Exodus 21:8

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 "Give the Israelites the following laws: ² If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve you for six years. In the seventh year he is to be set free without having to pay anything. ³ If he was unmarried when he became your slave, he is not to take a wife with him when he leaves; but if he was married when he became your slave, he may take his wife with him. ⁴ 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. ⁵ But if the slave declares that he loves his master, his wife, and his children and does not want to be set free, ⁶ then his master shall take him to the place of worship. There he is to make him stand against the door or the doorpost and put a hole through his ear. Then he will be his slave for life. ⁷ "If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to be set free, as male slaves are. ⁸ 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. ⁹ If a man buys a female slave to give to his son, he is to treat her like a daughter. ¹⁰ If a man takes a second wife, he must continue to give his first wife the same amount of food and clothing and the same rights that she had before.

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
He kept on urging them, and finally they went with him to his house. Lot ordered his servants to bake some bread and prepare a fine meal for the guests. When it was ready, they ate it.

Genesis 26:30
Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

Genesis 29:22
So Laban gave a wedding feast and invited everyone.

Genesis 40:20
On his birthday three days later the king gave a banquet for all his officials; he released his wine steward and his chief baker and brought them before his officials.

Judges 14:10
His father went to the woman's house, and Samson gave a banquet there. This was a custom among the young men.

Judges 14:12
Samson said to them, "Let me tell you a riddle. I'll bet each one of you a piece of fine linen and a change of fine clothes that you can't tell me its meaning before the seven days of the wedding feast are over." "Tell us your riddle," they said. "Let's hear it."

1 Samuel 1:22
But this time Hannah did not go. She told her husband, "As soon as the child is weaned, I will take him to the house of the Lord , where he will stay all his life."

1 Samuel 25:36
Abigail went back to Nabal, who was at home having a feast fit for a king. He was drunk and in a good mood, so she did not tell him anything until the next morning.

2 Samuel 3:20
When Abner came to David at Hebron with twenty men, David gave a feast for them.

1 Kings 3:15
Solomon woke up and realized that God had spoken to him in the dream. Then he went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the Lord 's Covenant Box and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord . After that he gave a feast for all his officials.

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.