Exodus 21:18-36

18Perhaps two men argue and they fight one another. One man might hit the other man with a stone or with his fist. The man that he hit might not die but he might have to stay in bed for some time.

19After that, he may get up. He may be able to walk about outside, if he uses a stick. Then the man who hit him is not guilty. But he must pay the man that he has hurt. He must pay him for the time that he has not been able to work. He must also make sure that the man becomes completely well again.

20Perhaps a master may hit his male slave or his female slave with a stick. If the slave dies because of this, you must punish the master.

21But if the slave is still alive after one or two days, do not punish his master. The master has already lost the slave's work for that time.

22When two men fight together, perhaps one of them may hit a pregnant woman. As a result of the fight, she may give birth to her child before the right time. If the man has not hurt the woman very much, he must pay money to her husband. He must pay the amount of money that the husband demands. A judge must agree that the money for his punishment is fair.

23But if the man has hurt the woman a lot, you must punish him as he deserves. Take a life for a life,

24an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.

25You must give him a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.

26If a master hits the eye of his male slave or his female slave, he might destroy it. Then he must let the slave go away as a free person to pay for the loss of their eye.

27If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, he must also let the slave go away to pay for the loss of the tooth.

28Perhaps a bull may attack someone so that the person dies. Then you must throw stones at the bull to kill it. You must not eat the meat from that bull. But do not punish the owner of the bull.

29But perhaps that bull has attacked people before. Perhaps someone warned the owner about this, but the man did not keep the bull in a safe place. If that happens, and the bull kills someone, you must kill the bull. You must also punish the bull's owner with death.

30But if the dead person's family demands money, the man can give them money instead of his life. He must pay them what they ask for.

31This law is the same if the bull attacks someone's son or their daughter.

32If it attacks a male slave or a female slave, the man must pay 30 silver coins to the slave's master. You must also throw stones at the bull to kill it.

33If a man digs a hole in the ground, he must cover it. If he leaves a hole open, a cow or a donkey might fall into it.

34Then the man who dug the hole must pay for the loss of the animal. He must pay money to the animal's owner, but he may keep the dead animal for himself.

35If one man's bull attacks another man's bull, it may die. Then they must sell the bull that is still alive. Each man can take half of the money and half of the dead bull as well.

36But perhaps that bull has attacked other animals before. If its owner knows that and he did not do anything, he must pay for the dead bull. He should have kept his bull in a safe place. So he must pay the owner of the dead bull, but he can keep the dead animal for himself.