But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
Parallel translations
- WEB but every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.
- BSB But any slave who has been purchased may eat of it, after you have circumcised him.
- NKJV But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.
- NASB but as for every slave that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.
- NLT But any slave who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A servant bought with money may eat the Passover once he has been circumcised.
Overview
Even a bought servant, an outsider by birth, may share the meal if he receives the covenant sign of circumcision. Participation depends on covenant membership, not social status. This provision shows that God's redemption is open to all who are joined to His people by the appointed sign, anticipating the gospel's welcome of all who are united to Christ by faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Gen 17:12–13And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
- Gen 17:23And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 12:44 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.