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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.

Context of Exodus 21:6

4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. 5But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' 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. 7"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, 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

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"When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.
• Exodus 12:12For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.
• Exodus 18:21Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
• Exodus 22:8If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property.
• Numbers 25:6And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
• Deuteronomy 1:16And I charged your judges at that time, 'Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him.
• Deuteronomy 16:18"You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that 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 dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days.
• 1 Samuel 8:1When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
• Isaiah 1:26And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city."
• Zephaniah 3:3Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning.
• Psalms 40:6In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
• Leviticus 25:23"The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.
• Deuteronomy 15:17then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same.
• 1 Samuel 1:22But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and dwell there forever."
• 1 Samuel 27:12And Achish trusted David, thinking, "He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall 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