41 Bible Verses about Servanthood, In Society

If thou shalt buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall depart free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall depart by himself: if he was married, then his wife shall depart with him. If his master hath given him a wife, and she hath borne him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall depart by himself.read more.
And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not depart free: Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door-post: and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, shall be sold to thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him depart empty: Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy wine-press: of that with which the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give to him.read more.
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing this day. And it shall be, if he shall say to thee, I will not leave thee; because he loveth thee and thy house, because he is well with thee; Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear into the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also to thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise. It shall not seem hard to thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been of double the worth of a hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.

He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy ox, nor thy ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.

And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee shall have become poor, and be sold to thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond servant: But as a hired servant, and as a sojourner he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee to the year of jubilee. And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers shall he return.read more.
For they are my servants, which I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as bond-men. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God. Both thy bond-men, and thy bond-maids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are around you; of them shall ye buy bond-men and bond-maids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession, they shall be your bond-men for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor. And if a sojourner or a stranger shall become rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him shall become poor, and sell himself to the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family: After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncle's son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin to him of his family, may 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, to 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 shall be yet many years behind, according to them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there shall remain but few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according to 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 shall not be redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his children with him. For to me the children of Israel are servants, they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

When thou goest forth to war against thy enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thy hands, and thou hast taken them captive, And thou seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire to her, that thou wouldest have her for thy wife: Then thou shalt bring her home to thy house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails:read more.
And she shall put off from her the raiment of her captivity, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that, thou shalt go in to her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. And it shall be, if thou shalt 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 make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood to the drawer of thy water:

Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant for a wife; and she bore him Attai.

And David said to Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.

And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter hath come to thee, behold, I have with this sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

This is the copy of the letter that they sent to him, even to Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men on this side of the river, and at such a time.

The king's favor is towards a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a certain king who would take account of his servants.

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me from the hand of the king of Syria, and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.

And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with David, and became his servants: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.

Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister to thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.

And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him to David, the king said to him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.

And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak to my lord Esau: Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there till now:

And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him.

And when the sons of the prophets who were to view at Jericho, saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant feared the LORD: and the creditor hath come to take to him my two sons to be bond-men.

And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.

Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenances of the children that eat of the portion of the king's provision: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.

Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Syriac, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoreth himself, and is destitute of bread.

A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.

A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understandeth, he will not answer.

Accuse not a servant to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.

But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, even Christ.read more.
But he that is greatest among you, shall be your servant. And whoever shall exalt himself, shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself, shall be exalted.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

But which of you having a servant plowing, or feeding cattle, will say to him immediately, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to eat? And will not rather say to him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drank; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant, because he did the things that were commanded him? I suppose not.read more.
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all the things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which it was our duty to do.

Remember the word that I said to you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

For through the grace given to me, I say, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.read more.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching: Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.