Verses 16-17 are one sentence, with verse 16 providing the setting for the action described in verse 17. Good News Translation offers one model of how this long sentence may be broken into more manageable units.

If he says … because he loves … since: these circumstantial clauses may be placed first, in the order in which they happen; for example, “But the slave who has been well-treated by you may love you and your family. So he may say to you, ‘I don’t want to leave you.’ ”

I will not go out from you: that is, “I don’t want to leave you.”

He loves you and your household: see 14.26.

He fares well with you: this can be represented by “he is well-off with you” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible) or “you have treated him well.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .