22:1 1 (21:37) 2 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back 3 five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep. 4
22:2 “If a thief is caught 5 breaking in 6 and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guilt for him. 7 22:3 If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief 8 must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft. 22:4 If the stolen item should in fact be found 9 alive in his possession, 10 whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he must pay back double. 11
22:5 “If a man grazes 12 his livestock 13 in a field or a vineyard, and he lets the livestock loose and they graze in the field of another man, he must make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
22:6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads 14 to thorn bushes, 15 so that stacked grain or standing grain or the whole field is consumed, the one who started 16 the fire must surely make restitution.
22:7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or articles 17 for safekeeping, 18 and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, 19 he must repay double. 22:8 If the thief is not caught, 20 then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges 21 to see 22 whether he has laid 23 his hand on his neighbor’s goods. 22:9 In all cases of illegal possessions, 24 whether for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any kind of lost item, about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’ 25 the matter of the two of them will come before the judges, 26 and the one whom 27 the judges declare guilty 28 must repay double to his neighbor. 22:10 If a man gives his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep, and it dies or is hurt 29 or is carried away 30 without anyone seeing it, 31 22:11 then there will be an oath to the Lord 32 between the two of them, that he has not laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods, and its owner will accept this, and he will not have to pay. 22:12 But if it was stolen 33 from him, 34 he will pay its owner. 22:13 If it is torn in pieces, then he will bring it for evidence, 35 and he will not have to pay for what was torn.
22:14 “If a man borrows an animal 36 from his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it 37 will surely pay. 22:15 If its owner was with it, he will not have to pay; if it was hired, what was paid for the hire covers it. 38
22:16 39 “If a man seduces a virgin 40 who is not engaged 41 and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow 42 her to be his wife. 22:17 If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay money for the bride price of virgins.
22:18 “You must not allow a sorceress to live. 43
22:19 “Whoever has sexual relations 44 with a beast must surely be put to death.
22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord 45 alone must be utterly destroyed. 46
22:21 “You must not wrong 47 a foreigner 48 nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
22:22 “You must not afflict 49 any widow or orphan. 22:23 If you afflict them 50 in any way 51 and they cry to me, I will surely hear 52 their cry, 22:24 and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless. 53
22:25 “If you lend money to any of 54 my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender 55 to him; do not charge 56 him interest. 57 22:26 If you do take 58 the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, 59 22:27 for it is his only covering – it is his garment for his body. 60 What else can he sleep in? 61 And 62 when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
22:28 “You must not blaspheme 63 God 64 or curse the ruler of your people.
22:29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. 65 You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 22:30 You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.
22:31 “You will be holy 66 people to me; you must not eat any meat torn by animals in the field. 67 You must throw it to the dogs.
23:1 68 “You must not give 69 a false report. 70 Do not make common cause 71 with the wicked 72 to be a malicious 73 witness.
23:2 “You must not follow a crowd 74 in doing evil things; 75 in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, 76 23:3 and you must not show partiality 77 to a poor man in his lawsuit.
23:4 “If you encounter 78 your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return 79 it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, 80 but be sure to help 81 him with it. 82
23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 23:7 Keep your distance 83 from a false charge 84 – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, 85 for I will not justify the wicked. 86
23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see 87 and subverts the words of the righteous.
23:9 “You must not oppress 88 a foreigner, since you know the life 89 of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
23:10 90 “For six years 91 you are to sow your land and gather in its produce. 23:11 But in the seventh year 92 you must let it lie fallow and leave it alone so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave any animal in the field 93 may eat; you must do likewise with your vineyard and your olive grove. 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired help 94 may refresh themselves. 95
23:13 “Pay attention to do 96 everything I have told you, and do not even mention 97 the names of other gods – do not let them be heard on your lips. 98
23:14 “Three times 99 in the year you must make a pilgrim feast 100 to me. 23:15 You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days 101 you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time 102 you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before 103 me empty-handed.
23:16 “You are also to observe 104 the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year 105 when you have gathered in 106 your harvest 107 out of the field. 23:17 At 108 three times in the year all your males will appear before the Lord God. 109
23:18 “You must not offer 110 the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning. 111 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. 112
23:20 113 “I am going to send 114 an angel 115 before you to protect you as you journey 116 and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. 117 23:21 Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name 118 is in him. 23:22 But if you diligently obey him 119 and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries. 23:23 For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them completely. 120
23:24 “You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones 121 to pieces. 122 23:25 You must serve 123 the Lord your God, and he 124 will bless your bread and your water, 125 and I will remove sickness from your midst. 23:26 No woman will miscarry her young 126 or be barren in your land. I will fulfill 127 the number of your days.
23:27 “I will send my terror 128 before you, and I will destroy 129 all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs 130 to you. 23:28 I will send 131 hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you. 23:29 I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals 132 multiply against you. 23:30 Little by little 133 I will drive them out before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land. 23:31 I will set 134 your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River, 135 for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
23:32 “You must make no covenant with them or with their gods. 23:33 They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare 136 to you.”
24:1 137 But to Moses the Lord 138 said, “Come up 139 to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. 140 24:2 Moses alone may come 141 near the Lord, but the others 142 must not come near, 143 nor may the people go up with him.”
24:3 Moses came 144 and told the people all the Lord’s words 145 and all the decisions. All the people answered together, 146 “We are willing to do 147 all the words that the Lord has said,” 24:4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built 148 an altar at the foot 149 of the mountain and arranged 150 twelve standing stones 151 – according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 24:5 He sent young Israelite men, 152 and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings 153 to the Lord. 24:6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar. 154 24:7 He took the Book of the Covenant 155 and read it aloud 156 to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obey 157 all that the Lord has spoken.” 24:8 So Moses took the blood and splashed it on 158 the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant 159 that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
24:9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up, 160 24:10 and they saw 161 the God of Israel. Under his feet 162 there was something like a pavement 163 made of sapphire, clear like the sky itself. 164 24:11 But he did not lay a hand 165 on the leaders of the Israelites, so they saw God, 166 and they ate and they drank. 167
24:12 168 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets 169 with 170 the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.” 171 24:13 So Moses set out 172 with 173 Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God. 24:14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are 174 Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute 175 can approach 176 them.”
24:15 Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 24:16 The glory of the Lord resided 177 on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. 178 On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud. 24:17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain view 179 of the people. 24:18 Moses went into the cloud when he went up 180 the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. 181