Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 15:18 
Context15:18 You should not consider it difficult to let him go free, for he will have served you for six years, twice 1 the time of a hired worker; the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
Deuteronomy 17:8
Context17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, 2 legal claim, 3 or assault 4 – matters of controversy in your villages 5 – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. 6
1 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁנֶה (mishneh, “twice”) could mean “equivalent to” (cf. NRSV) or, more likely, “double” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT). The idea is that a hired worker would put in only so many hours per day whereas a bondslave was available around the clock.
2 tn Heb “between blood and blood.”
3 tn Heb “between claim and claim.”
4 tn Heb “between blow and blow.”
5 tn Heb “gates.”
6 tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.
