And Mary said, "I am the Lord's slave. Let it be as you say." Then the angel left her.

For he has noticed his slave in her humble station, For from this time all the ages will think me favored!

"Now, Master, you will let your slave go free In peace, as you promised,

A Roman captain had a slave whom he thought a great deal of, and the slave was sick and at the point of death.

When the captain heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, to ask him to come and save his slave's life.

For I am myself under the orders of others, and I have soldiers under me, and I tell one to go, and he goes, and another to come, and he comes, and my slave to do something, and he does it."

And when the messengers went back to the house, they found the slave well.

Blessed is that slave if his master when he returns finds him doing it.

But if the slave says to himself, 'My master is not coming back for a long time,' and begins to beat the men and women slaves and to eat and drink and get drunk,

that slave's master will come back some day when he does not expect him, and at some time of which he does not know, and will cut him in two, and put him with the unbelievers.

The slave who knows his master's wishes, but does not get ready or act upon them, will be severely punished.

and when the dinner hour came, he sent around his slave, to say to those who were invited, 'Come! for it is now ready!'

So the slave went back, and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house was angry and said to his slave, 'Hurry out into the streets and squares of the city, and bring the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the lame in here!'

And the slave said, 'What you ordered, sir, has been done, and there is still room.'

And the master said to the slave, 'Go out on the roads, and among the hedges, and make them come so that my house may be full.

Is he grateful to the slave for doing what he has been ordered to do?

And he said to him, 'Well done, my excellent slave! You have proved trustworthy about a very small amount, you shall be governor of ten towns.'

He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will convict you, you wretched slave! You knew, did you, that I was a stern man, and that I pick up what I did not lay down, and harvest what I did not sow?

And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenants to have them give him a share of the vintage, but the tenants beat him, and sent him back empty-handed.

And again he sent another slave, and they beat him also and mistreated him and sent him back empty-handed.

But take care that your hearts are not loaded down with self-indulgence and drunkenness and worldly cares, and that day takes you by surprise, like a trap.

And one of them did strike at the high priest's slave and cut his right ear off.