Exodus 21

Exodus · Chapter 21

Exodus 21:27

1Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.2If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.3If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.4If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.5And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:6Then 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.7And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.8If 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.9And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.10If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.11And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.12He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.13And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.14But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.15And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.16And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.17And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.18And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:19If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.20And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.21Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.22If 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.23And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,24Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,25Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.26And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.27And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.28If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.29But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.30If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.31Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.32If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.33And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;34The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.35And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.36Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
27And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.And if he smite out his man-servant’s tooth, or his maid-servant’s tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and ifוְאִם־ve-'im-H0518A
if

אִם (im) : if/whether_or/though 1) if 1a) conditional clauses 1a1) of possible situations 1a2) of impossible situations 1b) oath contexts 1b1) no, not 1c) if...if, whether...or, whether...or...or 1d) when, whenever 1e) since 1f) interrogative particle 1g) but rather

[the] tooth ofשֵׁ֥ןshenH8127G
tooth

שֵׁן (shen) : tooth 1) tooth, ivory 1a) tooth 1a1) of man, lex talionis, beast 1b) tooth, tine (of fork) 1c) ivory 1c1) as material 1c2) of commerce 1d) sharp pointed rock

[male] slave hisעַבְדּ֛וֹav-DOH5650
servant/slave

עֲבַד (a.vad) servant, slave Aramaic of e.ved (עֶ֫בֶד "servant/slave" H5650)

orאֽוֹ־'ov-H0176A
or

אוֹ (o) 1) or, rather 1a) implying that the latter choice is preferred 1b) or if, introducing an example to be seen under a particular principle 1c) (in series) either...or, whether...or 1d) if perchance 1e) except, or else 2) whether, not the least, if, otherwise, also, and, then

[the] tooth ofשֵׁ֥ןshenH8127G
tooth

שֵׁן (shen) : tooth 1) tooth, ivory 1a) tooth 1a1) of man, lex talionis, beast 1b) tooth, tine (of fork) 1c) ivory 1c1) as material 1c2) of commerce 1d) sharp pointed rock

female slave hisאֲמָת֖וֹ'a-ma-TOH0519
maidservant

אָמָה (a.mah) 1) maid-servant, female slave, maid, handmaid, concubine 1a) of humility (fig.)

he will knock outיַפִּ֑ילya-PILH5307H
to fall: fall

נָפַל (na.phal) : fall/drop/fail 1) to fall, lie, be cast down, fail 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to fall 1a2) to fall (of violent death) 1a3) to fall prostrate, prostrate oneself before 1a4) to fall upon, attack, desert, fall away to, go away to, fall into the hand of 1a5) to fall short, fail, fall out, turn out, result 1a6) to settle, waste away, be offered, be inferior to 1a7) to lie, lie prostrate 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to cause to fall, fell, throw down, knock out, lay prostrate 1b2) to overthrow 1b3) to make the lot fall, assign by lot, apportion by lot 1b4) to let drop, cause to fail (fig.) 1b5) to cause to fall …

to the free [person]לַֽחָפְשִׁ֥יla-cha-fe-SHIH2670
free

חׇפְשִׁי (choph.shi) 1) free 1a) free (from slavery) 1b) free (from taxes or obligations)

he will set free himיְשַׁלְּחֶ֖נּוּye-shal-le-CHE-nuH7971H
to send: depart

שָׁלַח (sha.lach) : depart/send 1) to send, send away, let go, stretch out 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to send 1a2) to stretch out, extend, direct 1a3) to send away 1a4) to let loose 1b) (Niphal) to be sent 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to send off or away or out or forth, dismiss, give over, cast out 1c2) to let go, set free 1c3) to shoot forth (of branches) 1c4) to let down 1c5) to shoot 1d) (Pual) to be sent off, be put away, be divorced, be impelled 1e) (Hiphil) to send

in place ofתַּ֥חַתTA-chatH8478J
underneath: under

תַּחַת (ta.chat) : under/below 1) the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas n m 1a) the under part adv accus 1b) beneath prep 1c) under, beneath 1c1) at the foot of (idiom) 1c2) sweetness, subjection, woman, being burdened or oppressed (fig) 1c3) of subjection or conquest 1d) what is under one, the place in which one stands 1d1) in one's place, the place in which one stands (idiom with reflexive pronoun) 1d2) in place of, instead of (in transferred sense) 1d3) in place of, in exchange or return for (of things mutually interchanged) conj …

tooth hisשִׁנּֽוֹ׃ פshi-NOH8127G
tooth

שֵׁן (shen) : tooth 1) tooth, ivory 1a) tooth 1a1) of man, lex talionis, beast 1b) tooth, tine (of fork) 1c) ivory 1c1) as material 1c2) of commerce 1d) sharp pointed rock

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.