Deuteronomy 15:12-23

New King James Version

The Law Concerning Bondservants

^12 (A)“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is ^(B)sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. ¹³ And when you ^[a]send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; ¹⁴ you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord your God has ^(C)blessed you with, you shall give to him. ^15 (D)You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. ¹⁶ And ^(E)if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, ¹⁷ then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. ¹⁸ It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth ^(F)a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.

The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals

^19 (G)“All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall ^[b]sanctify to the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. ^20 (H)You and your household shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the place which the Lord chooses. ^21 (I)But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. ²² You may eat it within your gates; ^(J)the unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. ²³ Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.