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Judgments About Slaves

21 “Now these are the (A)judgments which you are to set before them:

“If you buy (B)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. If he comes [a]alone, he shall go out [b]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out [c]alone. But (C)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to [d]God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. Then his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

(D)And if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to [e]go free (E)as the male slaves [f]do. If she is [g]displeasing in the eyes of her master [h]who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his treachery to her. And if he designates her for his son, he shall do to her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes for himself another woman, he may not reduce her [i]food, her clothing, or (F)her conjugal rights. 11 And if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 21:3 Lit by himself
  2. Exodus 21:3 Lit by himself
  3. Exodus 21:4 Lit by himself
  4. Exodus 21:6 Or the judges who acted in God’s name
  5. Exodus 21:7 Lit go out
  6. Exodus 21:7 Lit go out
  7. Exodus 21:8 Lit bad
  8. Exodus 21:8 Or so that he did not designate her
  9. Exodus 21:10 Lit flesh

Regulations Regarding Hebrew Slaves

21 “And these are the regulations that you will set before them.

‘If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve six years, and in the seventh he will go out as free for nothing.[a] If he comes in single, he will go out single. If he is the husband of a wife, his wife will go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears for him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and the slave will go out single. But if the slave explicitly says, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,” his master will present him to God[b] and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve him forever.

“‘And if a man sells his daughter as a slave woman, she will not go out as male slaves go out. If she does not please her master[c] who selected her, he will allow her to be redeemed; he has no authority to sell her to foreign people, since he has dealt treacherously with her. And if he selects her for his son, he shall do for her according to the regulations for daughters. 10 If he takes for himself another, he will not reduce her food, her clothing, or her right of cohabitation. 11 And if he does not do for her these three, she shall go out for nothing; there will not be silver[d] paid for her.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 21:2 Or “for no payment”
  2. Exodus 21:6 Or “present him to the judges”
  3. Exodus 21:8 Literally “bad in the eyes of her master”
  4. Exodus 21:11 Or “money”