daily-reading-plan-headerExodus 21–22

1 Now these are the judgments which you will set before them.

2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he will serve for six years, but in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything. 3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife will 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 will go out by himself.

5 However, if the servant plainly says, “I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free,” 6 then his master will bring him to the judges, then he shall also bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.

7 If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He has no authority to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 If he has designated her for his son, then he shall deal with her according to the customary rights of daughters. 10 If he marries another wife, then he must not diminish the first one’s food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 If he does not provide these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money

12 He that strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 However, if it was not premeditated, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place where he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully comes upon his neighbor in order to kill him cunningly, then you must take him 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 and sells him, or if 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 fight and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die, but must remain in bed, 19 and then if he gets up and walks around on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished. Only he must pay for his loss of time and shall see to it that he is thoroughly healed.

20 If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a rod so that he or she dies at his hand, then he shall surely be punished. 21 Nevertheless, if he survives for a day or two, then he shall not be punished, for it is his money.

22 If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that her child is born prematurely, yet there is no serious injury, then he shall be surely punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is any serious injury, 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, bruise for bruise.

26 If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or the eye of his female servant so that it is destroyed, then he must let him go free on account of his eye. 27 If he knocks out his male servant’s tooth or his female servant’s tooth, then he shall let him or her go free on account of the tooth.

28 If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox must surely be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted. 29 But if the ox has had the habit of goring, and the owner has been made aware of it, and he has not kept it in, and it has killed a man or a woman, then the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If a ransom is set for him, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatever is demanded of him. 31 Whether it gored a son or gored a daughter, it will be done to him according to this rule. 32 If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, then its owner shall give thirty shekels of silver to their master, and the ox must be stoned.

33 If a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit must make restitution. He must give money to their owner, and the dead animal will be his.

35 If one man’s ox hurts another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its proceeds and divide the dead ox also. 36 Or if it be known that the ox has had the habit of goring and its owner has not kept it in, then he shall surely pay ox for ox and the dead animal will become his own.

Chapter 22

1 If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, then he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

2 If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, then there will be no blood guilt for him. 3 If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him.

He must make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft. 4 If the stolen item is in fact found alive in his possession, whether it be an ox, or donkey, or sheep, then he shall repay double.

5 If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten and puts out his beast so that it feeds in another man’s field, he must make restitution of the best of his own field and of the best of his own vineyard.

6 If fire breaks out and catches in thorn bushes, so that stacked grain or the standing grain or the field are consumed, then he who started the fire must surely make restitution.

7 If a man gives his neighbor money or items to be kept for him, and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, he must repay double. 8 If the thief is not caught, then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges to determine if he has laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods. 9 For any kind of trespass, whether it be for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for clothing, or for any type of lost thing, where another says it is his, the case of both parties shall come before the judges. And whoever the judges find guilty will pay double to his neighbor.

10 If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast to keep for him, and it dies, or is injured, or is driven away while no one sees it, 11 then there will be an oath before the Lord between both of them that he has not laid his hand upon his neighbor’s property. And its owner must accept this, and he will not have to make restitution. 12 However, if it was stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. 13 If it is torn in pieces, then let him bring it as evidence, and he will not have to repay for that which was torn.

14 If a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies when the owner was not with it, then he shall surely make restitution. 15 But if the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution. If it was a hired thing, it came with his hire.

16 If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and has relations with her, he must surely endow her to be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

18 You must not allow a sorceress to live.

19 Whoever has relations with a beast must surely be put to death.

20 He who sacrifices to any god other than the Lord alone shall be utterly destroyed.

21 You must neither wrong a foreigner nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

22 You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. 23 If you afflict them in any way and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry. 24 And My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will become widows, and your children fatherless.

25 If you lend money to any of My people who is poor among you, do not be a creditor to him, and do not charge him interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering; it is his garment for his body. In what else will he sleep? And when he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

28 You shall not curse God or curse the ruler of your people.

29 You must not delay to offer the first of your harvest and of your vats.

You must give to Me the firstborn of your sons. 30 Likewise you must do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. Seven days it shall remain with its mother, but on the eighth day you must give it to Me.

31 You will be holy men to Me; therefore you must not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field. You must throw it to the dogs.

Matthew 19

1 Now when Jesus finished these sayings, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, tempting Him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

4 He answered, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”

7 They said to Him, “Then why did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to send her away?”

8 He said to them, “Moses, for the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. And whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is not good to marry.”

11 But He said to them, “Not all men can receive this precept, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are some eunuchs who have been so from birth, there are some eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are some eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”

13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them.

14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them. For to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

16 Now one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good deed shall I do to have eternal life?”

17 He replied to him, “Why do you call Me good? There is One who is good. But if you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

20 The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”

22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful. For he had great possessions.

23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you that it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When His disciples heard this, they were greatly amazed, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Then Peter answered Him, “See, we have left everything and followed You. What then shall we have?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for My name’s sake shall receive a hundred times as much and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”