Exodus 21:6

Exodus 21:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
• New International Version (NIV)then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
• English Standard Version (ESV)then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
• New King James Version (NKJV)then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

Context of Exodus 21:6

4If his master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave [your service] alone. 5But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God [that is, to the judges who act in God’s name], then he shall bring him to the door or doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl (strong needle); and he shall serve him for life. 7“If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go free [after six years] as male servants do. 8If she does not please her master who has chosen her for himself [as a wife], he shall let her be redeemed [by her family]. He does not have the authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has been unfair to her.

Exodus 21:6 word by word

וְהִגִּישׁ֤וֹ אֲדֹנָיו֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְהִגִּישׁוֹ֙ אֶל־הַדֶּ֔לֶת א֖וֹ אֶל־הַמְּזוּזָ֑ה וְרָצַ֨ע אֲדֹנָ֤יו אֶת־אָזְנוֹ֙ בַּמַּרְצֵ֔עַ וַעֲבָד֖וֹ לְעֹלָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then his masterאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• shall bringנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: bringH5066
• him unto the judgesאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• him to the doorדֶּ֫לֶתdeleth · doorH1817
• or unto the door postמְזוּזָהmezûzâh mezûzâh · doorpostH4201
• shall boreרָצַעrâtsa‛ · to boreH7527
• his earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
• through with an aulמַרְצֵעַmartsêa‛ · awlH4836
• and he shall serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
• him for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769

Cross-references for Exodus 21:6

• Exodus 21:22“If men fight with each other and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely [and the baby lives], yet there is no further injury, the one who hurt her must be punished with a fine [paid] to the woman’s husband, as much as the judges decide.
• Exodus 12:12For I [the Lord] will pass through the land of Egypt on this night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal; against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments [exhibiting their worthlessness]. I am the Lord.
• Exodus 18:21Furthermore, you shall select from all the people competent men who [reverently] fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; you shall place these over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.
• Exodus 22:8If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house shall appear before the judges [who act in God’s name], to determine whether or not he had stolen his neighbor’s goods.
• Numbers 25:6Then one of the Israelites came and presented to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping [over God’s judgment] at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).
• Deuteronomy 1:16“Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the matters between your brothers [your fellow countrymen], and judge righteously and fairly between a man and his brother, or the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) who is with him.
• Deuteronomy 16:18“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your cities (gates) which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
• Deuteronomy 19:17then both parties to the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office at that time.
• 1 Samuel 8:1And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.
• Isaiah 1:26Then I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; Afterward you will be called the city of righteousness, The faithful city.”
• Zephaniah 3:3Her officials within her are roaring lions; Her judges are [as hungry as] the wolves at evening, They leave nothing for the morning.
• Psalms 40:6Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them; You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word]; Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.
• Leviticus 25:23‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; you are [only] foreigners and temporary residents with Me.
• Deuteronomy 15:17then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall [willingly] be your servant always. Also you shall do the same for your maidservant.
• 1 Samuel 1:22But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned; and then I will bring him, so that he may appear before the Lord and remain there as long as he lives.”
• 1 Samuel 27:12Achish believed David, saying, “He has certainly become hated by his people in Israel; so he will always be my servant.”

Commentaries on Exodus 21:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Shall bring him unto the judges - האלהים אל el haelohim, literally, to God; or, as the Septuagint have it, , to the judgment of God; who condescended to dwell among his people; who determined all their differences till he had given them laws for all cases, and who, by his omniscience, brought to light the hidden things of dishonesty. See Exodus 22:8. Bore his ear through with an awl - This was a ceremony sufficiently significant, as it implied, That he…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Forever - That is, most probably, until the next Jubilee, when every Hebrew was set free. See Leviticus 25:40, Leviticus 25:50. The custom of boring the ear as a mark of slavery appears to have been a common one in ancient times, observed in many nations. Unto the judges - Literally, “before the gods אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym The word does not denote “judges” in a direct way, but it is to be understood as the name of God, in its ordinary plural form, God being the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-6The master was not required to provide a slave with a wife who would then be freed with him. The slave in such a situation had to either abandon the family he began while he was a slave or become a permanent slave.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-62-6. If thou buy an Hebrew servant--Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release. Should he, however, have married a female slave, she and the children, after the husband's liberation, remained the master's…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 21:6

• Awl
• Boring the Ear
• Contracts
• Creditor
• Debtor
• Ear
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Awl
• Book
• Crucifixion
• Determine
• Ear
• Gore
• Push
• Quit
• Ransom
• Wont

Commentaries on Exodus 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings