Exodus 21:1-6

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 21

Laws Concerning Slaves. ¹ “These are the decrees that you will set before them.

² “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years and in the seventh year he will go free, without paying anything.^{[a] 3} If he entered into slavery unmarried, he will go out alone. If he is married, then his wife will go with him. ⁴ If his master has given him a wife and she has had sons or daughters, the woman and her children will be the property of the master and he will go out alone.

⁵ “If the slave says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I do not want to go free,’ ⁶ then the master will bring him before God. He will bring him to a door or a doorpost and will bore a hole in his ear with an awl. He will be his slave forever.