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his master shall bring him to God[a] and there, at the door or doorpost, he shall pierce his ear with an awl, thus keeping him as his slave forever.

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Footnotes

  1. 21:6 To God: the ritual of the piercing of the slave’s ear, which signified a lifetime commitment to the master, probably took place at the door of the household, where God as protector of the household was called upon as a witness. Another possible location for the ritual would have been the door of the sanctuary, where God or judges would have witnessed the slave’s promise of lifetime obedience to his master.

In every case of dishonest appropriation, whether it be about an ox, or a donkey, or a sheep, or a garment, or anything else that has disappeared, where another claims that the thing is his, the claim of both parties shall be brought before God; the one whom God convicts must make twofold restitution to the other.

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25 If someone sins against another, anyone can intercede for the sinner with the Lord; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who can intercede[a] for the sinner?” But they disregarded their father’s warning, since the Lord wanted them dead.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:25 Who can intercede: Eli’s sons fail to understand that their crime is directly against God and that God will punish them for it. Their behavior is set in sharp contrast to Samuel’s, which meets with God’s approval.

New gods were their choice;
    then war was at the gates.
No shield was to be found, no spear,
    among forty thousand in Israel!

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Psalm 82[a]

The Downfall of Unjust Gods

A psalm of Asaph.

I

God takes a stand in the divine council,
    gives judgment in the midst of the gods.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 82 As in Ps 58, the pagan gods are seen as subordinate divine beings to whom Israel’s God had delegated oversight of the foreign countries in the beginning (Dt 32:8–9). Now God arises in the heavenly assembly (Ps 82:1) to rebuke the unjust “gods” (Ps 82:2–4), who are stripped of divine status and reduced in rank to mortals (Ps 82:5–7). They are accused of misruling the earth by not upholding the poor. A short prayer for universal justice concludes the Psalm (Ps 82:8).

I declare: “Gods though you be,[a](A)
    offspring of the Most High all of you,

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Footnotes

  1. 82:6 I declare: “Gods though you be”: in Jn 10:34 Jesus uses the verse to prove that those to whom the word of God is addressed can fittingly be called “gods.”