Exodus 21:26

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, and destroy it; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְכִי־יַכֶּה אִישׁ אֶת־עֵין עַבְדּוֹ אוֹ־אֶת־עֵין אֲמָתוֹ וְשִׁחֲתָהּ לַחָפְשִׁי יְשַׁלְּחֶנּוּ תַּחַת עֵינוֹ

Transliteration

wə-kî-yakkeh ʾîsh ʾet-ʿên ʿabdô ʾô-ʾet-ʿên ʾamātô wə-shichathāh la-chophshî yəshallĕchennû tachat ʿênô

Grammar Details

*wə-kî*: conjunction + conjunction - and if
*yakkeh*: hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - he strikes
*ʾîsh*: masculine singular noun - a man
*ʾet-ʿên*: direct object marker + construct state of feminine singular noun - the eye of
*ʿabdô*: masculine singular noun with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his male servant
*ʾô-ʾet*: conjunction + direct object marker - or
*ʿên*: construct state of feminine singular noun - the eye of
*ʾamātô*: feminine singular noun with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his female servant
*wə-shichathāh*: conjunction *wə* + piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person feminine singular suffix - and destroys it
*la-chophshî*: preposition *lə* + masculine singular noun - to freedom
*yəshallĕchennû*: piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - he shall let him go
*tachat*: preposition - in place of
*ʿênô*: feminine singular noun with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his eye

Word Meanings

*yakkeh*: strikes/hits/injures
*shichathāh*: destroys it/damages it/ruins it
*yəshallĕchennû la-chophshî*: he shall let him go free/he shall release him as a free person
*tachat ʿênô*: in place of his eye/as compensation for his eye

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Exod 21:20 : 20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall surely be punished.
Deut 16:19 : 19 Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
Neh 5:5 : 5 Yet 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 into bondage [already]: neither is it in our power to help it; for other men have our fields and our vineyards.
Job 31:13-15 : 13 If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me; 14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? 15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?
Ps 9:12 : 12 For he that maketh inquisition for blood remembereth them; He forgetteth not the cry of the poor.
Ps 10:14 : 14 Thou hast seen [it]; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: The helpless committeth [himself] unto thee; Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.
Ps 10:18 : 18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more.
Ps 72:12-14 : 12 For he will deliver the needy when he crieth, And the poor, that hath no helper. 13 He will have pity on the poor and needy, And the souls of the needy he will save. 14 He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence; And precious will their blood be in his sight:
Prov 22:22-23 : 22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor; Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: 23 For Jehovah will plead their cause, And despoil of life those that despoil them.
Eph 6:9 : 9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, and forbear threatening: knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him.
Col 4:1 : 1 Masters, render unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Exod 21:27-28
2 verses
90%
27And if he smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
28And if an ox gore a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
Exod 21:18-21
4 verses
82%
18And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed;
19if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall surely be punished.
21Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
Exod 21:23-25
3 verses
81%
23But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Exod 21:2-8
7 verses
79%
2If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4If 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.
5But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
7And if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.
8If 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.
Exod 21:30-32
3 verses
77%
30If there be laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
31Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32If the ox gore a man-servant or a maid-servant, there shall be given unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
Lev 24:19-21
3 verses
77%
19And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him:
20breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be rendered unto him.
21And he that killeth a beast shall make it good: and he that killeth a man shall be put to death.
Deut 15:16-18
3 verses
75%
16And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go out from thee; because he loveth thee and thy house, because he is well with thee;
17then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise.
18It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou lettest him go free from thee; for to the double of the hire of a hireling hath he served thee six years: and Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all that thou doest.
Deut 19:21
74%
21And thine eyes shall not pity; life [shall go] for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Deut 15:12-13
2 verses
74%
12If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
13And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty:
Jer 34:9-10
2 verses
73%
9that every man should let his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, that is a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that none should make bondmen of them, [to wit], of a Jew his brother.
10And all the princes and all the people obeyed, that had entered into the covenant, that every one should let his man-servant, and every one his maid-servant, go free, that none should make bondmen of them any more; they obeyed, and let them go:
Exod 21:11-12
2 verses
73%
11And if he do not these three things unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money.
12He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death.
Deut 25:12
72%
12then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall have no pity.
Exod 21:16
72%
16And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
Exod 21:35-36
2 verses
71%
35And if one man's ox hurt another's, so that it dieth, then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it; and the dead also they shall divide.
36Or if it be known that the ox was wont to gore in time past, and its owner hath not kept it in; he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead [beast] shall be his own.
Job 31:13
71%
13If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;
Jer 34:14
71%
14At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee, and hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.
Lev 25:53-54
2 verses
70%
53As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight.
54And if he be not redeemed by these [means], then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him.
Deut 21:14
70%
14And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.
Lev 25:41-42
2 verses
70%
41then shall he go out from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
42For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
Matt 18:9
70%
9And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you: it is good for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.
Exod 22:1
70%
1If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
Matt 5:29
70%
29And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell.
Lev 25:39
69%
39And if thy brother be waxed poor with thee, and sell himself unto thee; thou shalt not make him to serve as a bond-servant.
Lev 25:44
69%
44And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou shalt have; of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
Deut 23:15
69%
15Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a servant that is escaped from his master unto thee:
Mark 9:47
69%
47And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell;