1 Dette er lovene du skal legge fram for dem.

Now these are the laws which you are to put before them.

2 Hvis du kjøper en hebraisk tjener for penger, skal han tjene deg i seks år, og i det syvende året skal du la ham gå fri uten betaling.

If you get a Hebrew servant for money, he is to be your servant for six years, and in the seventh year you are to let him go free without payment.

3 Hvis han kommer til deg alene, skal han gå alene; hvis han er gift, skal hans kone gå sammen med ham.

If he comes to you by himself, let him go away by himself: if he is married, let his wife go away with him.

4 Hvis hans herre gir ham en kone, og hun føder sønner eller døtre, skal kona og barna tilhøre herren, og tjeneren skal gå alene.

If his master gives him a wife, and he gets sons or daughters by her, the wife and her children will be the property of the master, and the servant is to go away by himself.

5 Men hvis tjeneren sier tydelig: Min herre, min kone og mine barn er kjære for meg; jeg ønsker ikke å bli fri,

But if the servant says clearly, My master and my wife and children are dear to me; I have no desire to be free:

6 skal hans herre føre ham til Gud, og ved døren eller ved dørposten skal han lage et hull i øret hans med en syl, og han skal være hans tjener for alltid.

Then his master is to take him to the gods of the house, and at the door, or at its framework, he is to make a hole in his ear with a sharp-pointed instrument; and he will be his servant for ever.

7 Og hvis en mann gir sin datter som tjenestepike for en pris, skal hun ikke gå fri som mannlige tjenere gjør.

And if a man gives his daughter for a price to be a servant, she is not to go away free as the men-servants do.

8 Hvis hun ikke behager sin herre som har tatt henne for seg selv, skal hun få sin frihet uten betaling; hennes herre har ikke rett til å selge henne til fremmede fordi han har vært falsk mot henne.

If she is not pleasing to her master who has taken her for himself, let a payment be made for her so that she may go free; her master has no power to get a price for her and send her to a strange land, because he has been false to her.

9 Og hvis han gir henne til sin sønn, skal han gjøre alt for henne som om hun var en datter.

And if he gives her to his son, he is to do everything for her as if she was his daughter.

10 Og hvis han tar en annen kvinne, skal han ikke redusere hennes mat, klær eller ekteskapsrettigheter.

And if he takes another woman, her food and clothing and her married rights are not to be less.

11 Og hvis han ikke gjør disse tre tingene for henne, har hun rett til å gå fri uten betaling.

And if he does not do these three things for her, she has the right to go free without payment.

12 Den som slår en mann ihjel, skal selv bli dømt til døden.

He who gives a man a death-blow is himself to be put to death.

13 Men hvis det ikke var med vilje, og Gud har gitt ham i hans hånd, vil jeg gi deg et sted hvor han kan flykte.

But if he had no evil purpose against him, and God gave him into his hand, I will give you a place to which he may go in flight.

14 Men hvis en mann angriper sin nabo med vilje, for å drepe ham med svik, skal du ta ham fra mitt alter og henrette ham.

But if a man makes an attack on his neighbour on purpose, to put him to death by deceit, you are to take him from my altar and put him to death.

15 Den som slår sin far eller sin mor, skal dø.

Any man who gives a blow to his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.

16 Den som tar en annen i fangenskap for å selge ham, skal dø, hvis du tar ham på fersk gjerning.

Any man who gets another into his power in order to get a price for him is to be put to death, if you take him in the act.

17 Den som forbanner sin far eller sin mor, skal dø.

Any man cursing his father or his mother is to be put to death.

18 Hvis en mann gir en annen et slag med en stein eller knyttet neve, uten å ta livet av ham, men får ham til å ligge syk,

If, in a fight, one man gives another a blow with a stone, or with the shut hand, not causing his death, but making him keep in bed;

19 hvis han kan reise seg igjen og gå omkring med en stav, skal den andre frikjennes; men han må betale for tapet av arbeid og sørge for at han blir frisk.

If he is able to get up again and go about with a stick, the other will be let off; only he will have to give him payment for the loss of his time, and see that he is cared for till he is well.

20 Hvis en mann gir sin mannlige eller kvinnelige tjener et slag med en stav så de dør, skal han straffes.

If a man gives his man-servant or his woman-servant blows with a rod, causing death, he is certainly to undergo punishment.

21 Men hvis tjeneren overlever en dag eller to, skal herren ikke straffes, for tjeneren er hans eiendom.

But, at the same time, if the servant goes on living for a day or two, the master is not to get punishment, for the servant is his property.

22 Hvis menn, mens de slåss, skader en gravid kvinne så hun mister barnet, men ingen annen skade skjer, skal mannen betale så mye som hennes ektemann bestemmer, og dommerne godkjenner.

If men, while fighting, do damage to a woman with child, causing the loss of the child, but no other evil comes to her, the man will have to make payment up to the amount fixed by her husband, in agreement with the decision of the judges.

23 Men hvis skade skjer, skal liv gis for liv,

But if damage comes to her, let life be given in payment for life,

24 øye for øye, tann for tann, hånd for hånd, fot for fot,

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

25 brenning for brenning, sår for sår, slag for slag.

Burning for burning, wound for wound, blow for blow.

26 Hvis en mann gir sin mannlige eller kvinnelige tjener et slag i øyet så det ødelegges, skal han la ham gå fri på grunn av øyets skade.

If a man gives his man-servant or his woman-servant a blow in the eye, causing its destruction, he is to let him go free on account of the damage to his eye.

27 Hvis han slår ut en tann, skal han la ham gå fri på grunn av tannen.

Or if the loss of a tooth is caused by his blow, he will let him go free on account of his tooth.

28 Hvis en okse dreper en mann eller kvinne, skal oksen steines, og kjøttet skal ikke spises; men eieren skal ikke holdes ansvarlig.

If an ox comes to be the cause of death to a man or a woman, the ox is to be stoned, and its flesh may not be used for food; but the owner will not be judged responsible.

29 Hvis det er kjent at oksen tidligere har gjort slik skade, og eieren er blitt advart men ikke har kontrollert den, og den dreper en mann eller kvinne, skal både oksen steines, og eieren skal dø.

But if the ox has frequently done such damage in the past, and the owner has had word of it and has not kept it under control, so that it has been the cause of the death of a man or woman, not only is the ox to be stoned, but its owner is to be put to death.

30 Hvis en pris settes på hans liv, skal han betale hva som blir fastsatt.

If a price is put on his life, let him make payment of whatever price is fixed.

31 Hvis det forårsaker en sønns eller datters død, skal straffen være i henhold til denne regelen.

If the death of a son or of a daughter has been caused, the punishment is to be in agreement with this rule.

32 Hvis en manns eller kvinnelig tjeners død skyldes oksen, skal eieren betale deres herre tretti sølvstykker, og oksen skal steines.

If the death of a man-servant or of a woman-servant is caused by the ox, the owner is to give their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox is to be stoned.

33 Hvis en mann graver et hull i jorden uten å dekke det, og en okse eller et esel faller i og dør,

If a man makes a hole in the earth without covering it up, and an ox or an ass dropping into it comes to its death;

34 er den som laget hullet ansvarlig; han må betale eieren, men den døde dyret blir hans.

The owner of the hole is responsible; he will have to make payment to their owner, but the dead beast will be his.

35 Hvis en manns okse skader en annen manns okse så den dør, skal den levende oksen selges og prisen deles, også det døde dyret deles.

And if one man's ox does damage to another man's ox, causing its death, then the living ox is to be exchanged for money, and division made of the price of it, and of the price of the dead one.

36 Men hvis det er kjent at oksen ofte har gjort slik skade, og eieren ikke har holdt den under kontroll, må han gi okse for okse; og det døde dyret blir hans.

But if it is common knowledge that the ox has frequently done such damage in the past, and its owner has not kept it under control, he will have to give ox for ox; and the dead beast will be his.