strikes his father or mother shall surely be put to death.
"A kidnapper must be killed, whether he is caught in possession of his victim or has already sold him as a slave.
"Anyone who reviles or curses his mother or father shall surely be put to death.
"If two men are fighting, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and injures him so that he must be confined to bed, but doesn't die, if later he is able to walk again, even with a limp, the man who hit him will be innocent except that he must pay for the loss of his time until he is thoroughly healed, and pay any medical expenses.
"If a man beats his slave to death--whether the slave is male or female--that man shall surely be punished. However, if the slave does not die for a couple of days, then the man shall not be punished--for the slave is his property.
"If two men are fighting, and in the process hurt a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage, but she lives, then the man who injured her shall be fined whatever amount the woman's husband shall demand, and as the judges approve. But if any harm comes to the woman and she dies, he shall be executed.
"If her eye is injured, injure his; if her tooth is knocked out, knock out his; and so on--hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, lash for lash.
"If a man hits his slave in the eye, whether man or woman, and the eye is blinded, then the slave shall go free because of his eye. And if a master knocks out his slave's tooth, he shall let him go free to pay for the tooth.
"If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner shall not be held--unless the ox was known to gore people in the past, and the owner had been notified and still the ox was not kept under control; in that case, if it kills someone, the ox shall be stoned and the owner also shall be killed. But the dead man's relatives may accept a fine instead, if they wish. The judges will determine the amount.
"The same law holds if the ox gores a boy or a girl. But if the ox gores a slave, whether male or female, the slave's master shall be given thirty pieces of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
"If a man digs a well and doesn't cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the well shall pay full damages to the owner of the animal, and the dead animal shall belong to him.
"If a man's ox injures another, and it dies, then the two owners shall sell the live ox and divide the price between them--and each shall also own half of the dead ox. But if the ox was known from past experience to gore, and its owner has not kept it under control, then there will not be a division of the income; but the owner of the living ox shall pay in full for the dead ox, and the dead one shall be his.
TEXT SOURCE:
(Exodus 21:12-36) The Children's Living Bible, ©1970 Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187
TITLE SOURCE: The New Student Bible, ©1992 Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan
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