“I am the Lord’s slave,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

because He has looked with favor
on the humble condition of His slave.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,

Now, Master,
You can dismiss Your slave in peace,
as You promised.

A centurion’s slave, who was highly valued by him, was sick and about to die.

When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave.

For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. 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.”

When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded.

But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

And that slave who knew his master’s will and didn’t prepare himself or do it will be severely beaten.

At the time of the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’

“So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’

“‘Master,’ the slave said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’

“Then the master told the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.

No household slave can be the slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t be slaves to both God and money.”

“Which one of you having a slave tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

Does he thank that slave because he did what was commanded?

“‘Well done, good slave!’ he told him. ‘Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, have authority over 10 towns.’

“He told him, ‘I will judge you by what you have said, you evil slave! If you knew I was a tough man, collecting what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow,

At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

He sent yet another slave, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

Then one of them struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his right ear.