Exodus 21:1-11

Expanded Bible

Laws for Living

21 Then God said to Moses, “These are the ·laws for living [regulations] that you will ·give to the Israelites [^Lset before them]:

² “·If [or When] you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. In the seventh year you are to set him free, ·and he will have to pay nothing [with no debt]. ³ If he ·is not married when he becomes your slave [^Lcame single/alone], he must leave ·without a wife [^Lsingle; alone]. But if he ·is married when he becomes your slave [^Lcomes in with a wife], he may ·take [^Lgo out with] his wife with him. ⁴ If the slave’s master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the woman and her children will belong to the master. ·When the slave is set free, only he may leave [^LHe will go out single/alone].

⁵ “But if the slave says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, and I don’t want to go free,’ ⁶ then the slave’s master must take him to ·God [^Tthe judges; ^CHebrew: Elohim]. The master is to take him to a door or ·doorframe [doorpost] and ·punch a hole through [pierce] the slave’s ear using ·a sharp tool [an awl]. Then the slave will serve that master all his life.

⁷ “·If [or When] a man sells his daughter as a slave, ·the rules for setting her free are different from the rules for setting the male slaves free [^Lshe will not go out like male slaves go out]. ⁸ If ·the master wanted to marry her but then decided he was not pleased with her [^Lshe does not please her master who designated her for himself], he must let ·one of her close relatives buy her back [^Lher be redeemed]. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has treated her unfairly. ⁹ If the man ·who bought her promises to let the woman marry [^Ldesignated her for] his son, he must ·treat her as [give her the rights of] a daughter. ¹⁰ If ·the man who bought her marries another woman [he takes another wife], he must not ·keep his first wife from having [deprive her of] food or clothing or ·sexual relations [marital rights]. ¹¹ If he does not give her these three things, she may go free, ·and she owes him no money [^Lwith no debt; Lev. 25:39–43; Deut. 15:12–18].