Exodus 21 · Verse 8

Exodus 21:8

If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
Exodus 21:8, King James Version

Exodus 21:8 in other translations

BSBIf she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.
WEBIf she doesn’t please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.
ASVIf she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
YLTif evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her.
DARBYIf she is unacceptable in the eyes of her master, who had taken her for himself, then shall he let her be ransomed: to sell her unto a foreign people he hath no power, after having dealt unfaithfully with her.
BBEIf she is not pleasing to her master who has taken her for himself, let a payment be made for her so that she may go free; her master has no power to get a price for her and send her to a strange land, because he has been false to her.
WebsterIf she shall not please her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her to a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

What does Exodus 21:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:7-11

Ex 21:7-36. Laws for Maidservants. 7-11. if a man sell his daughter--Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her condition as his…

Read the full comment on Exodus 21:7-11 →

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 21:8 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.

אִם\־'im-ifH518
רָעָ֞הra.'Ahshe is badH7489
בְּעֵינֵ֧יbe.'ei.Neiin [the] eyes ofH5869
אֲדֹנֶ֛יהָ'a.do.Nei.hamaster<s> herH113
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whoH834
ל֥וֹlofor <the> himself
יְעָדָ֖הּye.'a.Dahhe designated herH3259
וְהֶפְדָּ֑הּve.hef.Dahand he will let be ransomed herH6299
לְעַ֥םle.'Amto a peopleH5971
נָכְרִ֛יna.khe.RiforeignH5237
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
יִמְשֹׁ֥לyim.Sholhe will have dominionH4910
לְמָכְרָ֖הּle.ma.khe.Rahto sell herH4376
בְּבִגְדוֹ\־be.vig.dov-because has dealt treacherously heH898
בָֽהּ\׃Vahwith <the> her

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

Cross references for Exodus 21:8

  • Judges 14:3

    Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

  • Judges 9:19

    If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:

  • Malachi 2:11-15

    Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts. And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. …

  • Genesis 28:8

    And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

  • Deuteronomy 21:11-14

    And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

  • Deuteronomy 20:7

    And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

  • Exodus 8:29

    And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

  • 1 Samuel 18:8

    And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

  • Job 6:15

    My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

  • 1 Samuel 8:6

    But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
please not. Heb. be evil in the eyes of, etc.
Ge 28:8; Jud 14:3; 1Sa 8:6; 18:8; *marg:
who hath.
De 20:7; 21:11-14
seeing.
8:29; Jud 9:19; Job 6:15; Mal 2:11-15

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

Context

  • Exodus 21:7

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

  • Exodus 21:8

    If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

  • Exodus 21:9

    And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

Read all of Exodus 21

Exodus 21:8 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Si no agradare á su señor, por lo cual no la tomó por esposa, permitirle ha que se rescate, y no la podrá vender á pueblo extraño cuando la desechare.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Si elle déplaît aux yeux de son maître qui se l’était fiancée, il la fera racheter; il n’aura pas le pouvoir de la vendre à un peuple étranger, après l’avoir trompée.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Wenn sie in den Augen ihres Herrn mißfällig ist, die er für sich bestimmt hatte, so lasse er sie loskaufen: er soll nicht Macht haben, sie an ein fremdes Volk zu verkaufen, weil er treulos an ihr gehandelt hat.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Si displicuerit oculis domini sui cui tradita fuerat, dimittet eam: populo autem alieno vendendi non habebit potestatem, si spreverit eam.