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If his master has given him a wife and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out [of your service] alone.

But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go free,

Then his master shall bring him to God [the judges as His agents]; he shall bring him to the door or doorpost and shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life.

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If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

“But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’(A) then his master must take him before the judges.[a](B) He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce(C) his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 21:6 Or before God