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 bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. 5But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ 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. 7And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do. 8If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with 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

• then his masterאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• is to bring himנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: bringH5066
• beforeאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• the judgesאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• the doorדֶּ֫לֶתdeleth · doorH1817
• orאוֹ'ô 'av · orH176
• doorpostמְזוּזָהmezûzâh mezûzâh · doorpostH4201
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• and pierceרָצַעrâtsa‛ · to boreH7527
• his earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
• with an awlמַרְצֵעַmartsêa‛ · awlH4836
• Then he shall serve his masterעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
• for lifeעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769

Cross-references for Exodus 21:6

• Exodus 21:22If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.
• Exodus 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
• Exodus 18:21Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
• Exodus 22:8If the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has taken his neighbor’s property.
• Numbers 25:6Just then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
• Deuteronomy 1:16At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident.
• Deuteronomy 16:18You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
• Deuteronomy 19:17both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time.
• 1 Samuel 8:1When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.
• Isaiah 1:26I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”
• Zephaniah 3:3Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
• Psalms 40:6Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require.
• Leviticus 25:23The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
• Deuteronomy 15:17then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way.
• 1 Samuel 1:22but Hannah did not go. “After the boy is weaned,” she said to her husband, “I will take him to appear before the LORD and to stay there permanently.”
• 1 Samuel 27:12So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”

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