Exodus 21:6 then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

◄ Exodus 21:6 ►

New International Version
then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.

New Living Translation
If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.

English Standard Version
then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

Berean Standard Bible
then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

King James Bible
Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

New King James Version
then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

New American Standard Bible
then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

NASB 1995
then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

NASB 1977
then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

Legacy Standard Bible
then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. Then his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

Amplified Bible
then his master shall bring him to God [that is, to the judges who act in God’s name], then he shall bring him to the door or doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl (strong needle); and he shall serve him for life.

Christian Standard Bible
his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.”

American Standard Version
then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

Contemporary English Version
Then he must stand beside either the door or the doorpost at the place of worship, while his owner punches a small hole through one of his ears with a sharp metal rod. This makes him a slave for life.

English Revised Version
then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
then 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.

Good News Translation
then his master shall take him to the place of worship. There he is to make him stand against the door or the doorpost and put a hole through his ear. Then he will be his slave for life.

International Standard Version
then his master is to bring him before the judges and he is to bring him to the door or to the doorpost. His master is to pierce his ear with an awl, and he is to serve him permanently.

Majority Standard Bible
then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

NET Bible
then his master must bring him to the judges, and he will bring him to the door or the doorposts, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.

New Heart English Bible
then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door-post: and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

World English Bible
then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
then his lord has brought him near to God, and has brought him near to the door, or to the doorpost, and his lord has bored his ear with an awl, and he has served him for all time.

Young's Literal Translation
then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age.

Smith's Literal Translation
And his lord brought him near to God, and he brought him near to the door, or to the door-post, and his lord pierced his ear with an awl; and he served him forever.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
His master shall bring him to the gods, and he shall be set to the door and the posts, and he shall bore his ear through with an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever.

Catholic Public Domain Version
then his lord shall make an offering for him to the heavens, and it shall be applied to the door and the posts, and he will pierce his ear with an awl. And he shall be his servant in perpetuity.

New American Bible
his master shall bring him to God and there, at the door or doorpost, he shall pierce his ear with an awl, thus keeping him as his slave forever.

New Revised Standard Version
then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost; and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
His Master shall bring him to the Judges and they shall bring him to the door or to the door post and his Master shall bore his ear with an awl and he will be his, doing service for life.

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
his master shall bring him to the judgment-seat of God, and then shall he bring him to the door, - to the door-post, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Laws for Servants
…5But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ 6then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life. 7And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Deuteronomy 15:16-17
But if your servant says to you, ‘I do not want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and is well off with you, / then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way.

Leviticus 25:39-42
If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor. / Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. / Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers. ...

Psalm 40:6
Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require.

Psalm 116:16
Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.

1 Samuel 1:11
And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”

Isaiah 50:5
The Lord GOD has opened My ears, and I have not been rebellious, nor have I turned back.

Jeremiah 34:9-10
that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage. / So all the officials and all the people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their menservants and maidservants and no longer hold them in bondage. They obeyed and released them,

Nehemiah 5:5
We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

Job 41:4
Will he make a covenant with you to take him as a slave for life?

1 Corinthians 7:21-23
Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. / For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. / You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

Romans 6:16-18
Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness? / But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. / You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Galatians 4:7
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.

Philippians 2:7
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Ephesians 6:5-8
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. / And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. / Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, ...

Colossians 3:22-24
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord. / Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men, / because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Treasury of Scripture

Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

the judges

Exodus 21:22
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

Exodus 12:12
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

Exodus 18:21-26
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: …

bore his ear.

Psalm 40:6-8
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required…

for every

Leviticus 25:23,40
The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me…

Deuteronomy 15:17
Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.

1 Samuel 1:22
But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.

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Exodus 21

1. Laws for men servants
5. For the servant whose ear is bored
7. For women servants
12. For manslaughter
16. For kidnappers
17. For cursers of parents
18. For smiters
22. For a hurt by chance
28. For an ox that gores
33. For him who is an occasion of harm

Berean Study Bible

then his master shall bring him to God
In the Hebrew text, the word for "God" here is "Elohim," which can also refer to judges or authorities acting under God's law. This phrase indicates a formal, legal process, emphasizing that the decision for a servant to remain with his master is not taken lightly but is done in the presence of divine or judicial authority. This reflects the seriousness of the covenant being made, underscoring the belief that all human agreements are ultimately accountable to God.

and he shall take him to the door or doorpost
The door or doorpost symbolizes a threshold or boundary, marking a transition from one state of life to another. In ancient Near Eastern culture, the doorpost was often a place of legal transactions and covenants. This act signifies the servant's transition from temporary service to a lifelong commitment, highlighting the solemnity and permanence of the decision.

and pierce his ear with an awl
The act of piercing the ear is rich in symbolism. In Hebrew culture, the ear represents obedience and listening. By piercing the ear, the servant is publicly declaring his willingness to listen to and obey his master for life. The use of an awl, a tool for making permanent marks, further emphasizes the enduring nature of this commitment. This act is a physical manifestation of the servant's voluntary choice to remain in service, reflecting a deeper spiritual truth about the nature of willing servitude.

Then he will be his servant for life
This phrase underscores the lifelong commitment being made. In a conservative Christian perspective, this can be seen as a foreshadowing of the believer's relationship with Christ. Just as the servant willingly chooses to serve his master for life, Christians are called to willingly serve Christ, recognizing Him as their eternal Master. This lifelong service is not seen as burdensome but as a joyful commitment, reflecting the love and devotion that characterize a true relationship with God. The permanence of this decision highlights the enduring nature of God's covenant with His people, reminding believers of the eternal security found in Christ.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) His master shall bring him unto the judges.--A formal act was necessary. The State must sanction the passing of a citizen into the slave condition, and so the "judges" were called in. The change was to be made by a significant ceremony. In order to mark that henceforth the volunteer bondman became attached to the household, he was to be physically attached to the house by having an awl forced through his ear, and then driven into the door or door-post. Hence "opening the ear" became a synonym for assigning a man to the slave condition in perpetuity (Psalm 40:6). The word used for "judges" is ha-Elohim, "the gods," or "the exalted ones," which has the same sense in Exodus 22:8-9.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

then his master
אֲדֹנָיו֙ (’ă·ḏō·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 113: Sovereign, controller

is to bring
וְהִגִּישׁ֤וֹ (wə·hig·gî·šōw)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5066: To draw near, approach

him before
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the judges.
הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

And he shall take him
וְהִגִּישׁוֹ֙ (wə·hig·gî·šōw)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5066: To draw near, approach

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the door
הַדֶּ֔לֶת (had·de·leṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1817: Something swinging, the valve of a, door

or
א֖וֹ (’ōw)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

doorpost
הַמְּזוּזָ֑ה (ham·mə·zū·zāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4201: A doorpost, gatepost

and pierce
וְרָצַ֨ע (wə·rā·ṣa‘)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7527: To bore, pierce

his ear
אָזְנוֹ֙ (’ā·zə·nōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 241: Broadness, the ear

with an awl.
בַּמַּרְצֵ֔עַ (bam·mar·ṣê·a‘)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4836: A boring instrument, awl

Then he shall serve his master
וַעֲבָד֖וֹ (wa·‘ă·ḇā·ḏōw)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5647: To work, to serve, till, enslave

for life.
לְעֹלָֽם׃ (lə·‘ō·lām)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5769: Concealed, eternity, frequentatively, always

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OT Law: Exodus 21:6 Then his master shall bring him (Exo. Ex)