Exodus 21:4

Bible in Basic English

If his master gives him a wife, and he gets sons or daughters by her, the wife and her children will be the property of the master, and the servant is to go away by himself.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

King James Version
If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

Lexham English Bible
If his master gives him a wife and she bears for him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and the slave will go out single.

New Century Version
If the slave's master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the woman and her children will belong to the master. When the slave is set free, only he may leave.

New English Translation
If his master gave him a wife, and she bore sons or daughters, the wife and the children will belong to her master, and he will go out by himself.

Amplified Bible
"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.

New American Standard Bible
"If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave alone.

Geneva Bible (1587)
If his master haue giuen him a wife, and she hath borne him sonnes or daughters, he wife and her children shalbe her masters, but he shall goe out himselfe alone.

Legacy Standard Bible
If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.

Contemporary English Version
If you give him a wife, and they have children, only the man himself must be set free; his wife and children remain the property of his owner.

Complete Jewish Bible
But if his master gave him a wife, and she bore him sons or daughters, then the wife and her children will belong to her master, and he will leave by himself.

Darby Translation
If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone.

Easy-to-Read Version
If the slave is not married, the master can give him a wife. If that wife gives birth to sons or daughters, she and her children will belong to the master. After the slave is finished with his years of service, he will be made free.

English Standard Version
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone.

George Lamsa Translation
If his master has given him a wife and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be his masters and he shall go out alone.

Good News Translation
If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the woman and her children belong to the master, and the man is to leave by himself.

Christian Standard Bible®
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.

Literal Translation
If his master gives him a wife, and she bears sons or daughters to him, the wife and her children shall belong to her master; and he shall go out with his body.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf his master haue geue him a wife, & she haue borne him sonnes or doughters, the shal the wife and ye children be the masters, but he shall go out alone.

American Standard Version
If his master give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And if his maister haue geuen hym a wyfe, and she haue borne him sonnes or daughters: then the wyfe and her chyldren shalbe her maisters, and he shall go out alone.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
If his master give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

King James Version (1611)
If his master haue giuen him a wife, and she haue borne him sonnes or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her masters, and he shall go out by himselfe.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Moreover, if his master give him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters, the wife and the children shall be his master’s; and he shall go forth alone.

English Revised Version
If his master give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

Berean Standard Bible
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But if the lord of the servaunt yaf a wijf to hym, and sche childide sones and douytris, the womman and hir children schulen be hir lordis; sotheli the seruaunt schal go out with his owne clooth.

Young's Literal Translation
if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath borne to him sons or daughters -- the wife and her children are her lord's, and he goeth out by himself.

Update Bible Version
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

Webster's Bible Translation
If his master hath given him a wife, and she hath borne him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall depart by himself.

World English Bible
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

New King James Version
If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

New Living Translation
"If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave and they had sons or daughters, then only the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.

New Life Bible
If his owner gives him a wife and she gives birth to his sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her owner, and he will leave by himself.

New Revised Standard
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's and he shall go out alone.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
If his lord gave him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her lords, and, he shall go out by himself.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But if his master gave him a wife, and she hath borne sons and daughters; the woman and her children shall be her master’s: but he himself shall go out with his raiment.

Revised Standard Version
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's and he shall go out alone.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.

Contextual Overview

¹ Now these are the laws which you are to put before them. ² If you get a Hebrew servant for money, he is to be your servant for six years, and in the seventh year you are to let him go free without payment. ³ If he comes to you by himself, let him go away by himself: if he is married, let his wife go away with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife, and he gets sons or daughters by her, the wife and her children will be the property of the master, and the servant is to go away by himself. ⁵ But if the servant says clearly, My master and my wife and children are dear to me; I have no desire to be free: ⁶ Then his master is to take him to the gods of the house, and at the door, or at its framework, he is to make a hole in his ear with a sharp-pointed instrument; and he will be his servant for ever. ⁷ And if a man gives his daughter for a price to be a servant, she is not to go away free as the men-servants do. ⁸ 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. ⁹ And if he gives her to his son, he is to do everything for her as if she was his daughter. ¹⁰ And if he takes another woman, her food and clothing and her married rights are not to be less.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shall be her: Exodus 4:22, Genesis 14:14, Genesis 15:3, Genesis 17:13, Genesis 17:27, Genesis 18:19, Ecclesiastes 2:7, Jeremiah 2:14

Reciprocal: Genesis 16:2 - obtain children

Cross-References

Genesis 21:10
So she said to Abraham, Send away that woman and her son: for the son of that woman is not to have a part in the heritage with my son Isaac.

Genesis 21:12
But God said, Let it not be a grief to you because of the boy and Hagar his mother; give ear to whatever Sarah says to you, because it is from Isaac that your seed will take its name.

Genesis 21:22
Now at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, said to Abraham, I see that God is with you in all you do.

Genesis 21:23
Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living.

Exodus 12:48
And if a man from another country is living with you, and has a desire to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all the males of his family undergo circumcision, and then let him come near and keep it; for he will then be as one of your people; but no one without circumcision may keep it.

Leviticus 12:3
And on the eighth day let him be given circumcision.

Deuteronomy 12:32
You are to keep with care all the words I give you, making no addition to them and taking nothing from them.

Luke 1:6
They were upright in the eyes of God, keeping all the rules and orders of God, and doing no wrong.

Luke 1:59
And on the eighth day they came to see to the circumcision of the child, and they would have given him the name of Zacharias, his father's name;

Luke 2:21
And when, after eight days, the time came for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given to him before his birth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If his master have given him a wife,.... One of his slaves, a Canaanitish woman, on purpose to beget slaves on her, since all born in his house were his own; this is supposed to be after he was come into his house, and into his service:

and she have born him sons or daughters; as she might have born him several of the one sort, or the other, if she was given to him quickly after his servitude began:

the wife and her children shall be her master's: she being his slave, and bought with his money, he had a right unto her, and to the children belonging to her, the birth following the belly; and being born in his house, they were also his. Jarchi here observes, that the Scripture speaks of a Canaanitish woman, for an Hebrew woman went out at the sixth year, and even before the sixth, if she produced the signs, that is, of puberty:

and he shall go out by himself; without his wife and children: if it be objected to this law, that it is contrary to the law of marriage, which is indissoluble, but by this dissolved; it may be replied, that the servant was not obliged by it to leave his wife, unless he chose it; on complying with certain conditions after mentioned, he might continue with her; besides, she was, according to Jarchi, but his secondary wife, and not only so, the marriage was not lawful, being with a Canaanitish woman, and not agreeable to the Lord; and being also her master's slave, to whom he had a right, he could retain her if he pleased, having only given her to his servant to beget slaves on for him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 21:4. The wife and her children shall be her master's — It was a law among the Hebrews, that if a Hebrew had children by a Canannitish woman, those children must be considered as Canaanitish only, and might be sold and bought, and serve for ever. The law here refers to such a case only.