14. Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the lord your God has blessed you.
15. Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the lord your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.
16. “But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you.
17. In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.
18. “You must not consider it a hardship when you release your servants. Remember that for six years they have given you services worth double the wages of hired workers, and the lord your God will bless you in all you do.
19. “You must set aside for the lord your God all the firstborn males from your flocks and herds. Do not use the firstborn of your herds to work your fields, and do not shear the firstborn of your flocks.
20. Instead, you and your family must eat these animals in the presence of the lord your God each year at the place he chooses.
21. But if this firstborn animal has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or if anything else is wrong with it, you must not sacrifice it to the lord your God.
22. Instead, use it for food for your family in your hometown. Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat it, just as anyone may eat a gazelle or deer.
23. But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.