42 Bible Verses about Masters

If I had despised the right of my manslave or of my maidslave, when they contended with me; what then would I do when God rises up? And when he visits, what would I answer him?

and there is to be no accounting required of those unto whom the money is delivered because they deal faithfully.

If my land cries against me and all its furrows likewise complain; if I ate of its strength without money or have afflicted the soul of its owners; let thistles grow up unto me instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

nor bag for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes nor a staff, for the workman is worthy of his food. And into whatever city or town ye shall enter, search out with diligence who in it is worthy; and there abide until ye go from there.

And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.

For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold unto thee and serves thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt send him forth from thee free. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not send him away empty. Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock and out of thy threshing floor and out of thy winepress; of that with which the LORD thy God has blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.read more.
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God ransomed thee; therefore, I command thee this thing to day.

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God has commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the sabbath unto the LORD thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son nor thy daughter nor thy manslave nor thy maidslave nor thine ox nor thine ass nor any animal of thine nor thy stranger that is within thy gates, that thy manslave and thy maidslave may rest as well as thou.read more.
And remember that thou wast a slave in the land of Egypt and that the LORD thy God brought thee out of there with a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore, the LORD thy God has commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Thou shalt remember the sabbath day, to sanctify it. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work; but the seventh day shall be the sabbath of the LORD thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manslave, nor thy maidslave, nor thy beast, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates;read more.
for in six days the LORD made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that is in them and rested the seventh day; therefore, the LORD blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it.

And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This shall be the ordinance of the passover: No stranger shall eat of it, but every man's slave that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.

And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God has chosen to place his name there. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a slave in Egypt; therefore thou shalt keep and do these statutes. Thou shalt observe the solemn feast of the tabernacles seven days after thou hast gathered in the harvest of thy threshing floor and thy winepress.read more.
And thou shalt rejoice in thy solemn feast, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are within thy gates (or within thy towns). Seven days shalt thou celebrate a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose; because the LORD thy God shall have blessed thee in all thy fruits and in all the works of thine hands, therefore, thou shalt truly be glad. Three times each year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the solemn feast of unleavened bread and in the solemn feast of weeks and in the solemn feast of the tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty,

Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him. Do not detain the wages of the work of the hired man in thy house until the morning.

So when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard said unto his steward, Call the labourers and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

In his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor and with it sustains his life, lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.

And I will come near unto you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against false swearers and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and do not fear me, said the LORD of the hosts.

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped your fields (which you have kept back by fraud) cries out; and the cries of those who have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of the hosts.

Thou shalt not do violence unto a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he is of thy brethren or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates.

And your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.

Why have we fasted, they say, and thou dost not see? why have we afflicted our soul, and thou dost take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure and exact your own estates.

Woe unto him that builds his house and not in righteousness and his chambers and not in judgment, using his neighbour's service without wages and not giving him the wages of his work!

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a Pythian spirit met us, which brought her masters much gain by divination:

Keep thyself that thou not forsake the Levite in all thy days upon thy land.

And thou shalt not forsake the Levite that dwells within thy gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with thee.

And, ye masters, do the same unto them, forbearing threats, knowing that their Master and yours is also in the heavens and that he is no respecter of persons.

But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleases thee. Then Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from her face.

Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built the supply cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew, so much that they loathed the sons of Israel. And the Egyptians made the sons of Israel serve with rigor,read more.
and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, making mortar and brick and in all manner of service in the field; all their service, in which they made them serve, was with rigor.

And if a man smites his slave or his maid with a rod and he dies under his hand, he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continues a day or two, he shall not be punished, for he is his money.

And when thy brother becomes poor, being with thee, and if he should sell himself unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a slave. As a hired servant and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee. Then he shall depart free from thy house, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he be restored.read more.
For they belong to me, I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God. Both thy menslaves and thy maidslaves, which thou shalt have, shall be of the Gentiles that are round about you; of them shall ye buy slaves. Ye may also buy of the children of the strangers that live among you and of those of their lineage that are born in your land, who are with you, and they shall be your possession. And ye shall possess them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit as a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever; but over your brethren, the sons of Israel, ye shall not rule over one another with rigor. And if a sojourner or stranger who is with thee becomes rich and thy brother who is with him becomes poor and sells himself unto the stranger or sojourner who is with thee or to the race of the lineage of the stranger, after he is sold he shall have redemption; one of his brethren shall redeem him; either his uncle or his uncle's son shall redeem him; or any that is near of kin unto him of his lineage shall redeem him; or if he is able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years, according to the time of a hired servant shall it be with him. If there are yet many years, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him; and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he and his children with him. For the sons of Israel are mine; they are my slaves whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I AM your God.

Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.

Therefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in violence and perversity and build upon this: Therefore this sin shall be to you as an open wall ready to fall and as a breach in a high defence, whose breaking comes suddenly at an instant.

Masters, do that which is just and right with your slaves, knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

For it is like a man travelling into a far country, who called his own slaves and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each one according to his faculty, and straightway took his journey. And after he was gone, he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same and made another five talents.read more.
And likewise he that had received two, he also gained another two. But he that had received one went and dug in the earth and hid his lord's money. And after a long time the lord of those slaves came and reckoned accounts with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, Lord, thou didst deliver unto me five talents; behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful slave; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou didst deliver unto me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful slave; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not scattered; therefore, I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth; behold, thou hast what is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful slave, thou knewest that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I have not scattered; therefore, it was expedient for thee to have put my money to the bankers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with interest. Take, therefore, the talent from him and give it unto him who has ten talents. For unto every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance, but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has. And cast ye the unprofitable slave into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And having called ten of his slaves, he delivered them ten minas and said unto them, Trade until I come. But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.read more.
And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these slaves to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much each one had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy mina has gained ten minas. And he said unto him, Well done, thou good slave; because thou hast been faithful in a very little, thou shalt have authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy mina has made five minas. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy mina, which I have kept laid up in a napkin, for I feared thee because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that which thou didst not lay down and dost reap that which thou didst not sow. Then he said unto him, Out of thine own mouth I will judge thee, thou wicked slave. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that which I did not lay down, and reaping that which I did not sow; why then didst thou not give my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required my own with interest? And he said unto those that stood by, Take from him the mina and give it to him that has the ten minas. (And they said unto him, Lord, he has ten minas.) For I say unto you, That unto every one who has shall be given; and from him that has not, even that which he has shall be taken away from him.

He that gives unto the poor lends unto the LORD, and he will give him his reward.

Thou shalt surely give unto him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him because for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works and in all that thou puttest thine hand to.

He that gives unto the poor shall never lack, but he that hides his eyes from the poor shall have many a curse.

For I know him, that he will command his sons and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and judgment, that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.

If I had despised the right of my manslave or of my maidslave, when they contended with me; what then would I do when God rises up? And when he visits, what would I answer him? Did not he that made me in the belly also make him? And did not the same one fashion us in the womb?

And a certain centurion's slave, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die.

And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand; there is none greater in this house than I; neither has he kept back anything from me but thee because thou art his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?read more.
And it came to pass as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not hearken unto her, to lie by her or to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and none of those of the house were there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me; and he left his garment in her hand and fled and got outside. And it came to pass when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled forth, that she called unto those of her house and spoke unto them, saying, See, he has brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice; and it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me and fled and left. And she laid up his garment by her until his lord came home. And she spoke unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew slave, whom thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to dishonour me; and when I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment with me and fled out. And it came to pass when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke unto him, saying, After this manner did thy slave treat me, that his wrath was kindled. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison.