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Deuteronomy 15:18

Generosity

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

17 then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way.

Do not regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.

19 You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock.

20 Each year you and your household are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose.

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Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Do not regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.
KJV
It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
WEB
It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for he has been double the value of a hired hand as he served you six years. The LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.
ASV
It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou lettest him go free from thee; for to the double of the hire of a hireling hath he served thee six years: and Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all that thou doest.
DARBY
Let it not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for double the worth of a hired servant hath he been to thee, [in] serving thee six years; and Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all that thou doest.
BLB
It shall not seem hard in your eyes when you send him away free from you, for he has been worth double of a hireling in serving you six years; and YHWH your God will bless you in all that you do.
ÅB
La det ikke falle deg tungt at du gir ham fri og sender ham fra deg! For i seks år har han opptjent for deg dobbelt så meget som du måtte ha gitt en dagarbeider i lønn, og Herren din Gud skal velsigne deg i alt det du gjør.
OTB
Ikke anse det som en byrde å sette din tjener fri, fordi deres tjeneste for deg disse seks årene har vært verdt dobbelt så mye som en leid arbeider. Herren din Gud vil velsigne deg i alt du gjør.
B1930
La det ikke falle dig tungt at du gir ham fri og sender ham fra dig! For i seks år har han optjent for dig dobbelt så meget som du måtte ha gitt en dagarbeider i lønn, og Herren din Gud skal velsigne dig i alt det du gjør.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Isaiah 21:16

    For this is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker would count it, all the glory of Kedar will be gone.

    Read in context

  • Isaiah 16:14

    And now the LORD says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts the years, Moab’s splendor will become an object of contempt, with all her many people. And those who are left will be few and feeble.”

    Read in context

  • Luke 17:7–8

    Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

    Read in context