God’s Word Translation
Exodus 21:1
1⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Here are the legal decisions to be used by the Israelites:
Exodus 21:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
- New International Version (NIV)“These are the laws you are to set before them:
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Now these are the rules that you shall set before them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them:
Context of Exodus 21:1
⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Here are the legal decisions to be used by the Israelites: 2“Whenever you buy a Hebrew slave, he will be your slave for six years. In the seventh year he may leave as a free man, without paying for his freedom. 3If he comes to you by himself, he must leave by himself. If he comes as a married man, his wife may leave with him.
Read all of Exodus 21Exodus 21:1 word by word
וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר תָּשִׂ֖ים לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 21:1
- Leviticus 18:5Live by my standards, and obey my rules. You will have life through them. I am the Lord.
- Leviticus 19:37“Obey all my laws and all my rules, and live by them. I am the Lord.”
- Leviticus 20:22“If you carefully obey all my laws and my rules, the land I am bringing you to live in will not vomit you out.
- Numbers 35:24Then the community must use these rules in order to decide if you ⌞are innocent⌟ or if the dead person’s relative can avenge the death.
- Deuteronomy 5:1Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Israel, listen to the laws and rules I’m telling you today. Learn them and faithfully obey them.
- Deuteronomy 6:20In the future your children will ask you, “What do these regulations, laws, and rules which the Lord our God commanded you mean to you?”
- 1 Kings 6:12“This concerns the temple you are building: If you live by my laws, follow my rules, and keep my commands, I will fulfill the promise I made about you to your father David.
- 2 Chronicles 19:10Warn your relatives living in other cities about every case they bring to you, even if the case involves bloodshed or commands, rules, or regulations derived from Moses’ Teachings. Then your relatives will not become guilty in front of the Lord. Otherwise, he will become angry with you and your relatives. Do this, and you won’t be guilty ⌞of anything⌟.
- Nehemiah 9:13You came from heaven to Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them fair rules, trustworthy teachings, and good laws and commandments.
- Nehemiah 10:29They joined their relatives, the nobles, in binding themselves with a curse and an oath to follow God’s teachings given by Moses, God’s servant. They also bound themselves to follow all the commandments, rules, and regulations of the Lord our Lord.
- Psalms 147:19He speaks his word to Jacob, his laws and judicial decisions to Israel.
- Ezekiel 20:11I gave them my laws and made my rules known to them. If people obey them they will live.
- Malachi 4:4“Remember the teachings of my servant Moses, the rules and regulations that I gave to him at Horeb for all Israel.
- Exodus 19:7So Moses went down and called for the leaders of the people. He repeated to them all the words that the Lord had commanded him.
- Exodus 24:3Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and legal decisions. Then all the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has told us to do.”
- Deuteronomy 4:5I have taught you laws and rules as the Lord my God commanded me. You must obey them when you’ve entered the land and taken possession of it.
Commentaries on Exodus 21:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Now these are the judgments - There is so much good sense, feeling, humanity, equity, and justice in the following laws, that they cannot but be admired by every intelligent reader; and they are so very plain as to require very little comment. The laws in this chapter are termed political, those in the succeeding chapter judicial, laws; and are supposed to have been delivered to Moses alone, in consequence of the request of the people, Exodus 20:19, that…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Judgments - i. e. decisions of the law.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Laws respecting servants. (1-11) Judicial laws. (12-21) Judicial laws. (22-36) Verses 1-11 The laws in this chapter relate to the fifth and sixth commandments; and though they differ from our times and customs, nor are they binding on us, yet they explain the moral law, and the rules of natural justice. The servant, in the state of servitude, was an emblem of that state of bondage to sin, Satan, and the law, which man is brought into by robbing God of his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The terms of the covenant are now expanded. The first section in 21:1–23:19 gives specific examples of the general principles stated in 20:3–17. The commitments to which God bound himself if the Israelites kept their side of the covenant are stated in 23:20–33. This passage also includes the blessings for obedience.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-61. judgments--rules for regulating the procedure of judges and magistrates in the decision of cases and the trial of criminals. The government of the Israelites being a theocracy, those public authorities were the servants of the Divine Sovereign, and subject to His direction. Most of these laws here noticed were primitive usages, founded on principles of natural equity, and incorporated, with modifications and improvements, in the Mosaic code.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 21:1
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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