Genesis to Revelation
Bible Reading Plan
January 22
Exodus 21-24
Chapter 21
Ordinances for the People
1 “Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the
seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.
3 “If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of
a wife, 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 belong to her master, 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 as a free man,’
6 then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door
or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall
serve him permanently.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go
free as the male slaves do.
8 “If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her
for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to
sell her to a foreign people because of his unfairness to her.
9 “If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to
the custom of daughters.
10 “If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food,
her clothing, or her conjugal rights.
11 “If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out
for nothing, without payment of money.
Personal Injuries
12 “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely 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 you a place to which he may flee.
14 “If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as
to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die.
15 “He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
16 “He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his
possession, shall surely be put to death.
17 “He who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
18 “If men have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with
his fist, and he does not die but remains in bed,
19 if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him
shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his loss of time, and shall take
care of him until he is completely healed.
20 “If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies at
his hand, he shall be punished.
21 “If, however, he survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken;
for he is his property.
22 “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that
she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined
as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the
judges decide.
23 “But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty
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 “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys
it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye.
27 “And if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall
let him go free on account of his tooth.
28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be
stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.
29 “If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner
has been warned, yet he does not confine it 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 demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption
of his life whatever is demanded of him.
31 “Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according
to the same rule.
32 “If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his
or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 “If a man opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it over, and
an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34 the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to its
owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
35 “If one man’s ox hurts another’s so that it dies, then they
shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide
the dead ox.
36 “Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring,
yet its owner has not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead
animal shall become his.
Chapter 22
Property Rights
1 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he
shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
2 “If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that
he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account.
3 “But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his
account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall
be sold for his theft.
4 “If what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether
an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.
5 “If a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare and lets his animal
loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution
from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, so that stacked grain
or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, he who started the fire
shall surely make restitution.
7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it
is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, he shall pay
double.
8 “If the thief is not caught, then the owner of the house shall appear
before the judges, to determine whether he laid his hands on his neighbor’s
property.
9 “For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep,
for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the
case of both parties shall come before the judges; he whom the judges
condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.
10 “If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal
to keep for him, and it dies or is hurt or is driven away while no one is looking,
11 an oath before the Lord shall be made by the two of them that he has
not laid hands on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it,
and he shall not make restitution.
12 “But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to
its owner.
13 “If it is all torn to pieces, let him bring it as evidence; he shall
not make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.
14 “If a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or
dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution.
15 “If its owner is with it, he shall not make restitution; if it is hired,
it came for its hire.
Sundry Laws
16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with her,
he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife.
17 “If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall pay
money equal to the dowry for virgins.
18 “You shall not allow a sorceress to live.
19 “Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.
20 “He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the Lord alone, 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 afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will
surely hear his cry;
24 and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and
your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are
not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are
to return it to him before the sun sets,
27 for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else
shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me,
I will hear
him, for I am gracious.
28 “You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
29 “You shall not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage.
The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.
30 “You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall
be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
31 “You shall be holy men to Me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh
torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Chapter 23
Sundry Laws
1 “You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked
man to be a malicious witness.
2 “You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify
in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice;
3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute.
4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you
shall surely return it to him.
5 “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its
load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with
him.
6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his
dispute.
7 “Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the
righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8 “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and
subverts the cause of the just.
9 “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the
feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Sabbath and Land
10 “You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield,
11 but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that
the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the
field
may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall
cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your
female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.
13 “Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard;
and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your
mouth.
Three National Feasts
14 “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.
15 “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you
are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the
month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before
Me empty-handed.
16 “Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits
of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering
at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the
field.
17 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.
18 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread;
nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning.
19 “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house
of the Lord your God.
“
You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.
Conquest of the Land
20 “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along
the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21 “Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious
toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in
him.
22 “But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will
be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 “For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the
Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites;
and I will completely destroy them.
24 “You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according
to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their sacred
pillars in pieces.
25 “But you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread
and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.
26 “There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will
fulfill the number of your days.
27 “I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all
the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their
backs to you.
28 “I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the
Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you.
29 “I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land
may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.
30 “I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become
fruitful and take possession of the land.
31 “I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines,
and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants
of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
32 “You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
33 “They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin
against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
Chapter
24
People Affirm Their Covenant with God
1 Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab
and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance.
2 “Moses alone, however, shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not
come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”
3 Then Moses came and recounted to 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 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the
morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars
for the
twelve tribes of Israel.
5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings
and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.
6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of
the blood he sprinkled on 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 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on 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 went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders
of Israel,
10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared
to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel;
and they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain
there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment
which I have written for their instruction.”
13 So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the
mountain of God.
14 But to the elders he said, “Wait here for us until we return to you.
And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him
approach them.”
15 Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16 The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it
for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of
the cloud.
17 And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the
Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.
18 Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and
Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)