4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. 5 But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.
Exodus 21:4–6
Semantically similar passages
Deuteronomy 15:16–18
16 But if your servant says to you, ‘I do not want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant… 18 …
Leviticus 25:40–42
40 Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers. 42 Because the Israelites are My servants…
Deuteronomy 15:11–13
11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land. 12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh…
Exodus 21:26–28
26 If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth. 28 If…
Leviticus 25:52–54
52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to calculate and pay his redemption according to his remaining years. 53 He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight. 54 Even if h…
Exodus 21:20–22
20 If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21 However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property. 22 If men who are figh…
Exodus 21:10–12
10 If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. 11 If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment. 12 Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to…
Deuteronomy 21:13–15
13 and put aside the clothing of her captivity. After she has lived in your house a full month and mourned her father and mother, you may have relations with her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let h…
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