Exodus Chapter 21 verse 33 Holy Bible
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,
read chapter 21 in ASV
If a man makes a hole in the earth without covering it up, and an ox or an ass dropping into it comes to its death;
read chapter 21 in BBE
-- And if a man open a pit, or if a man dig a pit, and do not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall into it,
read chapter 21 in DARBY
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;
read chapter 21 in KJV
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 shall fall into it;
read chapter 21 in WBT
"If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and doesn't cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,
read chapter 21 in WEB
`And when a man doth open a pit, or when a man doth dig a pit, and doth not cover it, and an ox or ass hath fallen thither, --
read chapter 21 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 33. - If a man shall open a pit. Rather, "If a man shall uncover a cistern." Cisterns, very necessary in Palestine, were usually closed by a flat-stone, or a number of planks. To obtain water from them, they had to be uncovered; but it was the duty of the man who uncovered them, to replace the covering when his wants were satisfied. Or dig a pit and not cover it. A man who was making a cistern might neglect to cover it while it was in course of construction, or even afterwards, if he thought his own cattle would take no hurt. But in the unfenced fields of Palestine it was always possible that a neighbour' s cattle might go astray and suffer injury through such a piece of negligence. An ox, or an ass, falling into a cistern, would be unable to extricate itself, and might be drowned.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersLAWS CONCERNING THE RIGHTS OF PROPERTY.(33-36) The legislation slides from rights of persons to rights of property easily and without effort, by passing from the injuries which cattle cause to those which they suffer. They are injured (1) by the culpable laches of persons leaving their pits uncovered; (2) by hurts which one man's cattle inflict upon another's. Both kinds of loss have to be made good.(33) If a man shall open a pit.--Rather, uncover a well. The wells in the East commonly have covers, which are removed when water is drawn, and then replaced. If a man neglected to replace a cover, he was rightly answerable for any damage that might ensue. The case was the same if he dug a new well, and neglected to cover it over.
