If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.
Parallel translations
- WEB If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.
- KJV And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
- BSB If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.
- NKJV And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.
- NASB But if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go free for nothing, without payment of money.
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
If he failed to provide these three things, she could go free without payment. The law gave her a clear right to liberty if mistreated.
Overview
Should her rights be denied, the woman was entitled to leave freely and without cost, securing her protection. This provision ensured she would not be trapped in neglect or abuse. God's law thus defends the powerless and grants release to the wronged, foreshadowing the fuller liberty Christ brings to the oppressed.
Cross-references & the web
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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 21:11 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
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