Moral and Ceremonial Laws

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

18 “You must not allow a sorceress to live.

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

20 “Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord alone must be utterly destroyed.

21 “You must not wrong a foreigner nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

22 “You must not afflict any widow or orphan. 23 If you afflict them in any way and they cry 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 be widows and your children will be fatherless.

25 “If you lend money to any of my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender to him; do not charge him interest. 26 If you do take the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, 27 for it is his only covering – it is his garment for his body. What else can he sleep in? And when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

28 “You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 30 You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.

31 “You will be holy people to me; you must not eat any meat torn by animals in the field. You must throw it to the dogs.

23 “You must not give a false report. Do not make common cause with the wicked to be a malicious witness.

2 “You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, 3 and you must not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.

4 “If you encounter your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return it to him. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, but be sure to help him with it.

6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Keep your distance from a false charge – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.

8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and subverts the words of the righteous.

9 “You must not oppress a foreigner, since you know the life of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.