Exodus 21:8

Amplified Bible

"If she does not please her master who has chosen her for himself [as a wife], he shall let her be redeemed [by her family]. He does not have the authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has been unfair to her.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
If she doesn't please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, seeing he has dealt deceitfully with her.

King James Version
If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

Lexham English Bible
If she does not please her master who selected her, he will allow her to be redeemed; he has no authority to sell her to foreign people, since he has dealt treacherously with her.

New Century Version
If the master wanted to marry her but then decided he was not pleased with her, he must let one of her close relatives buy her back. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has treated her unfairly.

New English Translation
If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully with her.

New American Standard Bible
"If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people, because of his unfairness to her.

Geneva Bible (1587)
If shee please not her master, who hath betrothed her to him selfe, then shall hee cause to buy her: hee shall haue no power to sell her to a strange people, seeing he despised her.

Legacy Standard Bible
If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his treachery to her.

Contemporary English Version
If she doesn't please the man who bought her to be his wife, he must let her be bought back. He cannot sell her to foreigners; this would break the contract he made with her.

Complete Jewish Bible
If her master married her but decides she no longer pleases him, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He is not allowed to sell her to a foreign people, because he has treated her unfairly.

Darby Translation
If she is unacceptable in the eyes of her master, who had taken her for himself, then shall he let her be ransomed: to sell her unto a foreign people he hath no power, after having dealt unfaithfully with her.

Easy-to-Read Version
If the master who chose her for himself is not pleased with her, then he can sell the woman back to her father. If the master broke his promise to marry her, he loses the right to sell her to other people.

English Standard Version
If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.

George Lamsa Translation
If her master hates her, so that he will not take her to himself as a wife, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has dealt deceitfully with her.

Good News Translation
If she is sold to someone who intends to make her his wife, but he doesn't like her, then she is to be sold back to her father; her master cannot sell her to foreigners, because he has treated her unfairly.

Christian Standard Bible®
If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her.

Literal Translation
If she is bad in the eyes of her master who has appointed her for himself, he shall allow her redemption. He shall not have power to sell her to a foreign people, in his deceiving her.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But yf she please not hir master, and he haue not maried her, then shal he let her go fre: but to sell her vnto a strauge people he hath no auctorite, for so moch as he hath despysed her.

American Standard Version
If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

Bible in Basic English
If she is not pleasing to her master who has taken her for himself, let a payment be made for her so that she may go free; her master has no power to get a price for her and send her to a strange land, because he has been false to her.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
If she please not her maister, who hath [nowe] promised her mariage, then shall he let her redeeme her selfe: To sell her vnto a straunge nation shall he haue no power, seyng he despised her.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed; to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

King James Version (1611)
If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himselfe, then shall he let her be redeemed: To sell her vnto a strange nation hee shall haue no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
If she be not pleasing to her master, after she has betrothed herself to him, he shall let her go free; but he is not at liberty to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has trifled with her.

English Revised Version
If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

Berean Standard Bible
If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
if sche displesith in the iyen of hir lord, to whom sche was bitakun, he schal delyuere hir; sotheli he schal not haue power to sille hir to an alien puple, if he forsakith hir.

Young's Literal Translation
if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her.

Update Bible Version
If she doesn't please her master, who has espoused her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed: to sell her to a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he has dealt deceitfully with her.

Webster's Bible Translation
If she shall not please her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her to a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

World English Bible
If she doesn't please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, seeing he has dealt deceitfully with her.

New King James Version
If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.

New Living Translation
If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.

New Life Bible
If she does not please her owner who has taken her for himself, he will take pay for her to be set free. He does not have the right to sell her to a strange people, because he has not been fair to her.

New Revised Standard
If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
If she is uncomely in the eyes of her lord, who hath not assigned her in marriage, then shall he suffer her to be redeemed: to a strange people, shall he not have power to sell her in that he hath dealt treacherously with her.

Douay-Rheims Bible
If she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was delivered, he shall let her go: but he shall have no power to sell her to a foreign nation, if he despise her.

Revised Standard Version
If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt faithlessly with her.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his unfairness to her.

Contextual Overview

¹"Now these are the ordinances (laws) which you shall set before the Israelites: ²"If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing. ³"If he came [to you] alone, he shall leave alone; if he came married, then his wife shall leave with him. ⁴"If his master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave [your service] alone. ⁵"But if the servant plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not leave as a free man,' ⁶then his master shall bring him to God [that is, to the judges who act in God's name], then he shall bring him to the door or doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl (strong needle); and he shall serve him for life. ⁷"If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go free [after six years] as male servants do. ⁸"If she does not please her master who has chosen her for himself [as a wife], he shall let her be redeemed [by her family]. He does not have the authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has been unfair to her.⁹"If her master chooses her [as a wife] for his son, he shall act toward her as if she were legally his daughter. ¹⁰"If her master marries another wife, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her privilege as a wife.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

please not: Heb. be evil in the eyes of, etc. Genesis 28:8, Judges 14:3, 1 Samuel 8:6, 1 Samuel 18:8, *marg.

who hath: Deuteronomy 20:7, Deuteronomy 21:11-14

seeing: Exodus 8:29, Judges 9:19, Job 6:15, Malachi 2:11-15

Reciprocal: Ruth 4:2 - the elders

Cross-References

Genesis 19:3
However, Lot strongly urged them, so they turned aside and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them [with wine], and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

Genesis 26:30
Then Isaac held a [formal] banquet (covenant feast) for them, and they ate and drank.

Genesis 29:22
So Laban gathered together all the men of the place and prepared a [wedding] feast [with wine].

Genesis 40:20
Now on the third day, [which was] the Pharaoh's birthday, he [released the two men from prison and] made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker [that is, presented them in public] among his servants.

Judges 14:10
His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for that was the customary thing for young men to do.

Judges 14:12
Then Samson said to them, "Let me now ask you a riddle; if you can tell me what it is within the seven days of the feast, and solve it, then I will give you thirty linen tunics (undergarments) and thirty changes of [outer] clothing.

1 Samuel 1:22
But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "I will not go up until the child is weaned; and then I will bring him, so that he may appear before the LORD and remain there as long as he lives."

1 Samuel 25:36
Then Abigail came to Nabal, and he was holding a feast in his house [for the shearers], like the feast of a king. And Nabal's mood was joyous because he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light.

2 Samuel 3:20
So Abner came to David at Hebron, and [brought] twenty men along with him. And David prepared a feast for Abner and the men with him.

1 Kings 3:15
Then Solomon awoke, and he realized that it was a dream. He came [back] to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and he prepared a feast for all his servants.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If she please not her master,.... "Be evil in the eyes of her master" p; and he has no liking of her, and love to her, not being agreeable in her person, temper, or conduct, so that he does not choose to make her his wife:

who hath betrothed her to him; but not completed the marriage, as he promised, when he bought her, or at least gave reason to expect that he would; for, according to the Jewish canons, a Hebrew handmaid might not be sold but to one who laid himself under obligation to espouse her to himself, or his son, when she was fit to be betrothed q; and so Jarchi says, he ought to espouse her, and take her to be his wife, for the money of her purchase is the money of her espousals. There is a double reading of this passage, the Keri, or marginal reading we follow; the Cetib, or written text, is, "who hath not betrothed her", both may be taken in, "who hath not betrothed her to him", as he said he would, or as it was expected he should; for, had she been really betrothed, what follows could not have been done:

then shall he let her be redeemed; she being at age, and fit for marriage, and her master not caring to marry her, her father shall redeem her, as the Targum of Jonathan; it was incumbent on him to do that, as it was on her master to let her be redeemed, to admit of the redemption of her; or whether, as Aben Ezra says, she redeemed herself, or her father, or one of her relations, if she was near the six years (the end of them), they reckoned how many years she had served, and how many were yet to the seventh, or to the time that she is in her own power, and according to the computation was the redemption: thus, for instance, as it is by others r put, if she was bought for six pounds, then one pound is the service of every year; and if she redeemed herself, her master took off of the money for the years she had served; or thus s, if she was bought for sixty pence, and had served two years, he must pay her forty pence, and so free her:

to sell her unto a strange nation, he shall have no power; that is, to another man, as both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, even to an Israelite that was of another family, to whom the right of redemption did not belong; for to sell an Israelite, man or woman, to a Gentile, or one of another nation, was not allowed of in any case, as Josephus t observes; but the meaning is, he had no power to sell her to another, though of the same nation, to be his handmaid; this power neither her master nor her father had, as Jarchi asserts, she being redeemed, and in her own power:

seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her; in not fulfilling his promise made to her father when he sold her to him, or not answering the expectation he had raised in her; and especially he dealt thus with her, if he had corrupted her, and yet refused to betroth and marry her.

p רעה בעיני "mala in oculis", Montanus; "mala videbitur in oculis", Junius Tremellius "mala fuerit in oculis", Drusius. q Maimon. Hilchot Abadim, c. 4. sect. 11. & in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 2. r Bartenora in Kiddush. ib. s Maimon. in ib. t Antiqu. l. 16. c. 1. sect. 1.