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.
Parallel translations
- WEB “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.
- BSB 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.
- ESV “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.
- NKJV “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.
- NASB “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.
- NLT “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.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 master who destroys a servant's eye must set the servant free as compensation. Bodily harm to a servant brings real consequences for the master.
Overview
This law protects servants from abuse by making permanent injury cost the master his servant entirely through emancipation. It affirms the servant's dignity and discourages cruelty within the household. The freeing of the injured points beyond itself to Christ, who frees the oppressed and binds up the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 72:12–14For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
- Ps 10:14Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
- Neh 5:5Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
- Job 31:13–15If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;
- Ps 10:18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
- Prov 22:22–23Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
- Col 4:1Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
- Eph 6:9And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
- Exod 21:20And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
- Deut 16:19Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
- Ps 9:12When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
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 21:26 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.