Exodus 21:5

Exodus 21:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
• New International Version (NIV)“But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,'
• New King James Version (NKJV)But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’

Context of Exodus 21:5

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. 4If his master gives him a wife and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to the master, and the slave must leave by himself. But if he makes this statement: ‘I hereby declare my love for my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to leave as a free man,’ 6then his master must bring him to God. The master must bring him to the door or the doorframe and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his slave for life. 7“Whenever a man sells his daughter into slavery, she will not go free the way male slaves do.

Exodus 21:5 word by word

וְאִם־אָמֹ֤ר יֹאמַר֙ הָעֶ֔בֶד אָהַ֙בְתִּי֙ אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֔י אֶת־אִשְׁתִּ֖י וְאֶת־בָּנָ֑י לֹ֥א אֵצֵ֖א חָפְשִֽׁי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And if the servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• shall plainlyאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I loveאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
• my masterאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• my wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• and my childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• I will not go outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• freeחׇפְשִׁיchophshîy · freeH2670

Cross-references for Exodus 21:5

• Deuteronomy 15:16But suppose a male slave says to you, “I don’t want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is happy with you.
• Isaiah 26:13O Lord, our God, you are not the only master to rule us, but we acknowledge only you.
• 2 Corinthians 5:14Clearly, Christ’s love guides us. We are convinced of the fact that one man has died for all people. Therefore, all people have died.

Commentaries on Exodus 21:5

• 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 21:5

• Contracts
• Creditor
• Debtor
• Ear
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Book
• Crucifixion
• Determine
• Gore
• Push
• Quit
• Ransom
• Wont
• Bible, the
• Blindness, Judicial

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