Hebrew Slaves

²When you acquire a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; in the seventh year he shall go free, without payment. ³If he came single, he shall leave single; if he had a wife, his wife shall leave with him. ⁴If his master gave him a wife, and she has borne him children, the wife and her children shall belong to the master, and he shall leave alone. ⁵But if the slave declares, “I love my master, and my wife and children: I do not wish to go free,” ⁶his master shall take him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall then remain his slave for life.

⁷When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as male slaves do. ⁸If she proves to be displeasing to her master, who designated her for himself, he must let her be redeemed; he shall not have the right to sell her to outsiders, since he broke faith with her. ⁹And if he designated her for his son, he shall deal with her as is the practice with free maidens. ¹⁰If he marries another, he must not withhold from this one her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.^{a 11}If he fails her in these three ways, she shall go free, without payment.