⁶ then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him for life.^(A)

¹⁷ then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his earlobe into the door, and he shall be your slave forever.

“You shall do the same with regard to your female slave.

³¹ His servants said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.”^{(A) 32} So they tied sackcloth around their waists, put ropes on their heads, went to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”^{(B) 33} Now the men were watching for an omen; they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, Ben-hadad is your brother.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” So Ben-hadad came out to him, and he had him come up into the chariot. ³⁴ Ben-hadad^[a] said to him, “I will restore the towns that my father took from your father, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” The king of Israel responded,^[b] “I will let you go on those terms.” So he made a treaty with him and let him go.^(C)

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”^(A)