Exodus 21 · Verse 6

Exodus 21:6

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.
Exodus 21:6, King James Version

Exodus 21:6 in other translations

BSBthen 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.
WEBthen 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.
ASVthen 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.
YLTthen 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.
DARBYthen his master shall bring him before the judges, and shall bring him to the door, or to the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall be his bondman for ever.
BBEThen his master is to take him to the gods of the house, and at the door, or at its framework, he is to make a hole in his ear with a sharp-pointed instrument; and he will be his servant for ever.
WebsterThen 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.

What does Exodus 21:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:2-6

2-6. If thou buy an Hebrew servant--Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release. Should he, however, have married a female slave, she and the children, after the…

Read the full comment on Exodus 21:2-6 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 Shall bring him unto the judges - אל האלהים el haelohim, literally, to God; or, as the Septuagint have it, προς το κριτηριον Θεου, to the judgment of God; who condescended to dwell among his people; who determined all their differences till he had given them laws for all cases, and who, by his omniscience, brought to light the hidden things of dishonesty. See Exo 22:8. Bore his ear through with an awl - This was a ceremony sufficiently significant, as it implied, 1. That he was closely attached to that house and family. 2. That he was bound to hear all his master's orders, and to obey them punctually. Boring of the ear was an ancient custom in the east. It is referred to by Juvenal: - Prior, inquit, ego adsum. Cur timeam, dubitemve locum defendere? Quamvis Natus ad Euphraten, Molles quod in Aure Fenestrae Arguerint, licet ipse negem. Sat. i. 102. "First come, first served, he cries; and I, in spite Of your great lordships, will maintain my right: Though born a slave, though my torn Ears are Bored, 'Tis not the birth, 'tis money makes the lord." Dryden. Calmet quotes a saying from Petronius as attesting the same thing; and one from Cicero, in which he rallies a Libyan who pretended he did not hear him: "It is not," said he, "because your ears are not sufficiently bored;" alluding to his having been a slave.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 21:1-11

The laws in this chapter relate to the fifth and sixth commandments; and though they differ from our times and customs, nor are they binding on us, yet they explain the moral law, and the rules of natural justice. The servant, in the state of servitude, was an emblem of that state of bondage to sin, Satan, and the law, which man is brought into by robbing God of his glory, by the transgression of his precepts…

Read the full comment on Exodus 21:1-11 →

Exodus 21:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהִגִּישׁ֤וֹve.hi.gi.Shoand he will bring near himH5066
אֲדֹנָיו֙'a.do.Navmaster<s> hisH113
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
וְהִגִּישׁוֹ֙ve.hi.gi.Shoand he will bring near himH5066
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַדֶּ֔לֶתha.De.letthe doorH1817
א֖וֹ'oorH176
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַמְּזוּזָ֑הha.me.zu.Zahthe doorpostH4201
וְרָצַ֨עve.ra.Tza'and he will pierceH7527
אֲדֹנָ֤יו'a.do.Navmaster<s> hisH113
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
אָזְנוֹ֙'a.ze.Noear hisH241
בַּמַּרְצֵ֔עַba.mar.Tze.a'with the awlH4836
וַעֲבָד֖וֹva.'a.va.Doand he will serve himH5647
לְעֹלָֽם\׃\ \סle.'o.Lamfor everH5769

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 21:6

  • 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.

  • Leviticus 25:40

    But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:

  • Deuteronomy 19:17-18

    Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;

  • 1 Samuel 28:2

    And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.

  • 1 Samuel 27:12

    And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

  • Leviticus 25:23

    The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.

  • 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.

  • Exodus 22:8-9

    If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods. For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.

  • 1 Samuel 8:1-2

    And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer–sheba.

  • Deuteronomy 1:16

    And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

  • 1 Kings 12:7

    And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.

  • 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.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the judges.
22; 12:12; 18:21-26; 22:8,9,28; Nu 25:5-8; De 1:16; 16:18
De 19:17,18; 1Sa 8:1,2; Isa 1:26; Zep 3:3
bore his ear.This significant ceremony was intended as a mark of permanent servitude, and was calculated to impress the servant with the duty of hearing all his master's orders, and obeying them punctually.
Ps 40:6-8
for ever.
Le 25:23,40; De 15:17; 1Sa 1:22; 27:12; 28:2; 1Ki 12:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 21:5

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

  • Exodus 21:6

    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.

  • Exodus 21:7

    And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

Read all of Exodus 21

Exodus 21:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces su amo lo hará llegar á los jueces, y harále llegar á la puerta ó al poste; y su amo le horadará la oreja con lesna, y será su siervo para siempre.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		alors son maître le fera venir devant les juges, et le fera approcher de la porte ou du poteau, et son maître lui percera l’oreille avec un poinçon; et il le servira à toujours.
German
Elberfelder 1871		so soll sein Herr ihn vor die Richter bringen und ihn an die Tür oder an den Pfosten stellen, und sein Herr soll ihm das Ohr mit einer Pfrieme durchbohren; und er soll ihm dienen auf ewig.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		offeret eum dominus diis, et applicabitur ad ostium et postes, perforabitque aurem ejus subula: et erit ei servus in sæculum.