¹⁴ Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵ And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called^(A) in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name^(B) of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

⁶ “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am Yahweh, and I will deliver you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and free you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm^(A) and great acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as My people,^(B) and I will be your God. You will know^(C) that I am Yahweh your God, who delivered you from the forced labor of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you to the land that I swore^[a](D) to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am Yahweh.”

Laws about Slaves

² “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man^[a] without paying anything.^{(A) 3} If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with^[b] a wife, his wife is to leave with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.

⁵ “But if the slave declares: ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’^{(B) 6} his master is to bring him to the judges^[c] and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.