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22
Laws regarding possessions
1 Yahweh also said, “If someone steals a bull or a sheep, and then slaughters it to sell it or to sacrifice it or sells its meat to someone else, he must pay five bulls for the bull that he stole, and he must pay four sheep for the sheep that he stole.
2 If a thief is caught while he is breaking into someone else’s house at night, if the one who catches him kills the thief, he is not guilty of murdering him. 3 But if that happens during the daytime, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murdering him. The thief must pay for what he stole. If he has no animals with which to pay for the one that he stole, he must be sold to become someone’s else’s slave and the money must be used to pay for what he stole. 4 If the thief still has the animal when he is caught, whether it is a bull or a donkey or a sheep, and it is still alive, the thief must give back the stolen animal as well as giving two additional animals for each one that he stole.
5 If someone allows his animals to ◄graze/eat the grass► in his field or in his vineyard, and if they stray away and eat the crops in another person’s field, the owner of the animals must pay the owner of those crops by giving him the best crops from his own field or vineyard.
6 Suppose someone starts a fire in his own field, and the fire spreads through the grass and starts burning in someone else’s field, and the fire burns grain that is growing or grain that is already cut and stacked. Then the person who started the fire must pay completely for the damage.
7 Suppose someone gives to another person some money or other valuable goods and asks him to guard them in his house for a while. If those things are stolen from that person’s house, if the thief is caught, he must pay back twice as much as he stole. 8 But if the thief is not caught, the owner of the house from which the things were stolen must stand before the judges, so that the judges can determine whether the owner of the house was the one who took the other man’s goods and sold them to someone else.
9 If two people argue about which one of them owns a bull or a donkey or a sheep or some clothing, or something else that has been lost, the two people who each claim/say that the item belongs to them must stand before the judges. The one whom the judges declare is lying must pay back to the real owner twice as many bulls or donkeys or sheep or pieces of clothing.
10 Suppose someone gives his donkey or bull or sheep or some other animal to someone else and asks him to take care of it for a while, and the animal dies or is injured or is stolen while no one is watching. 11 Then the person who was taking care of the animal must ◄swear/solemnly declare►, knowing that God is listening, that he did not steal the animal. If he did not steal it the owner of the animal must accept/believe that the other person is telling the truth, and the other person will not have to pay anything back to the owner. 12 But if the animal was stolen while he was supposed to be taking care of it, the man who promised to take care of it must pay back the owner for the animal. 13 If he says that the animal was killed by wild animals, he must bring back the remains of the animal that was killed and show it to the animal’s owner. If he does that, he will not have to pay anything for the animal.
14 If someone borrows an animal, and if that animal is hurt or dies when its owner is not there, the one who borrowed it must pay the owner for the animal. 15 But if that happens when the owner of the animal is there, the one who borrowed it will not have to pay back anything. If the man who borrowed it only rented it, the money that he paid to rent it will be enough to pay for the animal dying or being injured.”
Laws concerning everyday life
16 “If a man persuades a girl/woman to have sex with him, a girl/woman who ◄is a virgin/has never had sex with any man► and who is not engaged to be married, he must pay the bride price for her and marry her. 17 But if her father refuses to allow her to marry him, he must pay to the woman’s father the amount of money that is equal to the amount of bride price money that men pay for virgins.
18 You must execute any woman who ◄practices sorcery/is a shaman►.
19 You must execute any person who has sex with an animal.
20 You must offer sacrifices only to Yahweh. You must execute anyone who offers a sacrifice to any other god.
21 You must not mistreat a foreigner who comes to live among you. Do not forget that you were previously foreigners in Egypt.
22 You must not mistreat any widow or any orphan. 23 If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will hear them. 24 And I will be angry with you, and I will cause you to be killed in a war [MTY]. Your wives will become widows, and your children will no longer have fathers.
25 If you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest on the money. 26 If he gives you his cloak to guarantee that he will pay the money back, you must give the cloak back to him before the sun goes down, 27 because he needs it to keep him warm during the night. ◄That is the only covering that poor people have when they sleep at night./What else will he cover himself with during the night?► [RHQ] If you do not act mercifully toward him by returning his cloak, when he cries out to me asking for my help, I will help him, because I always act mercifully.
28 Do not ◄revile/speak evil about► me, and do not ◄curse/ask me to do harmful things to► any ruler of your people.
29 ◄Do not withhold from/Give► me the best parts of the grain that you harvest and of the olive oil and the wine that you produce.
30 You must dedicate your firstborn sons to me. Similarly, your firstborn male cattle and sheep belong to me. After those animals are born, allow them to stay with their mothers for seven days. On the eighth day, offer them to me as a sacrifice.
31 You are people who are ◄completely dedicated to/set apart for► me. And I detest the meat of any animal that has been killed by wild animals. Therefore you should not eat such meat. Instead, throw it where the dogs can eat it.”

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© 2008-2017 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.