17then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your maidservant.


In Context

14 Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you.

15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.

16 But if your servant says to you, "I do not want to leave you," because he loves you and your family and is well off with you,

17 then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your maidservant.

18 Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because his service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

19 Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your oxen to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep.

Deuteronomy 15:17 in Other Translations

The King James Version of the Holy Bible

15:17Then 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.

The Douay-Rheims Version of the Holy Bible

15:17Thou shalt take an awl, and bore through his ear in the door of thy house, and he shall serve thee for ever: thou shalt do in like manner to thy womanservant also.

The American Standard Version of the Holy Bible

15:17then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise.

The Darby Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

15:17then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear and into the door; and he shall be thy bondman for ever. And also unto thy handmaid thou shalt do likewise.

The English Revised Version of the Holy Bible

15:17then thou shalt take an awl, 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.

The Webster Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

15:17Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear into the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also to thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise.

The World English Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

15:17then you shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.

The Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible

15:17then thou hast taken the awl, and hast put it through his ear, and through the door, and he hath been to thee a servant age-during; and also to thy handmaid thou dost do so.

The American King James Version of the Holy Bible

15:17Then you shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant for ever. And also to your maidservant you shall do likewise.