(1) When God began to create heaven and earth— (2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water— (3) God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. (5) God called the light Day and called the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day. (6) God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.” (7) God made the expanse, and it separated the water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the expanse. And it was so. (8) God called the expanse Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. (9) God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. (10) God called the dry land Earth and called the gathering of waters Seas. And God saw that this was good. (11) And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. (12) The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good. (13) And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (14) God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years; (15) and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so. (16) God made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars. (17) And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, (18) to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that this was good. (19) And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. (20) God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” (21) God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good. (22) God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” (23) And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. (24) God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts of every kind.” And it was so. (25) God made wild beasts of every kind and cattle of every kind, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. And God saw that this was good. (26) And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.” (27) And God created humankind in the divine image, creating it in the image of God— creating them male and female. (28) God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.” (29) God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. (30) And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so. (31) And God saw all that had been made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

(1) The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. (2) On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done. (4) Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When God יהוה made earth and heaven— (5) when no shrub of the field was yet on earth and no grasses of the field had yet sprouted, because God יהוה had not sent rain upon the earth and there were no human beings to till the soil, (6) but a flow would well up from the ground and water the whole surface of the earth— (7) God יהוה formed the Human from the soil’s humus, blowing into his nostrils the breath of life: the Human became a living being. (8) God יהוה planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the Human who had been fashioned. (9) And from the ground God יהוה caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad. (10) A river issues from Eden to water the garden, and it then divides and becomes four branches. (11) The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is. (12) (The gold of that land is good; bdellium is there, and lapis lazuli. ) (13) The name of the second river is Gihon, the one that winds through the whole land of Cush. (14) The name of the third river is Tigris, the one that flows east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (15) God יהוה settled the Human in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it. (16) And God יהוה commanded the Human, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; (17) but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.” (18) God יהוה said, “It is not good for the Human to be alone; I will make a fitting counterpart for him.” (19) And God יהוה formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the Human to see what he would call them; and whatever the Human called each living creature, that would be its name. (20) And the Human gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts; but no fitting counterpart for a human being was found. (21) So God יהוה cast a deep sleep upon the Human; and, while he slept, [God] took one of his sides and closed up the flesh at that site. (22) And God יהוה fashioned the side that had been taken from the Human into a woman, bringing her to the Human. (23) Then the Human said, “This one at last Is bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called Woman, For from a Human was she taken.” (24) Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh. (25) The two of them were naked, the Human and his wife, yet they felt no shame.

(1) יהוה said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you And curse the one who curses you; And all the families of the earth Shall bless themselves by you.” (4) Abram went forth as יהוה had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. (5) Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed, and the persons that they had acquired in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in the land of Canaan, (6) Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land. (7) יהוה appeared to Abram and said, “I will assign this land to your offspring.” And he built an altar there to יהוה who had appeared to him. (8) From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to יהוה and invoked יהוה by name. (9) Then Abram journeyed by stages toward the Negeb. (10) There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. (11) As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. (12) If the Egyptians see you, and think, ‘She is his wife,’ they will kill me and let you live. (13) Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you.” (14) When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful the woman was. (15) Pharaoh’s courtiers saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. (16) And because of her, it went well with Abram; he acquired sheep, oxen, asses, male and female slaves, she-asses, and camels. (17) But יהוה afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram. (18) Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me! Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? (19) Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife; take her and begone!” (20) And Pharaoh put agents in charge of him, and they sent him off with his wife and all that he possessed.

(1) When Abram was ninety-nine years old, יהוה appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless. (2) I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous.” (3) Abram threw himself on his face; and God spoke to him further, (4) “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. (5) And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations. (6) I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and kings shall come forth from you. (7) I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. (8) I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their God.” (9) God further said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. (10) Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. (11) You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. (12) And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the homeborn slave and the one bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, (13) they must be circumcised, homeborn and purchased alike. Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. (14) And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from kin; he has broken My covenant.” (15) And God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah. (16) I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.” (17) Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?” (18) And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live by Your favor!” (19) God said, “Nevertheless, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac; and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring to come. (20) As for Ishmael, I have heeded you. I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and exceedingly numerous. He shall be the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. (21) But My covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.” (22) Done speaking with him, God was gone from Abraham. (23) Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all his homeborn slaves and all those he had bought, every male in Abraham’s household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as God had spoken to him. (24) Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, (25) and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (26) Thus Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day; (27) and all [men of] his household, his homeborn slaves and those that had been bought from outsiders, were circumcised with him.

(1) יהוה appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. (2) Looking up, he saw three figures standing near him. Perceiving this, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, (3) he said, “My lords! If it please you, do not go on past your servant. (4) Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. (5) And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant’s way.” They replied, “Do as you have said.” (6) Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!” (7) Then Abraham ran to the herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hastened to prepare it. (8) He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree as they ate. (9) They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he replied, “There, in the tent.” (10) Then one said, “I will return to you next year, and your wife Sarah shall have a son!” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. (11) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah had stopped having her periods. (12) And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Now that I’ve lost the ability, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?” (13) Then יהוה said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?’ (14) Is anything too wondrous for יהוה ? I will return to you at the same season next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” (15) Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was frightened. Came the reply, “You did laugh.” (16) The agents set out from there and looked down toward Sodom, Abraham walking with them to see them off. (17) Now יהוה had said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, (18) since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him? (19) For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of יהוה by doing what is just and right, in order that יהוה may bring about for Abraham what has been promised him.” (20) Then יהוה said, “The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave! (21) I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will take note.” (22) The agents went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before יהוה. (23) Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? (24) What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? (25) Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (26) And יהוה answered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” (27) Abraham spoke up, saying, “Here I venture to speak to my lord, I who am but dust and ashes: (28) What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?” “I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.” (29) But he spoke up again, and said, “What if forty should be found there?” “I will not do it, for the sake of the forty.” (30) And he said, “Let not my lord be angry if I go on: What if thirty should be found there?” “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” (31) And he said, “I venture again to speak to my lord: What if twenty should be found there?” “I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty.” (32) And he said, “Let not my lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?” “I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.” (33) Having finished speaking to Abraham, יהוה departed; and Abraham returned to his place.

(1) A certain member of the house of Levi went and took [into his household as his wife] a woman of Levi. (2) The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw how beautiful he was, she hid him for three months. (3) When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him and caulked it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. (4) And his sister stationed herself at a distance, to learn what would befall him. (5) The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, while her maidens walked along the Nile. She spied the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to fetch it. (6) When she opened it, she saw that it was a child, a boy crying. She took pity on it and said, “This must be a Hebrew child.” (7) Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child for you?” (8) And Pharaoh’s daughter answered, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. (9) And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. (10) When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who made him her son. She named him Moses, explaining, “I drew him out of the water.” (11) Some time after that, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his kinsfolk and witnessed their labors. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen. (12) He turned this way and that and, seeing no one about, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. (13) When he went out the next day, he found two Hebrews fighting; so he said to the offender, “Why do you strike your fellow?” (14) He retorted, “Who made you chief and ruler over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was frightened, and thought: Then the matter is known! (15) When Pharaoh learned of the matter, he sought to kill Moses; but Moses fled from Pharaoh. He arrived in the land of Midian, and sat down beside a well. (16) Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock; (17) but shepherds came and drove them off. Moses rose to their defense, and he watered their flock. (18) When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?” (19) They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” (20) He said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why did you leave the man? Ask him in to break bread.” (21) Moses consented to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah as wife. (22) She bore a son whom he named Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.” (23) A long time after that, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and their cry for help from the bondage rose up to God. (24) God heard their moaning, and God remembered the covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. (25) God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.

(1) Then יהוה said to Moses, “You shall soon see what I will do to Pharaoh: he shall let them go because of a greater might; indeed, because of a greater might he shall drive them from his land.” (2) God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am יהוה. (3) I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name יהוה. (4) I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. (5) I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. (6) Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am יהוה. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. (7) And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, יהוה, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. (8) I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I יהוה.” (9) But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage. (10) יהוה spoke to Moses, saying, (11) “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites depart from his land.” (12) But Moses appealed to יהוה, saying, “The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, me—who gets tongue-tied!” (13) So יהוה spoke to both Moses and Aaron in regard to the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, instructing them to deliver the Israelites from the land of Egypt. (14) The following are the heads of their respective clans. The sons of Reuben, Israel’s first-born: Enoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; those are the families of Reuben. (15) The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Saul the son of a Canaanite woman; those are the families of Simeon. (16) These are the names of Levi’s sons by their lineage: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the span of Levi’s life was 137 years. (17) The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their families. (18) The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and the span of Kohath’s life was 133 years. (19) The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their lineage. (20) Amram took into his [household] as wife his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the span of Amram’s life was 137 years. (21) The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. (22) The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. (23) Aaron took into his [household] as wife Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. (24) The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. Those are the families of the Korahites. (25) And Aaron’s son Eleazar took into his [household] as wife one of Putiel’s daughters, and she bore him Phinehas. Those are the heads of the ancestral houses of the Levites by their families. (26) It is the same Aaron and Moses to whom יהוה said, “Bring forth the Israelites from the land of Egypt, troop by troop.” (27) It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to free the Israelites from the Egyptians; these are the same Moses and Aaron. (28) For when יהוה spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt (29) and יהוה said to Moses, “I am יהוה; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I will tell you,” (30) Moses appealed to יהוה, saying, “See, I get tongue-tied; how then should Pharaoh heed me!”

(1) God spoke all these words, saying: (2) I יהוה am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: (3) You shall have no other gods besides Me. (4) You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. (5) You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I your God יהוה am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me. (6) but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments. (7) You shall not swear falsely by the name of your God יהוה; for יהוה will not clear one who swears falsely by God’s name. (8) Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God יהוה: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. (11) For in six days יהוה made heaven and earth and sea—and all that is in them—and then rested on the seventh day; therefore יהוה blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. (12) Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that your God יהוה is assigning to you. (13) You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (14) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox or ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s. (15) All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. (16) “You speak to us,” they said to Moses, “and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” (17) Moses answered the people, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of God may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray.” (18) So the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was. (19) יהוה said to Moses: Thus shall you say to the Israelites: You yourselves saw that I spoke to you from the very heavens: (20) With Me, therefore, you shall not make any gods of silver, nor shall you make for yourselves any gods of gold. (21) Make for Me an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your sacrifices of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you. (22) And if you make for Me an altar of stones, do not build it of hewn stones; for by wielding your tool upon them you have profaned them. (23) Do not ascend My altar by steps, that your nakedness may not be exposed upon it.

(1) These are the rules that you shall set before them: (2) When you acquire a Hebrew slave, that person shall serve six years—and shall go free in the seventh year, without payment. (3) If [a male slave] came single, he shall leave single; if he had a wife, his wife shall leave with him. (4) If his master gave him a wife, and she has borne him children, the wife and her children shall belong to the master, and he shall leave alone. (5) But if the slave declares, “I love my master, and my wife and children: I do not wish to go free,” (6) his master shall take him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall then remain his master’s slave for life. (7) When a parent sells a daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as other slaves do. (8) If she proves to be displeasing to her master, who designated her for himself, he must let her be redeemed; he shall not have the right to sell her to outsiders, since he broke faith with her. (9) And if the master designated her for a son, he shall deal with her as is the practice with free maidens. (10) If he takes another [into the household as his wife], he must not withhold from this one her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. (11) If he fails her in these three ways, she shall go free, without payment. (12) One who fatally strikes another party shall be put to death. (13) If [a man] did so but not by design—it came about by an act of God—I will assign you a place to which he can flee. (14) When one party schemes against another and kills through treachery, you shall take that person from My very altar to be put to death. (15) One who strikes one’s father or mother shall be put to death. (16) One who kidnaps another party—whether having sold or still holding the victim—shall be put to death. (17) One who insults one’s father or mother shall be put to death. (18) When [two] parties quarrel and one strikes the other with stone or fist, and the victim does not die but has to take to bed. (19) if that victim then gets up and walks outdoors upon a staff, the assailant shall go unpunished—except for paying for the idleness and the cure. (20) When a slave-owning party strikes a slave, male or female, with a rod, who dies there and then, this must be avenged. (21) But if the victim survives a day or two, this is not to be avenged, since the one is the other’s property. (22) When [two or more] parties fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and a miscarriage results, but no other damage ensues, the one responsible shall be fined according as the woman’s husband may exact, the payment to be based on reckoning. (23) But if other damage ensues, the penalty shall be life for life, (24) eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, (25) burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. (26) When a slave-owning party strikes the eye of a slave, male or female, and destroys it, that person shall let the slave go free on account of the eye. (27) If the owner knocks out the tooth of a slave, male or female, that person shall let the slave go free on account of the tooth. (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 is not to be punished. (29) If, however, that ox has been in the habit of goring, and its owner, though warned, has failed to guard it, and it kills a man or a woman—the ox shall be stoned and its owner, too, shall be put to death. (30) If ransom is imposed, the owner must pay whatever is imposed to redeem the owner’s own life. (31) So, too, if it gores a minor, male or female, [its owner] shall be dealt with according to the same rule. (32) But if the ox gores a slave, male or female, [its owner] shall pay thirty shekels of silver to the master, and the ox shall be stoned. (33) When any party opens a pit, or when any party digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it, (34) the one responsible for the pit must make restitution—paying the price to the owner, but keeping the dead animal. (35) When any party’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and it dies, they shall sell the live ox and divide its price; they shall also divide the dead animal. (36) If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has failed to guard it, that person must restore ox for ox, but shall keep the dead animal. (37) When any party steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, that person shall pay five oxen for the ox, and four sheep for the sheep.—

(12) And יהוה said to Moses: (13) Speak to the Israelite people and say: Nevertheless, you must keep My sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout the ages, that you may know that I יהוה have consecrated you. (14) You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. One who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among kin. (15) Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. (16) The Israelite people shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: (17) it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days יהוה made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day [God] ceased from work and was refreshed. (18) Upon finishing speaking with him on Mount Sinai, [God] gave Moses the two tablets of the Pact, stone tablets inscribed with the finger of God.

(1) Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the laws and rules that I proclaim to you this day! Study them and observe them faithfully! (2) Our God יהוה made a covenant with us at Horeb. (3) It was not with our ancestors that יהוה made this covenant, but with us, the living, every one of us who is here today. (4) Face to face יהוה spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire— (5) I stood between יהוה and you at that time to convey יהוה’s words to you, for you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain—saying: (6) I יהוה am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: (7) You shall have no other gods beside Me. (8) You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters below the earth. (9) You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I your God יהוה am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me, (10) but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments. (11) You shall not swear falsely by the name of your God יהוה; for יהוה will not clear one who swears falsely by God’s name. (12) Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as your God יהוה has commanded you. (13) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (14) but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God יהוה; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. (15) Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and your God יהוה freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore your God יהוה has commanded you to observe the sabbath day. (16) Honor your father and your mother, as your God יהוה has commanded you, that you may long endure, and that you may fare well, in the land that your God יהוה is assigning to you. (17) You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (18) You [men] shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. Likewise, none of you shall crave your neighbor’s house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s. (19) יהוה spoke those words—those and no more—to your whole congregation at the mountain, with a mighty voice out of the fire and the dense clouds. [God] inscribed them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. (20) When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, you came up to me, all your tribal heads and elders, (21) and said, “Our God יהוה has just shown us a majestic Presence, and we have heard God’s voice out of the fire; we have seen this day that humankind may live though addressed by God. (22) Let us not die, then, for this fearsome fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of our God יהוה any longer, we shall die. (23) For what mortal ever heard the voice of the living God speak out of the fire, as we did, and lived? (24) You go closer and hear all that our God יהוה says, and then you tell us everything that our God יהוה tells you, and we will willingly do it.” (25) יהוה heard the plea that you made to me, and יהוה said to me, “I have heard the plea that this people made to you; they did well to speak thus. (26) May they always be of such mind, to revere Me and follow all My commandments, that it may go well with them and with their children forever! (27) Go, say to them, ‘Return to your tents.’ (28) But you remain here with Me, and I will give you the whole Instruction—the laws and the rules—that you shall impart to them, for them to observe in the land that I am giving them to possess.” (29) Be careful, then, to do as your God יהוה has commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left: (30) follow only the path that your God יהוה has enjoined upon you, so that you may thrive and that it may go well with you, and that you may long endure in the land you are to possess.

(1) And this is the Instruction—the laws and the rules—that your God יהוה has commanded [me] to impart to you, to be observed in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, (2) so that you, your children, and your children’s children may revere your God יהוה and follow, as long as you live, all the divine laws and commandments that I enjoin upon you, to the end that you may long endure. (3) Obey, O Israel, willingly and faithfully, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in] a land flowing with milk and honey, as יהוה, the God of your ancestors, spoke to you. (4) Hear, O Israel! יהוה is our God, יהוה alone. (5) You shall love your God יהוה with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. (7) Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (8) Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; (9) inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (10) When your God יהוה brings you into the land that was sworn to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to be assigned to you—great and flourishing cities that you did not build, (11) houses full of all good things that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and you eat your fill, (12) take heed that you do not forget יהוה who freed you from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. (13) Revere only your God יהוה and worship [God] alone, and swear only by God’s name. (14) Do not follow other gods, any gods of the peoples about you— (15) for your God יהוה in your midst is an impassioned God—lest the anger of your God יהוה blaze forth against you, wiping you off the face of the earth. (16) Do not try your God יהוה, as you did at Massah. (17) Be sure to keep the commandments, decrees, and laws that your God יהוה has enjoined upon you. (18) Do what is right and good in the sight of יהוה, that it may go well with you and that you may be able to possess the good land that your God יהוה promised on oath to your fathers, (19) and that all your enemies may be driven out before you, as יהוה has spoken. (20) When, in time to come, your children ask you, “What mean the decrees, laws, and rules that our God יהוה has enjoined upon you?” (21) you shall say to your children, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and יהוה freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand. (22) יהוה wrought before our eyes marvelous and destructive signs and portents in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household; (23) and us [God] freed from there, in order to take us and give us the land promised on oath to our fathers. (24) Then יהוה commanded us to observe all these laws, to revere our God יהוה, for our lasting good and for our survival, as is now the case. (25) It will be therefore to our merit before our God יהוה to observe faithfully this whole Instruction, as [God] has commanded us.”