17 Bible Verses about Servants

But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need.

Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him.

From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.

From Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.

From Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God's chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

From James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings!

The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write the following: "This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who has a firm grasp on the seven stars in his right hand -- the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands:

Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

And the Lord's slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient,

I will install rulers over them who will care for them. Then they will no longer need to fear or be terrified. None of them will turn up missing. I, the Lord, promise it!

One should think about us this way -- as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

For the overseer must be blameless as one entrusted with God's work, not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching -- like those who are strictly people-pleasers -- but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

Those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent the name of God and Christian teaching from being discredited.

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ,

Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse.

Slaves are to be subject to their own masters in everything, to do what is wanted and not talk back,

But if the servant should declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,'

Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

A servant who acts wisely will rule over an heir who behaves shamefully, and will share the inheritance along with the relatives.

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the heart of his masters.

The one who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever takes care of his master will be honored.

"If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me, then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes, how will I respond to him?

A centurion there had a slave who was highly regarded, but who was sick and at the point of death. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.

(Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)

(Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)

So Abimelech gave sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.

But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether dead or alive, there I will be as well!"

On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, "While the child was still alive he would not listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!"

The king's servants replied to the king, "We will do whatever our lord the king decides."

But one of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail, "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our lord, but he screamed at them. These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together in the field. Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. read more.
Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. He is such a wicked person that no one tells him anything!"

Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman's wife. She told her mistress, "If only my master were in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his skin disease."

His servants approached and said to him, "O master, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, you would have been willing to do it. It seems you should be happy that he simply said, "Wash and you will be healed."

From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people of Judah

We did not change clothes -- not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water.

His armor bearer said to him, "Do everything that is on your mind. Do as you're inclined. I'm with you all the way!"

who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you and me.

When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius called two of his personal servants and a devout soldier from among those who served him,

For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, 'Go' and he goes, and to another 'Come' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this' and he does it."

Now at that very moment, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "May the Lord be with you!" They replied, "May the Lord bless you!"

For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve came to me

But Aaron and his descendants offered sacrifices on the altar for burnt offerings and on the altar for incense as they had been assigned to do in the most holy sanctuary. They made atonement for Israel, just as God's servant Moses had ordered.

From James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings!

For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness that I continually remember you

Live as free people, not using your freedom as a pretext for evil, but as God's slaves.

Do not become partners with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness? And what agreement does Christ have with Beliar? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, "I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot take part in the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we really stronger than he is?

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God's image. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it? read more.
Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a vine produce figs? Neither can a salt water spring produce fresh water.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.

because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this will be rewarded by the Lord.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female -- for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.

Slaves are to be subject to their own masters in everything, to do what is wanted and not talk back,

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ, not like those who do their work only when someone is watching -- as people-pleasers -- but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. Obey with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord and not people, read more.
because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this will be rewarded by the Lord.

Those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent the name of God and Christian teaching from being discredited. But those who have believing masters must not show them less respectTeach them and exhort them about these things.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching -- like those who are strictly people-pleasers -- but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people,

When Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, he asked, "Who are these people with you?" Jacob replied, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."

He said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant.

If he should then say, 'That's fine,' then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me.

So they put sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel. They said, "Your servant Ben Hadad says, 'Please let me live!'" Ahab replied, "Is he still alive? He is my brother."

Only in the presence of the Lord your God may you eat these, in the place he chooses. This applies to you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages. In that place you will rejoice before the Lord your God in all the output of your labor.

You shall rejoice before him -- you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you -- in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages.

He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.

So you must consecrate the fiftieth year, and you must proclaim a release in the land for all its inhabitants. That year will be your jubilee; each one of you must return to his property and each one of you must return to his clan.

He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner; he must serve with you until the year of jubilee, but then he may go free, he and his children with him, and may return to his family and to the property of his ancestors.

If, however, he is not redeemed in these ways, he must go free in the jubilee year, he and his children with him,

If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, and regards him as mere property and sells him, that kidnapper must die. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers -- in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching.

"Whoever kidnaps someone and sells him, or is caught still holding him, must surely be put to death.

Now what is sought in stewards is that one be found faithful.

not pilfering, but showing all good faith, in order to bring credit to the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

"The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you haven't been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? And if you haven't been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you your own?

Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. You make that quite clear to me! You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.

but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross!

So when he came into the world, he said, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he mobilized his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders as far as Dan.

Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant; I am your lowest slave. You saved me from death.

"Israel is not a slave, is he? He was not born into slavery, was he? If not, why then is he being carried off?

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden.

If the God of my father -- the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears -- had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, and he rebuked you last night."

The patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. But God was with him, and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord's power revealed through him? He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. read more.
But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed. All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth. He was led away after an unjust trial -- but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded. They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man's tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully. Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord's purpose will be accomplished through him. Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. "My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins. So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels."

"Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations. He will not cry out or shout; he will not publicize himself in the streets. A crushed reed he will not break, a dim wick he will not extinguish; he will faithfully make just decrees. read more.
He will not grow dim or be crushed before establishing justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees." This is what the true God, the Lord, says -- the one who created the sky and stretched it out, the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it: "I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons.

The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, so that I know how to help the weary. He wakes me up every morning; he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. The sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly; I have not rebelled, I have not turned back. I offered my back to those who attacked, my jaws to those who tore out my beard; I did not hide my face from insults and spitting. read more.
But the sovereign Lord helps me, so I am not humiliated. For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; I know I will not be put to shame. The one who vindicates me is close by. Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! Who is my accuser? Let him challenge me! Look, the sovereign Lord helps me. Who dares to condemn me? Look, all of them will wear out like clothes; a moth will eat away at them. Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys his servant? Whoever walks in deep darkness, without light, should trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.

Yet do not depart quickly or leave in a panic. For the Lord goes before you; the God of Israel is your rear guard. "Look, my servant will succeed! He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted -- (just as many were horrified by the sight of you) he was so disfigured he no longer looked like a man; read more.
his form was so marred he no longer looked human -- so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, for they will witness something unannounced to them, and they will understand something they had not heard about.

"Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns! I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, have them take their place at the table, and will come and wait on them! read more.
Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves! But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Therefore he said, "A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business with these until I come back.' But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to be king over us!' read more.
When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. So the first one came before him and said, 'Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.' And the king said to him, 'Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.' Then the second one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has made five minas.' So the king said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

"Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. read more.
"Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work when he comes. I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Abram said to Sarai, "Since your servant is under your authority, do to her whatever you think best." Then Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so she ran away from Sarai.

Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse.

Then the Lord's angel said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.

Abraham said to his servant, the senior one in his household who was in charge of everything he had, "Put your hand under my thigh

You must go instead to my country and to my relatives to find a wife for my son Isaac."

So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?

Although these false teachers promise such people freedom, they themselves are enslaved to immorality. For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved.

(I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men.

From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.

As for foreigners who become followers of the Lord and serve him, who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants -- all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, and who are faithful to my covenant --

(Zayin) Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.

After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."

But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. And call no one your 'father' on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one teacher, the Christ. read more.
The greatest among you will be your servant.

Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all.

"'If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service. He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner; he must serve with you until the year of jubilee,

You may give them as inheritance to your children after you to possess as property. You may enslave them perpetually. However, as for your brothers the Israelites, no man may rule over his brother harshly.

Remember what I told you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed my word, they will obey yours too.

"A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a slave greater than his master. It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house 'Beelzebul,' how much more will they defame the members of his household!

I tell you the solemn truth, the slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against him. You must not withhold the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning.

You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman's wife. She told her mistress, "If only my master were in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his skin disease."

But one of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail, "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our lord, but he screamed at them. These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together in the field. Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. read more.
Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. He is such a wicked person that no one tells him anything!"

"'If a resident foreigner who is with you prospers and your brother becomes impoverished with regard to him so that he sells himself to a resident foreigner who is with you or to a member of a foreigner's family,

He must be with the one who bought him like a yearly hired worker. The one who bought him must not rule over him harshly in your sight.

For the Son of Man is to go just as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!" So they began to question one another as to which of them it could possibly be who would do this. A dispute also started among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. read more.
So Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called 'benefactors.' Not so with you; instead the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. read more.
He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross!

When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he mobilized his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders as far as Dan.

I purchased male and female slaves, and I owned slaves who were born in my house; I also possessed more livestock -- both herds and flocks -- than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem.

Therefore he said, "A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business with these until I come back.' But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to be king over us!' read more.
When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. So the first one came before him and said, 'Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.' And the king said to him, 'Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.' Then the second one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has made five minas.' So the king said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.' Then another slave came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.' The king said to him, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didn't deposit and reaping what I didn't sow? Why then didn't you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?' And he said to his attendants, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.' But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten minas already!' I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me!'"

"Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. read more.
"Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work when he comes. I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave should say to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching -- like those who are strictly people-pleasers -- but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

not like those who do their work only when someone is watching -- as people-pleasers -- but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching -- like those who are strictly people-pleasers -- but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

not like those who do their work only when someone is watching -- as people-pleasers -- but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching -- like those who are strictly people-pleasers -- but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

not like those who do their work only when someone is watching -- as people-pleasers -- but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.

"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free without paying anything.

If your fellow Hebrew -- whether male or female -- is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant go free.

You must not desire another man's wife, nor should you crave his house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns."

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman's wife.

However, the women, little children, cattle, and anything else in the city -- all its plunder -- you may take for yourselves as spoil. You may take from your enemies the plunder that the Lord your God has given you.

Obey with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord and not people,

Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people,

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching -- like those who are strictly people-pleasers -- but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ,

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching -- like those who are strictly people-pleasers -- but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ,

But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph's house. They said, "We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks last time. He wants to capture us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys!"

You may give them as inheritance to your children after you to possess as property. You may enslave them perpetually. However, as for your brothers the Israelites, no man may rule over his brother harshly.

because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this will be rewarded by the Lord.

because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ.

So he said to his servants, "Look, Joab has a portion of field adjacent to mine and he has some barley there. Go and set it on fire." So Absalom's servants set Joab's portion of the field on fire.

So there were quarrels between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen. (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.)

Absalom instructed his servants, "Look! When Amnon is drunk and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' kill him then and there. Don't fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!"

I will favor the honest people of the land, and allow them to live with me. Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me. Deceitful people will not live in my palace. Liars will not be welcome in my presence.

He replied, "My lord the king, my servant deceived me! I said, 'Let me get my donkey saddled so that I can ride on it and go with the king,' for I am lame.

The one who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever takes care of his master will be honored.

Laban said to him, "Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! Why are you standing out here when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?"

A foreigner and a hired worker must not eat it.

"'No lay person may eat anything holy. Neither a priest's lodger nor a hired laborer may eat anything holy,

He must be with the one who bought him like a yearly hired worker. The one who bought him must not rule over him harshly in your sight.

Now the Lord makes this announcement: "Within exactly three years Moab's splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left."

And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God.

"I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you. read more.
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me -- and I in him -- bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples. "Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. My commandment is this -- to love one another just as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this -- that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father.

Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son.

saying "Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master! The Lord has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"

From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people of Judah

We did not change clothes -- not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water.

They must indeed be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant will be visible in your flesh as a permanent reminder.

All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Now in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.

All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

A servant who acts wisely will rule over an heir who behaves shamefully, and will share the inheritance along with the relatives.

You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. Only I, the king, will be greater than you.

Jesus answered them, "I tell you the solemn truth, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the family forever, but the son remains forever.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, read more.
and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.

the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water belongs to us!" So Isaac named the well Esek because they argued with him about it.

So there were quarrels between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen. (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.)

Now a wife of one of the prophets appealed to Elisha for help, saying, "Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants."

Then there were those who said, "We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king on our fields and our vineyards. And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, and our children are just like their children, still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people."

he got up from the meal, removed his outer clothes, took a towel and tied it around himself. He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.

She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, "Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash the feet of the servants of my lord."

But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph's house. They said, "We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks last time. He wants to capture us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys!"

If one of us has it, he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves!"

I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent this message to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.'"

"I am the servant of Abraham," he began.

But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, for I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me on account of you."

His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.

"The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and the land of my relatives, promised me with a solemn oath, 'To your descendants I will give this land.' He will send his angel before you so that you may find a wife for my son from there.

saying "Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master! The Lord has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"

Elisha went back and took his pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He cooked the meat over a fire that he made by burning the harness and yoke. He gave the people meat and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and became his assistant.

So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God.

(Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named Oak of Weeping.)

So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham's servant and his men.

and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.

He answered, "Everything is fine. My master sent me with this message, 'Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. Please give them a talent of silver and two suits of clothes.'"

When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant hasn't been anywhere."

Those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent the name of God and Christian teaching from being discredited.

"A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, 'How have we made light of your name?'

I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent this message to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.'"

Abram said to Sarai, "Since your servant is under your authority, do to her whatever you think best." Then Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so she ran away from Sarai.

When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. So the first one came before him and said, 'Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.'

Then the second one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has made five minas.'

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ,

Slaves are to be subject to their own masters in everything, to do what is wanted and not talk back,

All these your servants will come down to me and bow down to me, saying, 'Go, you and all the people who follow you,' and after that I will go out." Then Moses went out from Pharaoh in great anger.

Those of Pharaoh's servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses,

"I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me," says the Lord who rules over all.

Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

The hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, he runs away.

"Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?

Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

But when he came to his senses he said, 'How many of my father's hired workers have food enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger!

You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men. In whatever situation someone was called, brothers and sisters, let him remain in it with God.

Let each one remain in that situation in life in which he was called. Were you called as a slave? Do not worry about it. But if indeed you are able to be free, make the most of the opportunity.

If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed. You must supply them generously from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress -- as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them.

Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. Sheshan had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. Sheshan gave his daughter to his servant Jarha as a wife; she bore him Attai.

A servant who acts wisely will rule over an heir who behaves shamefully, and will share the inheritance along with the relatives.

The king shows favor to a wise servant, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

"'If a resident foreigner who is with you prospers and your brother becomes impoverished with regard to him so that he sells himself to a resident foreigner who is with you or to a member of a foreigner's family, after he has sold himself he retains a right of redemption. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or anyone of the rest of his blood relatives -- his family -- may redeem him, or if he prospers he may redeem himself. read more.
He must calculate with the one who bought him the number of years from the year he sold himself to him until the jubilee year, and the cost of his sale must correspond to the number of years, according to the rate of wages a hired worker would have earned while with him. If there are still many years, in keeping with them he must refund most of the cost of his purchase for his redemption, but if only a few years remain until the jubilee, he must calculate for himself in keeping with the remaining years and refund it for his redemption. He must be with the one who bought him like a yearly hired worker. The one who bought him must not rule over him harshly in your sight. If, however, he is not redeemed in these ways, he must go free in the jubilee year, he and his children with him, because the Israelites are my own servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord's freedman. In the same way, the one who was called as a free person is Christ's slave.

"'If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service. He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner; he must serve with you until the year of jubilee,

Under three things the earth trembles, and under four things it cannot bear up: under a servant who becomes king, under a fool who is stuffed with food,

You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you.

I have seen slaves on horseback and princes walking on foot like slaves.

You should not consider it difficult to let him go free, for he will have served you for six years, twice the time of a hired worker; the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages.

I have seen slaves on horseback and princes walking on foot like slaves.

"I am the servant of Abraham," he began. "The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. My master's wife Sarah bore a son to him when she was old, and my master has given him everything he owns. read more.
My master made me swear an oath. He said, 'You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find a wife for my son.' But I said to my master, 'What if the woman does not want to go with me?' He answered, 'The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father's family. You will be free from your oath if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.' When I came to the spring today, I prayed, 'O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, may events unfold as follows: Here I am, standing by the spring. When the young woman goes out to draw water, I'll say, "Give me a little water to drink from your jug." Then she will reply to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too." May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master's son.' "Before I finished praying in my heart, along came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll give your camels water too.' So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She replied, 'The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.' I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son. Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way."

After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. When they got up in the morning, he said, "Let me leave now so I can return to my master." But Rebekah's brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go." But he said to them, "Don't detain me -- the Lord has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return to my master."

"Everything is fine," the man in charge of Joseph's household told them. "Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. The servant in charge brought the men into Joseph's house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys.

Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. "What did I do wrong?" he demanded of Laban. "What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? Set it here before my relatives and yours, and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! "I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. read more.
Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. You always made me pay for every missing animal, whether it was taken by day or at night. I was consumed by scorching heat during the day and by piercing cold at night, and I went without sleep.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to grant their slaves their freedom. Everyone was supposed to free their male and female Hebrew slaves. No one was supposed to keep a fellow Judean enslaved. All the people and their leaders had agreed to this. They had agreed to free their male and female slaves and not keep them enslaved any longer. They originally complied with the covenant and freed them. read more.
But later they had changed their minds. They had taken back their male and female slaves that they had freed and forced them to be slaves again. That was when the Lord spoke to Jeremiah, "The Lord God of Israel has a message for you. 'I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. It stipulated, "Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free." But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me. Recently, however, you yourselves showed a change of heart and did what is pleasing to me. You granted your fellow countrymen their freedom and you made a covenant to that effect in my presence in the house that I have claimed for my own. But then you turned right around and showed that you did not honor me. Each of you took back your male and female slaves whom you had freed as they desired, and you forced them to be your slaves again.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel -- not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell! read more.
As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell! Am I now trying to gain the approval of people, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ!

"You know how I have worked for you," Jacob replied, "and how well your livestock have fared under my care. Indeed, you had little before I arrived, but now your possessions have increased many times over. The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?"

When David had gone a short way beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a couple of donkeys that were saddled, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred raisin cakes, a hundred baskets of summer fruit, and a container of wine. The king asked Ziba, "Why did you bring these things?" Ziba replied, "The donkeys are for the king's family to ride on, the loaves of bread and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert." The king asked, "Where is your master's grandson?" Ziba replied to the king, "He remains in Jerusalem, for he said, 'Today the house of Israel will give back to me my grandfather's kingdom.'" read more.
The king said to Ziba, "Everything that was Mephibosheth's now belongs to you." Ziba replied, "I bow before you. May I find favor in your sight, my lord the king."

"'As for your male and female slaves who may belong to you -- you may buy male and female slaves from the nations all around you.

Also you may buy slaves from the children of the foreigners who reside with you, and from their families that are with you, whom they have fathered in your land, they may become your property.

"If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it, he will let the servant go free as compensation for the eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or his female servant, he will let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.

"If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she dies as a result of the blow, he will surely be punished. However, if the injured servant survives one or two days, the owner will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss.

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ, not like those who do their work only when someone is watching -- as people-pleasers -- but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.

because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ.

For this finds God's favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if you sin and are mistreated and endure it? But if you do good and suffer and so endure, this finds favor with God.

So he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves he will be to his brothers." He also said, "Worthy of praise is the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem!

A servant cannot be corrected by words, for although he understands, there is no answer.

On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, "While the child was still alive he would not listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!"

On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, "While the child was still alive he would not listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!"

"If a man sells his daughter as a female servant, she will not go out as the male servants do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully with her. If he designated her for his son, then he will deal with her according to the customary rights of daughters. read more.
If he takes another wife, he must not diminish the first one's food, her clothing, or her marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, then she will go out free, without paying money.

From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.

So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned. From the time Potiphar appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's household for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both in his house and in his fields.

You may have the Sabbath produce of the land to eat -- you, your male servant, your female servant, your hired worker, the resident foreigner who stays with you,

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When it was about nine o'clock in the morning, he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace without work.

The one who troubles his family will inherit nothing, and the fool will be a servant to the wise person.

If a ruler listens to lies, all his ministers will be wicked.

But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves. And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. Because of these false teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep. read more.
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell and locked them up in chains in utter darkness, to be kept until the judgment, and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, when God brought a flood on an ungodly world, and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, having appointed them to serve as an example to future generations of the ungodly, and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless men, (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) -- if so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment at the day of judgment, especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority. Brazen and insolent, they are not afraid to insult the glorious ones, yet even angels, who are much more powerful, do not bring a slanderous judgment against them before the Lord. But these men, like irrational animals -- creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed -- do not understand whom they are insulting, and consequently in their destruction they will be destroyed, suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, they are stains and blemishes, indulging in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you. Their eyes, full of adultery, never stop sinning; they entice unstable people. They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children! By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, yet was rebuked for his own transgression (a dumb donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained the prophet's madness). These men are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm, for whom the utter depths of darkness have been reserved. For by speaking high-sounding but empty words they are able to entice, with fleshly desires and with debauchery, people who have just escaped from those who reside in error. Although these false teachers promise such people freedom, they themselves are enslaved to immorality. For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved.

But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt.

and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards,

then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee,

When food was served, he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I want to say." "Tell us," Laban said.

But those who have believing masters must not show them less respectTeach them and exhort them about these things.

He prayed, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. Be faithful to my master Abraham.

who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you and me.

Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman's wife. She told her mistress, "If only my master were in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his skin disease." Naaman went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said.

who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you and me.

But Abraham lodged a complaint against Abimelech concerning a well that Abimelech's servants had seized.

Amon's servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace.

Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon's servants, rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah.

But if the servant should declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' then his master must bring him to the judges, and he will bring him to the door or the doorposts, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.

If he came in by himself he will go out by himself; if he had a wife when he came in, then his wife will go out with him. If his master gave him a wife, and she bore sons or daughters, the wife and the children will belong to her master, and he will go out by himself.

not like those who do their work only when someone is watching -- as people-pleasers -- but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.

Obey with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord and not people,

no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking and in the Lord.

Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work when he comes.

Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?'

Gehazi, the prophet Elisha's servant, thought, "Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him."

Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse.

His servants approached and said to him, "O master, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, you would have been willing to do it. It seems you should be happy that he simply said, "Wash and you will be healed."

Three years later two of Shimei's servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, "Look, your servants are in Gath."

Gehazi, the prophet Elisha's servant, thought, "Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him."

His servant Zimri, a commander of half of his chariot force, conspired against him. While Elah was drinking heavily at the house of Arza, who supervised the palace in Tirzah,

If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned.

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.

For this finds God's favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly.

(Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named Oak of Weeping.)

but your father has humiliated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm.

His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.

And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, he sent them into his vineyard.

For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in his steps.

Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, 'Go' and he goes, and to another 'Come' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this' and he does it."

If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft.

not pilfering, but showing all good faith, in order to bring credit to the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

not pilfering, but showing all good faith, in order to bring credit to the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

not pilfering, but showing all good faith, in order to bring credit to the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

But when he came to his senses he said, 'How many of my father's hired workers have food enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger!

For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

Slaves are to be subject to their own masters in everything, to do what is wanted and not talk back,

Slaves are to be subject to their own masters in everything, to do what is wanted and not talk back,

When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius called two of his personal servants and a devout soldier from among those who served him,

I summon my servant, but he does not respond, even though I implore him with my own mouth.

Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from house to house.

Now at that very moment, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "May the Lord be with you!" They replied, "May the Lord bless you!"

Like a servant longing for the evening shadow, and like a hired man looking for his wages,