Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version "But if the servant declares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,' New Living Translation But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’ English Standard Version But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ Berean Study Bible But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ King James Bible And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: New King James Version But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ New American Standard Bible But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’ NASB 1995 "But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,' NASB 1977 “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ Amplified Bible But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’ Christian Standard Bible “But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’ Holman Christian Standard Bible But if the slave declares: 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,' American Standard Version But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Aramaic Bible in Plain English And if a Servant will say, “I Love my Master and my wife and my children; I am not going out a son of freedom”: Brenton Septuagint Translation And if the servant should answer and say, I love my master and wife and children, I will not go away free; Contemporary English Version But suppose the slave loves his wife and children and his owner so much that he won't leave them. Douay-Rheims Bible And if the servant shall say: I love my master and my wife and children, I will not go out free: English Revised Version But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Good News Translation But if the slave declares that he loves his master, his wife, and his children and does not want to be set free, GOD'S WORD® Translation 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,' International Standard Version But if the servant, in fact, says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I won't go out a free man,' JPS Tanakh 1917 But if the servant shall plainly say: I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free; Literal Standard Version And if the servant really says: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons—I do not go out free, NET Bible But if the servant should declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' New Heart English Bible But if the servant shall plainly say, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;' World English Bible But if the servant shall plainly say, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;' Young's Literal Translation 'And if the servant really say: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons -- I do not go out free; Additional Translations ... Context Laws for Servants…4If 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. 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.… Cross References Exodus 21:4 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. 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. Deuteronomy 15:16 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, Deuteronomy 15:17 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. Treasury of Scripture And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: and if Deuteronomy 15:16,17 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; … Isaiah 26:13 O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. 2 Corinthians 5:14,15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: … shall plainly say.
(5) And if.--Better, But if. I love my master.--Under every system of slavery affection grows up between the slaves and a master who is indulgent to them. At Rome it was common for slaves to endure the severest torture rather than betray or accuse their owners. If a man has no rights, he is thankful for small mercies, and responds with warm feeling to those who treat him kindly. As the Hebrew form of slavery was of a mild type, masters being admonished to treat their slaves "not as bondservants, but as hired servants" (Leviticus 25:39-40), and, again, "not to rule over them with rigour" (Leviticus 25:46), there would naturally be frequent cases where the slave would not wish to "go out." He might actually "love his master;" or he might value the security from want which attaches to the slave condition; or he might be unwilling to break up the family which, by his master's favour, he had been allowed to create. For such cases some provision was necessary. It was made by the law here formulated (Exodus 21:5-6), which allowed the Hebrew slave, if he liked, to forfeit all claim to freedom, and take upon him permanently the condition of a bondman. Verses 5, 6. - I love my master, etc. Affection might grow up between the slave and the master, if he were well treated. The Hebrew form of slavery was altogether of a mild kind. Masters are admonished to treat their slaves "not as bond-servants, but as hired servants or sojourners," and again "not to rule over them with rigour" (Leviticus 25:39, 40, 43). Even among the heathen, slaves often bore a true affection to their masters. Or, the slave might be so attached to his wife and children as to be unwilling to separate from them, and might prefer slavery with the solace of their society to freedom without it. For such cases the provision was made, which is contained in ver. 6. On the slave declaring to his master his unwillingness to go free, the master might take him before the judges, or magistrates (literally "gods") as witnesses, and perhaps registrars of the man' s declaration, and might then reconduct him to his house, and by a significant ceremony mark him as his slave "for ever." The ceremony consisted in boring through one of his ears with an awl, and driving the awl into the door or doorpost of the house, thereby attaching him physically to the dwelling of which he became thenceforth a permanent inmate. Almost all commentators assert that some such custom was common in the East in connection with slavery, and refer to Xen. Aaab. 3:1, § 31; Plant. Poenul. 5:2, 21; Juv. Sat. 1:104; Plutarch. Vit. Cic. § 26, etc. But these passages merely show that the Orientals generally - not slaves in particular - had their ears bored for the purpose of wearing earrings, and indicate no usage at all comparable to the Hebrew practice. The Hebrew custom - probably a very ancient one - seems to have had two objects -1. The declaring by a significant act, that the man belonged to the house; and 2. The permanent marking of him as a slave, dis-entitled to the rights of freemen, he shall serve him for ever. Josephus (Ant. Jud. 4:8, § 20) and the Jewish commentators generally maintain that the law of the jubilee release overruled this enactment; but this must be regarded as very doubtful. Parallel Commentaries ... Lexicon But ifוְאִם־ (wə·’im-) Conjunctive waw | Conjunction Strong's Hebrew 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not the servant הָעֶ֔בֶד (hā·‘e·ḇeḏ) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 5650: Slave, servant declares, אָמֹ֤ר (’ā·mōr) Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute Strong's Hebrew 559: To utter, say ‘I love אָהַ֙בְתִּי֙ (’ā·haḇ·tî) Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular Strong's Hebrew 157: To have affection f my master אֲדֹנִ֔י (’ă·ḏō·nî) Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's Hebrew 113: Sovereign, controller and my wife אִשְׁתִּ֖י (’iš·tî) Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's Hebrew 802: Woman, wife, female and children; בָּנָ֑י (bā·nāy) Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular Strong's Hebrew 1121: A son I do not לֹ֥א (lō) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's Hebrew 3808: Not, no want to go אֵצֵ֖א (’ê·ṣê) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular Strong's Hebrew 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim free,’ חָפְשִֽׁי׃ (ḥā·p̄ə·šî) Adjective - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 2670: Exempt Jump to Previous Bondman Children Clearly Dear Declares Depart Desire Distinctly Free Love Master Plainly Really Servant Slave Want WifeJump to Next Bondman Children Clearly Dear Declares Depart Desire Distinctly Free Love Master Plainly Really Servant Slave Want WifeLinks Exodus 21:5 NIVExodus 21:5 NLT Exodus 21:5 ESV Exodus 21:5 NASB Exodus 21:5 KJV Exodus 21:5 BibleApps.com Exodus 21:5 Biblia Paralela Exodus 21:5 Chinese Bible Exodus 21:5 French Bible Exodus 21:5 Clyx Quotations OT Law: Exodus 21:5 But if the servant shall plainly say (Exo. 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