Exodus 21:4-6

Expanded Bible

⁴ If the slave’s master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the woman and her children will belong to the master. ·When the slave is set free, only he may leave [^LHe will go out single/alone].

⁵ “But if the slave says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, and I don’t want to go free,’ ⁶ then the slave’s master must take him to ·God [^Tthe judges; ^CHebrew: Elohim]. The master is to take him to a door or ·doorframe [doorpost] and ·punch a hole through [pierce] the slave’s ear using ·a sharp tool [an awl]. Then the slave will serve that master all his life.