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Easy-to-Read Version

Exodus 21:26

"If a man hits a slave in the eye, and the slave is blinded in that eye, then the slave will be allowed to go free. His eye is the payment for his freedom. This is the same for a man or a woman slave.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Assault and Battery;   Master;   Servant;   The Topic Concordance - Recompense/restitution;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Eye, the;   Servants;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Servant;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Master;   Slave;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Sexuality, Human;   Slave, Slavery;   Work;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Slave;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Law;   Punishments;   Slave;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Crimes and Punishments;   Economic Life;   Exodus, Book of;   Eye;   Freedom;   Injury;   Slave/servant;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Canon of the Old Testament;   Covenant, Book of the;   Ethics;   Hexateuch;   Law;   Leviticus;   Priests and Levites;   Sabbatical Year;   Sin;   Slave, Slavery;   Ten Commandments;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Servant;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Law of Moses;   Punishments;   Slave;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Other Laws;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Maid;   Slave;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Eye;   Hammurabi;   Ṭabi;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
"If a man strikes his servant's eye, or his maid's eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
King James Version
And 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.
Lexham English Bible
"‘And if a man strikes the eye of his male slave or the eye of his female slave and destroys it, he shall release him as free in place of his eye.
New Century Version
"If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye, and the eye is blinded, the man is to free the slave to pay for the eye.
New English Translation
"If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it, he will let the servant go free as compensation for the eye.
Amplified Bible
"If a man hits the eye of his male servant or female servant and it is destroyed, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the eye.
New American Standard Bible
"And if someone strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free on account of the eye.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And if a man smite his seruant in the eie, or his maide in the eye, and hath perished it, hee shall let him goe free for his eye.
Legacy Standard Bible
"And if a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and ruins it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye.
Contemporary English Version
If you hit one of your slaves and cause the loss of an eye, the slave must be set free.
Complete Jewish Bible
"If a person hits his male or female slave's eye and destroys it, he must let him go free in compensation for his eye.
Darby Translation
And if a man strike the eye of his bondman or the eye of his handmaid, and it be marred, he shall let him go for his eye.
English Standard Version
"When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye.
George Lamsa Translation
land if a man strike the eye of his servant or the eye of his maid, and injure it, he shall let him go free for his eyes sake.
Good News Translation
"If someone hits his male or female slave in the eye and puts it out, he is to free the slave as payment for the eye.
Christian Standard Bible®
“When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye.
Literal Translation
And when a man strikes the eye of his male slave, or the eye of his slave-girl and destroys it, he shall send him away free for his eye.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf a man smyte his seruaunt or his mayde in the eye, and destroye it, he shal let them go fre and lowse for the eye sake.
American Standard Version
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, and destroy it; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
Bible in Basic English
If a man gives his man-servant or his woman-servant a blow in the eye, causing its destruction, he is to let him go free on account of the damage to his eye.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And if a man smyte his seruaunt or his mayde in the eye, that it perishe, he shall let them go free for the eyes sake.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
King James Version (1611)
And if a man smite the eye of his seruant, or the eye of his mayd, that it perish, hee shall let him goe free for his eyes sake.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And if one smite the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his maid-servant, and put it out, he shall let them go free for their eye’s sake.
English Revised Version
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, and destroy it; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
Berean Standard Bible
If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If a man smytith the iye of his seruaunt, ethir of handmaide, and makith hem oon iyed, he schal delyuere hem fre for `the iye which he puttide out.
Young's Literal Translation
`And when a man smiteth the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he doth send him away for his eye;
Update Bible Version
And if a man smites the eye of his male slave, or the eye of his female slave, and destroys it; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
Webster's Bible Translation
And if a man shall smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it shall perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
World English Bible
"If a man strikes his servant's eye, or his maid's eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
New King James Version
"If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye.
New Living Translation
"If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.
New Life Bible
"If a man hits the eye of his male or female servant and destroys it, he will let the person go free because of the eye.
New Revised Standard
When a slaveowner strikes the eye of a male or female slave, destroying it, the owner shall let the slave go, a free person, to compensate for the eye.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when a man smiteth the eye of his servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and destroyeth it, he shall send him forth, free, for his eye;
Douay-Rheims Bible
If any man strike the eye of his manservant or maidservant, and leave them but one eye, he shall let them go free for the eye which he put out.
Revised Standard Version
"When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free for the eye's sake.
THE MESSAGE
"If a slave owner hits the eye of a slave or handmaid and ruins it, the owner must let the slave go free because of the eye. If the owner knocks out the tooth of the male or female slave, the slave must be released and go free because of the tooth.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye.

Contextual Overview

22 "Two men might be fighting and hurt a pregnant woman. This might make the woman give birth to her baby before its time. If the woman was not hurt badly, the man who hurt her must pay a fine. The woman's husband will decide how much the man must pay. The judges will help the man decide how much the fine will be. 23 But if the woman was hurt badly, then the man who hurt her must be punished. The punishment must fit the crime. You must trade one life for another life. 24 You must trade an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, 25 a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a cut for a cut. 26 "If a man hits a slave in the eye, and the slave is blinded in that eye, then the slave will be allowed to go free. His eye is the payment for his freedom. This is the same for a man or a woman slave. 27 If a master hits his slave in the mouth, and the slave loses a tooth, then the slave will be allowed to go free. The slave's tooth is payment for the slave's freedom. This is the same for a man or a woman slave. 28 "If a man's bull kills a man or woman, then you should use stones and kill that bull. You should not eat the bull. The owner of the bull is not guilty. 29 But if the bull had hurt people in the past, and if the owner was warned, then the owner is guilty. That is because he did not keep the bull tied or locked in its place. So if the bull is allowed to be free and kills someone, the owner is guilty. You should kill the bull with stones and also kill the owner. 30 But the family of the dead man may accept money. If they accept money, the man who owned the bull should not be killed. But he must pay as much money as the judge decides. 31 "This same law must be followed if the bull kills someone's son or daughter.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Exodus 21:20, Deuteronomy 16:19, Nehemiah 5:5, Job 31:13-15, Psalms 9:12, Psalms 10:14, Psalms 10:18, Psalms 72:12-14, Proverbs 22:22, Proverbs 22:23, Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 4:1

Reciprocal: Exodus 21:24 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 13:7
(The Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in this land at the same time.) The shepherds of Abram and Lot began to argue.
Genesis 21:20
God continued to be with the boy while he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert and became a hunter. He learned to shoot a bow very well.
Genesis 21:24
And Abraham said, "I promise to treat you the same way you have treated me."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If a man smite the eye of his servant,.... Give him a blow on the eye in a passion, as a correction for some fault he has committed:

or the eye of his maid, that it perish; strike her on that part in like manner, so that the eye is beaten or drops out, or however loses its sight, and "[is] blinded", as the Septuagint version; or "corrupts" it k, it turns black and blue, and gathers corrupt matter, and becomes a sore eye; yet if the sight is not lost, or corrupts so as to perish, this law does not take place; the Targum of Jonathan, and to Jarchi restrain this to a Canaanitish servant or maid:

he shall let him go free for his eye's sake; or "them", as the Septuagint; his right to them as a servant was hereby forfeited, and he was obliged to give them their freedom, let the time of servitude, that was to come, be what it would. This law was made to deter masters from using their servants with cruelty, since though humanity and goodness would not restrain them from ill usage of them, their own profit and advantage by them might.

k שחתה "et corruperit eum", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; so Ainsworth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Freedom was the proper equivalent for permanent injury.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 21:26. If a man smite the eye, &c. — See the following verse.


 
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