Exodus 20:22-24:11
New Catholic Bible
The Book of the Covenant[a]
Norms for Constructing an Altar to the Lord.22 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have spoken to you from the heavens. 23 Do not make gods from silver or from gold instead of me. You will not make them for yourselves.
24 “ ‘Make an altar for me in the land and upon it offer your burnt offerings and your communion sacrifices, your sheep and your oxen. In all the places where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
25 “ ‘If you make an altar out of stone for me, do not build it out of cut stone. If you use a chisel upon it, it will be considered to be unclean. 26 Do not go up to the altar by steps, lest your nakedness be seen.’[b]
Chapter 21
Laws Concerning Slaves. 1 “These are the decrees that you will set before them.
2 “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years and in the seventh year he will go free, without paying anything.[c] 3 If he entered into slavery unmarried, he will go out alone. If he is married, then his wife will go with him. 4 If his master has given him a wife and she has had sons or daughters, the woman and her children will be the property of the master and he will go out alone.
5 “If the slave says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I do not want to go free,’ 6 then the master will bring him before God. He will bring him to a door or a doorpost and will bore a hole in his ear with an awl. He will be his slave forever.
7 “When a man sells his daughter[d] as a slave, she will not go free as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master who has taken her as a concubine, she will be allowed to be redeemed. But he cannot sell her to foreigners, for he has acted faithlessly to her. 9 If he wishes to give her as a concubine to his own son, he will treat her like a daughter. 10 If he takes another for himself, he will not withhold her food, her clothes, or her marriage rights. 11 If he does not give her these things, then she can go away without having to pay the price of her redemption.
12 Different Cases of the Penalty of Death.“Whoever strikes a man causing his death will be put to death. 13 However, if the man did not lie in wait, but he met him by chance, there will be a place where he can flee for refuge.
14 “But when a person kills a neighbor with premeditation, he shall be dragged away from my altar to be put to death.
15 “Whoever strikes a mother or a father will be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps a man and either sells him or has him still in his possession, shall be put to death.
17 “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
18 Punishments for Personal Injury.[e]“When people are fighting and one of them injures the other with a stone or with a fist, and this does not kill the other but causes a serious injury, 19 and yet the injured party is able to walk around with a staff, then the one who struck the blow shall be held to be innocent. He must, however, pay the victim for the time he lost on account of the injury and he must pay for his medical care.
20 “When a man strikes his male or female slave with a staff and kills that slave, he shall surely be punished. 21 But if the slave lives for a day or two, the slave-owner shall not be punished, for the slave is his property.
22 “When some men fight and injure a pregnant woman so that she loses her child, but there is no other damage, they will be fined as much as the husband of the woman decides. They will pay in the presence of a judge. 23 But if further harm results, they will pay a life for a life, 24 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, 25 a burning for a burning, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.
26 “When a man strikes the eye of his male slave or his female slave and blinds the slave, he will free the slave because of the eye. 27 If he breaks a tooth of his male slave or his female slave, he will free the slave to compensate for the tooth.
28 Animals: Injuries and Thefts.“If an ox gores a man or a woman and that person dies, the ox is to be stoned and its meat is not to be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be considered to be innocent. 29 However, if the ox had already gored someone before and the owner had been warned, yet failed to keep it penned up, and if the ox gores another man or a woman and that person dies, then the ox is to be stoned and the owner is to be put to death.
30 “If, however, a fine is imposed, he can pay it to redeem his life, as much as has been required. 31 This will also be the procedure if a son or a daughter is gored.
32 “If an ox gores a male or female slave, the master of the slave will be paid thirty shekels of silver, and the ox is to be stoned.
33 “If someone leaves a cistern uncovered or digs a cistern and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the cistern must make restitution and pay the owner of the animal. The dead animal will be his.
35 “If someone’s ox gores another person’s ox and that ox dies, then they will sell the live ox and divide its price between them, and they will also divide the dead ox. 36 But if it is known that the ox had already gored others and its owner had not confined it, then he must pay ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.
37 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and then kills it or sells it, he shall pay back five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
Chapter 22
1 “If a thief is surprised while he is breaking in and is struck and dies, then there is no bloodguilt for the striker. 2 But if the sun has already risen on him, there would be bloodguilt for the striker.
“A thief must surely pay restitution. If he has nothing with which he can pay, then he is to be sold to pay for his theft.
3 “If he is found with the animals he robbed and they are still alive, whether they be oxen or donkeys or sheep, he is to repay double.
Offenses Regarding Compensation. 4 “If someone uses a field or a vineyard as a pasture and lets his animals graze in someone else’s field, then he must repay that person with the best of his field and the best of his vineyard.
5 “If a fire breaks out and it spreads to the thornbushes so that it burns the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself, the person who started the fire must make restitution.[f]
6 “If someone entrusts his neighbor with silver or goods for safekeeping, and there is a robbery in that house and the thief is caught, the thief shall pay back double. 7 If the thief is not caught, the master of the house is to be brought before the judges to swear that he has not laid hands on the property of his neighbor.
8 “Whatever the transgression, whether it be about an ox or a sheep or clothes or any other lost property about which a person has said, ‘This is mine,’ the case of both parties will be brought before the judges. Whoever the judges find guilty shall pay back double to his neighbor.
9 “If someone entrusts his neighbor with a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any other animal, and that animal dies or is injured or stolen with no witnesses, 10 then an oath to the Lord shall be taken between the two parties declaring that the one entrusted with the animal did not lay hands on his neighbor’s property. The owner of the property shall accept this and there shall be no restitution. 11 But if it was stolen while he was present, then he will make restitution to its owner. 12 If it was torn to pieces, let him bring the pieces as evidence and he shall not pay restitution.
13 “If someone borrows anything from a neighbor and it is hurt or dies when the owner is not there, he shall pay full restitution. 14 But if the owner is there, he shall not have to pay restitution. If the animal was hired, then its loss is the price of its hire.
15 Moral and Religious Regulations.“If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall pay a dowry for her and will make her his wife. 16 If her father refuses to give her to him, he must give him the normal amount of dowry paid for a virgin.[g]
17 “You shall not allow a witch to live.
18 “Whoever lies with an animal must die. 19 Whoever offers a sacrifice to any other god besides the Lord will be annihilated.
20 “You shall not mistreat or oppress the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
21 “You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. 22 If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, 23 and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans.
24 “If you lend money to any of the poor among my people, you will not act as a creditor toward him nor will you take any interest.
25 “If you take your neighbor’s mantle as a pledge, you shall restore it to him at sunset, 26 for it is his covering. It is the cloak for his body. What else would cover him when he sleeps? Otherwise, when he cries out to me, I will listen to his cry, for I am compassionate.[h]
27 “You shall not blaspheme God nor curse the leader of your people.
28 “You shall not delay to make offerings from your harvest and your vintage. You shall give your firstborn from among your sons to me. 29 You shall do the same with your oxen and your sheep. Seven days it shall remain with its mother, and on the eighth day you shall give it to me.
30 “You shall be men consecrated to me. So do not eat the flesh of any beast that has been torn to pieces in the countryside; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Chapter 23
A Righteous and Fraternal People. 1 “You shall not utter a false report. Do not join hands with the guilty to be an unjust witness. 2 Neither shall you follow the multitude in doing evil nor shall you testify in a suit in order to agree with the multitude and thus falsify justice.
3 “You shall not even show partiality toward a weak man in a lawsuit.
4 [i]“When you encounter the lost ox or donkey of your enemy, you shall bring it back to him. 5 When you see your enemy’s donkey lying helpless under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him alone. You must help him to release it.
6 “You shall not pervert justice for a needy person who turns to you in a dispute.
7 “Keep far away from falsehoods. Do not slay the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the wicked.
8 “Do not accept gifts, for gifts blind the clear-sighted and pervert the cause of the righteous.
9 “Do not oppress those who are sojourners, for you know the life of the sojourner because you yourselves were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
10 “For six years you shall sow the land and you shall harvest its produce, 11 but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow so that the needy of your people may eat of it. Whatever is left, let the beasts of the field eat it. You shall do likewise with your vineyards and your olive groves. 12 For six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest so that your ox and your donkey may rest, as well as the sons of your female slaves and your sojourners.
13 “You shall take heed of all that I have said to you. Do not mention the names of other gods, nor let them be heard on your lips.
14 Feasts and Rites To Be Observed.“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast in my honor.[j]
15 “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. You must eat unleavened products for seven days, as I have commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month I brought you out of the land of Egypt. You will not appear before me empty-handed.
16 “You shall also observe the Harvest Feast of the firstfruits of that which you have sown in the fields as well as the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather the fruit of your labor in the fields.
17 “Three times a year all your men shall appear before the Lord God.
18 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall you allow the fat of my feast to remain till the morning.
19 “You shall bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord, your God. You shall not cook a kid goat in its mother’s milk.[k]
20 Promises and Instructions for Entering into Canaan.[l]“Behold, I will send an angel before you to protect you on your way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay heed to him and listen to his voice and do not rebel against him for he will not pardon your transgression since my name is in him. 22 If you listen to his voice and do what I will tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 “When my angel goes before you and leads you to the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, I will destroy them. 24 You shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them. You shall not do what they do, but rather you shall demolish and break their sacred pillars to pieces.
25 “You shall serve the Lord, your God. He will bless your bread and water and take away sickness from your midst. 26 There will be no woman in your land who miscarries or who is sterile. I will make you arrive at the full count of your days.
27 “I will send my terror before you and throw into confusion all the peoples among whom you will come. I will make your enemies turn their backs and flee.
28 “I will send hornets ahead of you and they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in a single year lest the country remain deserted and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you until you have many sons to occupy the land.
31 “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea up to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river. I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands and I will drive them out from before you. 32 But you must not make a covenant with them or their gods. 33 They are no longer to live in your land. Otherwise, they would make you sin against me, for you would serve their gods and that would be a trap for you.”
Chapter 24
The People of God Ratify the Covenant.[m] 1 He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall approach the Lord, but the others shall not draw near and the people shall not go up with him.”
3 Moses went to tell the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances. All the people answered together and said, “We will keep all the commands that the Lord has given.”
4 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent some of the young men of Israel to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.
6 Moses took half of the blood and placed it in bowls and the other half of the blood he poured out on the altar. 7 He then took the book of the covenant and read it in the presence of the people. They said, “All that the Lord has commanded, we will do and obey.”
8 Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people saying, “Behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel. 10 They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was a pavement that looked as if it were made from sapphires, shining like the very heavens. 11 He did not stretch out his hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; they saw God and yet they continued to eat and drink.
Footnotes
- Exodus 20:22 This set of laws was probably promulgated at a later time than the Decalogue, since it supposes a people leading a settled, sedentary life. Perhaps it was given during the halt in the wilderness before Israel entered Canaan. The laws are concrete applications of the first commandment.
- Exodus 20:26 The one offering sacrifice would probably be wearing a simple loincloth, after the manner of the Egyptians, and would therefore risk indecent exposure.
- Exodus 21:2 God did not forbid slavery, but he clearly wanted to set limits on it. Perpetual slavery would not be tolerated.
- Exodus 21:7 When a man sells his daughter: this would seem to be inconceivable and not a subject to receive consideration. The author of life and of these decrees was aware of the evil that his people were capable of and so he employed preventative measures.
- Exodus 21:18 These penalties have for their purpose to prevent abuse of the private vendetta. Seen in this perspective, the law of retaliation is a model of justice for that period.
- Exodus 22:5 Some translations are more definitive in describing the quality of the payback (i.e., it should err on the side of being generous).
- Exodus 22:16 The customary gift according to Deut 22:29 would be fifty shekels. A dowry is still part of the betrothal process in mid-eastern countries.
- Exodus 22:26 I am compassionate: God’s mercy and kindness go beyond the poor, the widow, and the orphan. His grace falls on the good and the undeserving. All we can do is gratefully accept this unmerited gift and respond with loving praise and thanks.
- Exodus 23:4 Every one is to be treated the same (see Deut 22:1-4). Jesus is the example par excellence in showing others what it means to “Love your enemies” (Mt 5:44).
- Exodus 23:14 The feasts are those of the springtime (Unleavened Bread—Passover; see Ex 12:1, 11), of the summer (Feast of Weeks or Pentecost: 34:22), and of autumn (harvest festivals or Booths: Lev 23:34-43; Deut 16:13). (See Ex 34:18-23; Num 28–29; Deut 16:1-16.)
- Exodus 23:19 Cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk was a pagan custom of the Canaanites.
- Exodus 23:20 Faithful service of the Lord was a condition for the entrance of the chosen people into the Promised Land. They would have to avoid defilement by other forms of worship and therefore by the peoples who practiced these. This is the context for understanding the laws regarding extermination and the anathema that were promulgated against foreigners; these laws were not applied to the letter (see Jos 6:17).
- Exodus 24:1 The ritual used in sealing the agreement shows the understanding of the contracting parties: God, who is represented by the altar, and the people share the same blood, which is a symbol of life. A clear prefiguration of the new and definitive covenant that will be sealed with the blood of Jesus (Mt 26:28).
