EXODUS (ENGLISH-RSV)
                                       
Chapter 20

   1
          And God spoke all these words, saying,
   2
          "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of
          Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
   3
          "You shall have no other gods before me.
   4
          "You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any
          likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the
          earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
   5
          you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD
          your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
          upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of
          those who hate me,
   6
          but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me
          and keep my commandments.
   7
          "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for
          the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in
          vain.
   8
          "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
   9
          Six days you shall labor, and do all your work;
   10
          but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it
          you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter,
          your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the
          sojourner who is within your gates;
   11
          for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and
          all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the
          LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.
   12
          "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long
          in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
   13
          "You shall not kill.
   14
          "You shall not commit adultery.
   15
          "You shall not steal.
   16
          "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
   17
          "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet
          your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or
          his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's."
   18
          Now when all the people perceived the thunderings and the
          lightnings and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain
          smoking, the people were afraid and trembled; and they stood
          afar off,
   19
          and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will hear; but let
          not God speak to us, lest we die."
   20
          And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to
          prove you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes,
          that you may not sin."
   21
          And the people stood afar off, while Moses drew near to the
          thick darkness where God was.
   22
          And the LORD said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the people
          of Israel: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have talked
          with you from heaven.
   23
          You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you
          make for yourselves gods of gold.
   24
          An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it
          your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and
          your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be
          remembered I will come to you and bless you.
   25
          And if you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of
          hewn stones; for if you wield your tool upon it you profane it.
   26
          And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your
          nakedness be not exposed on it.'
          
   
   
   
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Chapter 21

   1
          "Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them.
   2
          When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in
          the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.
   3
          If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in
          married, then his wife shall go out with him.
   4
          If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or
          daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's and
          he shall go out alone.
   5
          But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and
          my children; I will not go out free,'
   6
          then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him
          to the door or the doorpost; and his master shall bore his ear
          through with an awl; and he shall serve him for life.
   7
          "When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out
          as the male slaves do.
   8
          If she does not please her master, who has designated her for
          himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no
          right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt
          faithlessly with her.
   9
          If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as
          with a daughter.
   10
          If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her
          food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
   11
          And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go
          out for nothing, without payment of money.
   12
          "Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
   13
          But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall
          into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he
          may flee.
   14
          But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him
          treacherously, you shall take him from my altar, that he may
          die.
   15
          "Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to
          death.
   16
          "Whoever steals a man, whether he sells him or is found in
          possession of him, shall be put to death.
   17
          "Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
   18
          "When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or
          with his fist and the man does not die but keeps his bed,
   19
          then if the man rises again and walks abroad with his staff, he
          that struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss
          of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.
   20
          "When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and
          the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished.
   21
          But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be
          punished; for the slave is his money.
   22
          "When men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that
          there is a miscarriage, and yet no harm follows, the one who
          hurt her shall be fined, according as the woman's husband shall
          lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
   23
          If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,
   24
          eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
   25
          burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
   26
          "When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and
          destroys it, he shall let the slave go free for the eye's sake.
   27
          If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he
          shall let the slave go free for the tooth's sake.
   28
          "When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be
          stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the
          ox shall be clear.
   29
          But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its
          owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a
          man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also
          shall be put to death.
   30
          If a ransom is laid on him, then he shall give for the
          redemption of his life whatever is laid upon him.
   31
          If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with
          according to this same rule.
   32
          If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give
          to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be
          stoned.
   33
          "When a man leaves a pit open, or when a man digs a pit and
          does not cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it,
   34
          the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to
          its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
   35
          "When one man's ox hurts another's, so that it dies, then they
          shall sell the live ox and divide the price of it; and the dead
          beast also they shall divide.
   36
          Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in
          the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall pay ox for
          ox, and the dead beast shall be his.
          
   
   
   
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Chapter 22

   1
          "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he
          shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. He
          shall make restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be
          sold for his theft.
   2
          If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether
          it is an ox or an ass or a sheep, he shall pay double.
   3
          "If a thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he
          dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him;
   4
          but if the sun has risen upon him, there shall be bloodguilt
          for him.
   5
          "When a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or
          lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man's field, he
          shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in
          his own vineyard.
   6
          "When fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked
          grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he that
          kindled the fire shall make full restitution.
   7
          "If a man delivers to his neighbor money or goods to keep, and
          it is stolen out of the man's house, then, if the thief is
          found, he shall pay double.
   8
          If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come
          near to God, to show whether or not he has put his hand to his
          neighbor's goods.
   9
          "For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for ass, for
          sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, of which
          one says, 'This is it,' the case of both parties shall come
          before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double to his
          neighbor.
   10
          "If a man delivers to his neighbor an ass or an ox or a sheep
          or any beast to keep, and it dies or is hurt or is driven away,
          without any one seeing it,
   11
          an oath by the LORD shall be between them both to see whether
          he has not put his hand to his neighbor's property; and the
          owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution.
   12
          But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its
          owner.
   13
          If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence; he shall
          not make restitution for what has been torn.
   14
          "If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is hurt or
          dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full
          restitution.
   15
          If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it
          was hired, it came for its hire.
   16
          "If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with
          her, he shall give the marriage present for her, and make her
          his wife.
   17
          If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay
          money equivalent to the marriage present for virgins.
   18
          "You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
   19
          "Whoever lies with a beast shall be put to death.
   20
          "Whoever sacrifices to any god, save to the LORD only, shall be
          utterly destroyed.
   21
          "You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were
          strangers in the land of Egypt.
   22
          You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.
   23
          If you do afflict them, and they cry out to me, I will surely
          hear their cry;
   24
          and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and
          your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
   25
          "If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor,
          you shall not be to him as a creditor, and you shall not exact
          interest from him.
   26
          If ever you take your neighbor's garment in pledge, you shall
          restore it to him before the sun goes down;
   27
          for that is his only covering, it is his mantle for his body;
          in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will
          hear, for I am compassionate.
   28
          "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
   29
          "You shall not delay to offer from the fulness of your harvest
          and from the outflow of your presses. "The first-born of your
          sons you shall give to me.
   30
          You shall do likewise with your oxen and with your sheep: seven
          days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day you shall give
          it to me.
   31
          "You shall be men consecrated to me; therefore you shall not
          eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall
          cast it to the dogs.
          
   
   
   
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Chapter 23

   1
          "You shall not utter a false report. You shall not join hands
          with a wicked man, to be a malicious witness.
   2
          You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; nor shall you bear
          witness in a suit, turning aside after a multitude, so as to
          pervert justice;
   3
          nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his suit.
   4
          "If you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you shall
          bring it back to him.
   5
          If you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden,
          you shall refrain from leaving him with it, you shall help him
          to lift it up.
   6
          "You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his
          suit.
   7
          Keep far from a false charge, and do not slay the innocent and
          righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.
   8
          And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials,
          and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
   9
          "You shall not oppress a stranger; you know the heart of a
          stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
   10
          "For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield;
   11
          but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that
          the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild
          beasts may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and
          with your olive orchard.
   12
          "Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you
          shall rest; that your ox and your ass may have rest, and the
          son of your bondmaid, and the alien, may be refreshed.
   13
          Take heed to all that I have said to you; and make no mention
          of the names of other gods, nor let such be heard out of your
          mouth.
   14
          "Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me.
   15
          You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread; as I commanded
          you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the
          appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of
          Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed.
   16
          You shall keep the feast of harvest, of the first fruits of
          your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the
          feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in
          from the field the fruit of your labor.
   17
          Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the
          Lord GOD.
   18
          "You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened
          bread, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning.
   19
          "The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring
          into the house of the LORD your God. "You shall not boil a kid
          in its mother's milk.
   20
          "Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way
          and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.
   21
          Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do not rebel against
          him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is
          in him.
   22
          "But if you hearken attentively to his voice and do all that I
          say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary
          to your adversaries.
   23
          "When my angel goes before you, and brings you in to the
          Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Per'izzites, and the
          Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites, and I blot them
          out,
   24
          you shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do
          according to their works, but you shall utterly overthrow them
          and break their pillars in pieces.
   25
          You shall serve the LORD your God, and I will bless your bread
          and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of
          you.
   26
          None shall cast her young or be barren in your land; I will
          fulfil the number of your days.
   27
          I will send my terror before you, and will throw into confusion
          all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all
          your enemies turn their backs to you.
   28
          And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out
          Hivite, Canaanite, and Hittite from before you.
   29
          I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the
          land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you.
   30
          Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until
          you are increased and possess the land.
   31
          And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of the
          Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphra'tes; for I
          will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and
          you shall drive them out before you.
   32
          You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
   33
          They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin
          against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a
          snare to you."
          
   
   
   
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Chapter 24

   1
          And he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron,
          Nadab, and Abi'hu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and
          worship afar off.
   2
          Moses alone shall come near to the LORD; but the others shall
          not come near, and the people shall not come up with him."
   3
          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 has spoken we will do."
   4
          And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in
          the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain,
          and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
   5
          And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered
          burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the
          LORD.
   6
          And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half
          of the blood he threw against the altar.
   7
          Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the
          hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has
          spoken we will do, and we will be obedient."
   8
          And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and
          said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made
          with you in accordance with all these words."
   9
          Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abi'hu, and seventy of the
          elders of Israel went up,
   10
          and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as
          it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for
          clearness.
   11
          And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of
          Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.
   12
          The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and
          wait there; and I will give you the tables of stone, with the
          law and the commandment, which I have written for their
          instruction."
   13
          So Moses rose with his servant Joshua, and Moses went up into
          the mountain of God.
   14
          And he said to the elders, "Tarry here for us, until we come to
          you again; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has
          a cause, let him go to them."
   15
          Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the
          mountain.
   16
          The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud
          covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses
          out of the midst of the cloud.
   17
          Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a
          devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the
          people of Israel.
   18
          And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. And
          Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.