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| [1]Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them. |
[1]These ben the domes, whiche thou schalt sette forth to hem. |
| [2]If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. |
[2]If thou biest an Ebrew seruaunt, he schal serue thee sixe yeer; in the seuenthe yeer he schal go out fre, |
| [3]If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him. |
[3]with out prijs; with what maner clooth he entride, with siche clooth go he out; if he entride hauynge a wijf, and the wijf schal go out to gidere. |
| [4]If his master give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. |
[4]But if the lord of the servaunt yaf a wijf to hym, and sche childide sones and douytris, the womman and hir children schulen be hir lordis; sotheli the seruaunt schal go out with his owne clooth. |
| [5]But if the servant shall plainly say: I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free; |
[5]That if the seruaunt seith, Y loue my lord, and wijf, and children, Y schal not go out fre; |
| [6]Then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever. |
[6]the lord brynge hym to goddis, that is, iugis; and he schal be set to the dore, and postis; and the lord schal perse his eere with a nal, and he schal be seruaunt to hym til in to the world. |
| [7]And if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do. |
[7]If ony man sillith his douyter in to seruauntesse, sche schal not go out as handmaidis weren wont to go out; |
| [8]If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed; to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. |
[8]if sche displesith in the iyen of hir lord, to whom sche was bitakun, he schal delyuere hir; sotheli he schal not haue power to sille hir to an alien puple, if he forsakith hir. |
| [9]And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner daughters. |
[9]Forsothe if he weddith hir to his sonne, he schal do to hir `bi the custom of douytris; |
| [10]If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment, and her conjugal rights, shall he diminish. |
[10]that if he takith another womman to hym, he schal puruey to the damysele weddingis, and clothis, and he schal not denye the prijs of chastite. |
| [11]And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money. |
[11]If he doith not these thre, sche schal go out freli without money. |
| [12]He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death. |
[12]He that smytith a man, and wole sle, die bi deeth; |
| [13]And if a man lie not in wait, but God cause it to come to hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he may flee. |
[13]forsothe if a man settide not aspies, but God `bitook hym in to hise hondis, Y schal ordeyne a place to thee, whidur he owith to fle. |
| [14]And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from Mine altar, that he may die. |
[14]If ony man sleeth his neiybore bi biforecastyng, and bi aspies, drawe thou hym awey fro myn auter, that he die. |
| [15]And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. |
[15]He that smytith his fadir, ether modir, die by deeth. |
| [16]And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. |
[16]He that cursith his fadir, ether modir, die bi deeth. |
| [17]And he that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death. |
[17]He that stelith a man, and sillith hym, if he is conuyt of the gilt, die bi deeth. |
| [18]And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed; |
[18]If men chiden, and the tother smyte his neiybore with a stoon, ether with the fist, and he is not deed, but liggith in the bed, |
| [19]If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. |
[19]if he risith, and goith forth on his staf, he that smoot schal be innocent; so netheles that he restore hise trauelis, and costis in lechis. |
| [20]And if a man smite his bondman, or his bondwoman, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be punished. |
[20]He that smytith his seruaunt, ether handmayde, with a yerde, and thei ben deed in hise hondis, schal be gilti of cryme. |
| [21]Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his money. |
[21]Sotheli if the seruaunt ouerlyueth o dai, ether tweyne, he schal not be suget to peyne, `that is of deeth, for the seruaunt is his catel. |
| [22]And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. |
[22]If men chiden, and a man smytith a womman with childe, and sotheli makith the child deed borun, but the womman ouerlyueth, he schal be suget to the harm, as myche as the `hosebonde of the womman axith, and the iugis demen. |
| [23]But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life, |
[23]But if the deeth of hir sueth, |
| [24]Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, |
[24]he schal yelde lijf for lijf, iye for iye, tooth for tooth, hond for hond, foot for foot, |
| [25]Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. |
[25]brennyng for brennyng, wounde `with schedyng of blood for wounde `with schedyng of blood, `a wan wounde for a wan wounde. |
| [26]And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. |
[26]If a man smytith the iye of his seruaunt, ethir of handmaide, and makith hem oon iyed, he schal delyuere hem fre for `the iye which he puttide out. |
| [27]And if he smite out his bondman's tooth, or his bondwoman's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake. |
[27]Also if he smytith out a tooth fro his seruaunt, ethir handmaide, in lijk maner he schal delyuere hem fre. |
| [28]And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. |
[28]If an oxe smytith with horn a man, ether a womman, and thei ben deed, the oxe schal be oppressid with stoonus, and hise fleischis schulen not be etun, and the lord of the oxe schal be innocent. |
| [29]But if the ox was wont to gore in time past, and warning hath been given to its owner, and he hath not kept it in, but it hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. |
[29]That if the oxe was `a pultere with horn fro yisterdai and the thridde dai ago, and men warneden `the lord of hym, nether the lord closide hym, and he sleeth a man, ethir womman, bothe the oxe schal be oppressid with stoonus, and thei schulen sle `the lord of hym; |
| [30]If there be laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. |
[30]that if prijs is put to the lord, he schal yyue for his lijf what euer he is axide. |
| [31]Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. |
[31]And if he smytith with horn a son, and a douytir, he schal be suget to lijk sentence. |
| [32]If the ox gore a bondman or a bondwoman, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. |
[32]If the oxe asailith a seruaunt, and handmaide, the lord of the oxe schal yyue thretti siclis of siluer to `his lord; forsothe the oxe schal be oppressid with stoonus. |
| [33]And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein, |
[33]If ony man openeth a cisterne, and diggith, and hilith it not, and an oxe ether asse fallith in to it, |
| [34]The owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his. |
[34]the lord of the cisterne schal yelde the prijs of the werk beestis; forsothe that that is deed schal be his. |
| [35]And if one man's ox hurt another's, so that it dieth; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it; and the dead also they shall divide. |
[35]If another mannus oxe woundith the oxe of another man, and he is deed, thei schulen sille the quyke oxe, and thei schulen departe the prijs; forsothe thei schulen departe bitwixe hem the karkeis of the deed oxe. |
| [36]Or if it be known that the ox was wont to gore in time past, and its owner hath not kept it in; he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his own. |
[36]Forsothe if his lord wiste, that the oxe was a puttere fro yistirdai and the thridde dai ago, and kepte not him, he schal yelde oxe for oxe, and he schal take the hool carkeys. |
| [37]If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. |
37[No verse] |