1. Voici les lois que tu leur présenteras.
2. Si tu achètes un esclave hébreu, il servira six années; mais la septième, il sortira libre, sans rien payer.
3. S'il est entré seul, il sortira seul; s'il avait une femme, sa femme sortira avec lui.
4. Si c'est son maître qui lui a donné une femme, et qu'il en ait eu des fils ou des filles, la femme et ses enfants seront à son maître, et il sortira seul.
5. Si l'esclave dit: J'aime mon maître, ma femme et mes enfants, je ne veux pas sortir libre, -
6. alors son maître le conduira devant Dieu, et le fera approcher de la porte ou du poteau, et son maître lui percera l'oreille avec un poinçon, et l'esclave sera pour toujours à son service.
7. Si un homme vend sa fille pour être esclave, elle ne sortira point comme sortent les esclaves.
8. Si elle déplaît à son maître, qui s'était proposé de la prendre pour femme, il facilitera son rachat; mais il n'aura pas le pouvoir de la vendre à des étrangers, après lui avoir été infidèle.
9. S'il la destine à son fils, il agira envers elle selon le droit des filles.
10. S'il prend une autre femme, il ne retranchera rien pour la première à la nourriture, au vêtement, et au droit conjugal.
11. Et s'il ne fait pas pour elle ces trois choses, elle pourra sortir sans rien payer, sans donner de l'argent.
12. Celui qui frappera un homme mortellement sera puni de mort.
13. S'il ne lui a point dressé d'embûches, et que Dieu l'ait fait tomber sous sa main, je t'établirai un lieu où il pourra se réfugier.
14. Mais si quelqu'un agit méchamment contre son prochain, en employant la ruse pour le tuer, tu l'arracheras même de mon autel, pour le faire mourir.
15. Celui qui frappera son père ou sa mère sera puni de mort.
16. Celui qui dérobera un homme, et qui l'aura vendu ou retenu entre ses mains, sera puni de mort.
17. Celui qui maudira son père ou sa mère sera puni de mort.
18. Si des hommes se querellent, et que l'un d'eux frappe l'autre avec une pierre ou avec le poing, sans causer sa mort, mais en l'obligeant à garder le lit,
19. celui qui aura frappé ne sera point puni, dans le cas où l'autre viendrait à se lever et à se promener dehors avec son bâton. Seulement, il le dédommagera de son interruption de travail, et il le fera soigner jusqu'à sa guérison.
20. Si un homme frappe du bâton son esclave, homme ou femme, et que l'esclave meure sous sa main, le maître sera puni.
21. Mais s'il survit un jour ou deux, le maître ne sera point puni; car c'est son argent.
22. Si des hommes se querellent, et qu'ils heurtent une femme enceinte, et la fassent accoucher, sans autre accident, ils seront punis d'une amende imposée par le mari de la femme, et qu'ils paieront devant les juges.
23. Mais s'il y a un accident, tu donneras vie pour vie,
24. oeil pour oeil, dent pour dent, main pour main, pied pour pied,
25. brûlure pour brûlure, blessure pour blessure, meurtrissure pour meurtrissure.
26. Si un homme frappe l'oeil de son esclave, homme ou femme, et qu'il lui fasse perdre l'oeil, il le mettra en liberté, pour prix de son oeil.
27. Et s'il fait tomber une dent à son esclave, homme ou femme, il le mettra en liberté, pour prix de sa dent.
28. Si un boeuf frappe de ses cornes un homme ou une femme, et que la mort en soit la suite, le boeuf sera lapidé, sa chair ne sera point mangée, et le maître du boeuf ne sera point puni.
29. Mais si le boeuf était auparavant sujet à frapper, et qu'on en ait averti le maître, qui ne l'a point surveillé, le boeuf sera lapidé, dans le cas où il tuerait un homme ou une femme, et son maître sera puni de mort.
30. Si on impose au maître un prix pour le rachat de sa vie, il paiera tout ce qui lui sera imposé.
31. Lorsque le boeuf frappera un fils ou une fille, cette loi recevra son application;
32. mais si le boeuf frappe un esclave, homme ou femme, on donnera trente sicles d'argent au maître de l'esclave, et le boeuf sera lapidé.
33. Si un homme met à découvert une citerne, ou si un homme en creuse une et ne la couvre pas, et qu'il y tombe un boeuf ou un âne,
34. le possesseur de la citerne paiera au maître la valeur de l'animal en argent, et aura pour lui l'animal mort.
35. Si le boeuf d'un homme frappe de ses cornes le boeuf d'un autre homme, et que la mort en soit la suite, ils vendront le boeuf vivant et en partageront le prix; ils partageront aussi le boeuf mort.
36. Mais s'il est connu que le boeuf était auparavant sujet à frapper, et que son maître ne l'ait point surveillé, ce maître rendra boeuf pour boeuf, et aura pour lui le boeuf mort.
1. Now these are the laws which you are to put before them.
2. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. And if he gives her to his son, he is to do everything for her as if she was his daughter.
10. And if he takes another woman, her food and clothing and her married rights are not to be less.
11. And if he does not do these three things for her, she has the right to go free without payment.
12. He who gives a man a death-blow is himself to be put to death.
13. 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. 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. Any man who gives a blow to his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.
16. 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. Any man cursing his father or his mother is to be put to death.
18. 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. 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. If a man gives his man-servant or his woman-servant blows with a rod, causing death, he is certainly to undergo punishment.
21. 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. 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. But if damage comes to her, let life be given in payment for life,
24. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25. Burning for burning, wound for wound, blow for blow.
26. 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. Or if the loss of a tooth is caused by his blow, he will let him go free on account of his tooth.
28. 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. 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. If a price is put on his life, let him make payment of whatever price is fixed.
31. If the death of a son or of a daughter has been caused, the punishment is to be in agreement with this rule.
32. 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. 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. The owner of the hole is responsible; he will have to make payment to their owner, but the dead beast will be his.
35. 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. 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.
Liens Connexes: