Read Parshat Mishpatim in English

Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.

If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.

If his master give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

But if the servant shall plainly say: I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free;

then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever. {S}

And if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.

If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed; to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment, and her conjugal rights, shall he not diminish.

And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money. {S}

He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death.

And if a man lie not in wait, but God cause it to come to hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he may flee. {S}

And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from Mine altar, that he may die. {S}

And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. {S}

And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. {S}

And he that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death. {S}

And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed;

if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. {S}

And if a man smite his bondman, or his bondwoman, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be punished.

Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his money. {S}

And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

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

burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. {S}

And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.

And if he smite out his bondman's tooth, or his bondwoman's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.

And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

But if the ox was wont to gore in time past, and warning hath been given to its owner, and he hath not kept it in, but it hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.

If there be laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.

If the ox gore a bondman or a bondwoman, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. {S}

And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein,

the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his. {S}

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If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

If a thief be found breaking in, and be smitten so that he dieth, there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him.

If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be bloodguiltiness for him--he shall make restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

If the theft be found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep, he shall pay double. {S}

If a man cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. {S}

If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the shocks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field are consumed; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. {S}

If a man deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, he shall pay double.

If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall come near unto God, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.

For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, whereof one saith: “This is it,' the cause of both parties shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double unto his neighbour. {S}

If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep, and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it;

the oath of the Lord shall be between them both, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner thereof shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.

But if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.

If it be torn in pieces, let him bring it for witness; he shall not make good that which was torn.

And if a man borrow aught of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall surely make restitution.

If the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good; if it be a hireling, he loseth his hire. {S}

And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife.

If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. {S}

Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live.

Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. {S}

He that sacrificeth unto the gods, save unto the Lord only, shall be utterly destroyed.

And a stranger shalt thou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

If thou afflict them in any wise--for if they cry at all unto Me, I will surely hear their cry--

My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

If thou lend money to any of My people, even to the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest.

If thou at all take thy neighbour's garment to pledge, thou shalt restore it unto him by that the sun goeth down;

for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin; wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto Me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. {S}

Thou shalt not revile God, nor curse a ruler of thy people.

Thou shalt not delay to offer of the fulness of thy harvest, and of the outflow of thy presses. The first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto Me.

Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep; seven days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it Me.

And ye shall be holy men unto Me; therefore ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs. {S}

Thou shalt not utter a false report; put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert justice;

neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause. {S}

If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. {S}

If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt surely release it with him. {S}

Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked.

And thou shalt take no gift; for a gift blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

And a stranger shalt thou not oppress; for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in the increase thereof;

but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed; and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year.

The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib--for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty;

and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou sowest in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.

Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of My feast remain all night until the morning.

The choicest first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.

Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

Take heed of him, and hearken unto his voice; be not rebellious against him; for he will not pardon your transgression; for My name is in him.

But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

For Mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off.

Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their doings; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and break in pieces their pillars.

And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. {S}

None shall miscarry, nor be barren, in thy land; the number of thy days I will fulfil.

I will send My terror before thee, and will discomfit all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.

By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

And I will set thy border from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

They shall not dwell in thy land--lest they make thee sin against Me, for thou wilt serve their gods--for they will be a snare unto thee.

And unto Moses He said: “Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off;

and Moses alone shall come near unto the Lord; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.’’

And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said: “All the words which the Lord hath spoken will we do.’’

And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

And he sent the young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the Lord.

And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he dashed against the altar.

And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the hearing of the people; and they said: “All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and obey.’’

And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said: “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you in agreement with all these words.’’

Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel;

and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the very heaven for clearness.

And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand; and they beheld God, and did eat and drink. {S}

And the Lord said unto Moses: “Come up to Me into the mount and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.’’

And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister; and Moses went up into the mount of God.

And unto the elders he said: “Tarry ye here for us, until we come back unto you; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them.’’

And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount.

And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Or if it be known that the ox was wont to gore in time past, and its owner hath not kept it in; he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his own. {S}