Laws about Slaves

² “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man^[a] without paying anything.^{(A) 3} If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with^[b] a wife, his wife is to leave with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.

⁵ “But if the slave declares: ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’^{(B) 6} his master is to bring him to the judges^[c] and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.

Release of Slaves

¹² “If your fellow Hebrew, a man or woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, you must set him free in the seventh year.^{(A) 13} When you set him free, do not send him away empty-handed. ¹⁴ Give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You are to give him whatever the Lord your God has blessed you with. ¹⁵ Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed^(B) you; that is why I am giving you this command today.^{(C) 16} But if your slave says to you, ‘I don’t want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and is well off with you, ¹⁷ take an awl and pierce through his ear into the door, and he will become your slave for life. Also treat your female slave the same way.