God’s Word Translation
Exodus 21:27
27If the owner knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to make up for the loss of the tooth.
Exodus 21:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
- New International Version (NIV)And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.
Context of Exodus 21:27
25a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a wound for a wound. 26“Whenever an owner hits his male or female slave in the eye and the slave is blinded, he must let the slave go free to make up for the loss of the eye. If the owner knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to make up for the loss of the tooth. 28“Whenever a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat may not be eaten. The bull’s owner is free from any liability. 29But if the bull has had the habit of goring, and the owner has been warned but has not kept it confined, and it kills a man or a woman, then the bull must be stoned and its owner must be put to death, too.
Read all of Exodus 21Exodus 21:27 word by word
וְאִם־שֵׁ֥ן עַבְדּ֛וֹ אֽוֹ־שֵׁ֥ן אֲמָת֖וֹ יַפִּ֑יל לַֽחָפְשִׁ֥י יְשַׁלְּחֶ֖נּוּ תַּ֥חַת שִׁנּֽוֹ׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Commentaries on Exodus 21:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27If he smite out his - tooth - It was a noble law that obliged the unmerciful slaveholder to set the slave at liberty whose eye or tooth he had knocked out. If this did not teach them humanity, it taught them caution, as one rash blow might have deprived them of all right to the future services of the slave; and thus self-interest obliged them to be cautious and circumspect.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-36Verses 22-36 The cases here mentioned give rules of justice then, and still in use, for deciding similar matters. We are taught by these laws, that we must be very careful to do no wrong, either directly or indirectly. If we have done wrong, we must be very willing to make it good, and be desirous that nobody may lose by us.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-27These laws governed compensation for injuries that did not lead to death.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-367-11. if a man sell his daughter--Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her condition as his intended wife, or her freedom instantly granted.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 21:27
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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