Thematic Bible: Servant


Thematic Bible




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. Verse ConceptsTablesJesus Christ, Meekness OfChrist, Character OfHumility Of ChristReclining To EatServing PeopleServing

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.



"Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." Verse ConceptsForeheadsRestraintDivine Protection, Examples OfHarming TreesSlaves Of GodhurtingChristians Are Called Servants Of God

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. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Abuse Of ChristianAddictionsBondage, SpiritualSlavery, SpiritualCaptivity, MetaphoricallyEvil And FreedomPeople PromisingSlave Or FreeSubject To EvilAddictionChristian LibertyslaveryFreedomOvercomingcorruptionMoral Decay


One should think about us this way -- as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Verse ConceptsApostles, Function In Early ChurchBeing A ServantSecrecyMinisters, Description OfResponsibilityVolunteeringMoney Managementsecrets


"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. read more.
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.

Since they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they must not be sold in a slave sale. Verse ConceptsServants Of The LordGod Bringing Israel Out Of Egypt

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. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Acts Of In OtClaimsServants Of The LordThe Lord Is GodGod Bringing Israel Out Of Egypt

Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant; I am your lowest slave. You saved me from death. Verse ConceptsChainsServants Of The LordGod Freeing Captives

"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." Then Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?" The Lord replied, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work when he returns. I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave should say to himself, 'My master is delayed in returning,' and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, 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 unfaithful. That servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or do what his master asked will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know his master's will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

Show 4 more verses
"Would any one of you say to your slave who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, 'Come at once and sit down for a meal'? Won't the master instead say to him, 'Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready to serve me while I eat and drink. Then you may eat and drink'? He won't thank the slave because he did what he was told, will he?

and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." "We are descendants of Abraham," they replied, "and have never been anyone's slaves! How can you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "I tell you the solemn truth, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. read more.
The slave does not remain in the family forever, but the son remains forever.

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, and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. read more.
(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. So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.

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


For the scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and, "The worker deserves his pay." Verse ConceptsEmploymentMastersMinistry, In The ChurchThreshingWord Of GodMuzzlingOxenBinding As AnimalsScripture SaysSpecial RevelationRewardWorth




Look away from him and let him desist, until he fulfills his time like a hired man. Verse ConceptsHiringHirelingsLeave Them Alone


Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. Verse ConceptsReward, HumanServants, Working Conditions OfOne's DeedsRighteousness imputedDebtWorking For GodWork Ethicworking

"'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, 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.

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. 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.

Show 2 more verses
"Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man? Like a servant longing for the evening shadow, and like a hired man looking for his wages,

Do not take gold, silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for the journey, or an extra tunic, or sandals or staff, for the worker deserves his provisions.

cinnamon, spice, incense, perfumed ointment, frankincense, wine, olive oil and costly flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages, slaves and human lives. Verse ConceptsBabylonFrankincensePerfumeSpirit, Nature OfTradeCinnamonCommerceProviding WineProvision Of OilGroups Of Slaves

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your clients; they exchanged slaves and bronze items for your merchandise. Verse ConceptsBronzeBrassCommerce

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

You sold Judeans and Jerusalemites to the Greeks, removing them far from their own country. Verse ConceptsHomeFar From Here

So when the Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites then took Joseph to Egypt. Verse ConceptsMerchantsSilverTradeCommercePrice Set On IndividualsTrade With Metals

We're eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy! We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!" Verse ConceptsBuying and sellingSandalsTradeShoesPollutionsRubbishNot Helping The PoorPrice Set On Individuals

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. Verse ConceptsServanthood, In SocietyProselytesThe Eternal CovenantBorn In One's HouseCircumcisionGod's Covenant With The PatriarchsGroups Of Slaves

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

This is what she said to him: "That Hebrew slave you brought to us tried to humiliate me,

Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you." Verse ConceptsSeafaringNeverSea TravelReturning to the oldGroups Of Slavesslavery

Show 1 more verse
For we have been sold -- both I and my people -- to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation! If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, for such distress would not have been sufficient for troubling the king." Verse ConceptsPeople Being SilentMaking SlavesKilling Israelitesrisk

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. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Acts Of In Otethics, personalClansCivil LibertyHolidayProclaimingReversion Of ThingsFreedom

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. Verse ConceptsBanishmentKidnappingCommerceDeath Penalty For Violencerelaxation

"'When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman, although she is a slave woman designated for another man and she has not yet been ransomed, or freedom has not been granted to her, there will be an obligation to pay compensation. They must not be put to death, because she was not free. He must bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, a guilt offering ram, and the priest is to make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he will be forgiven of his sin that he has committed.

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. Verse ConceptsHolidaySabbatical YearSlavery, In OtYearsSix YearsPeople Freeing SlavesThe Law On Slavery

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. Verse ConceptsValuesSix YearsHardship

"These are the decisions that you will set before them: "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 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. read more.
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. 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 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. 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.

"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.

"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 the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned. Verse ConceptsCompensationSilverSlavery, In OtSlavesInstructions About StoningRules About Killing AnimalsPrice Set On Individuals

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, Verse ConceptsHiringStrangers

Show 2 more verses
"'If your brother becomes impoverished and is indebted to you, you must support him; he must live with you like a foreign resident. Do not take interest or profit from him, but you must fear your God and your brother must live with you. You must not lend him your money at interest and you must not sell him food for profit. read more.
I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan -- to be your God. "'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, 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. Since they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they must not be sold in a slave sale. You must not rule over him harshly, but you must fear your God. "'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. 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. "'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. 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.

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. Verse ConceptsThreshing FloorAccording To Things

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. Verse ConceptsSkillViolenceWarfare, Strategies InAbraham, Testing And VictoryBodyguardsThree To Four HundredThree Hundred And AboveBorn In One's HouseOvercoming Adversitytraining

If someone pampers his servant from youth, he will be a weakling in the end. Verse ConceptsTreatment From YouthSoft TreatmentslaveryRaising Children

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. Verse ConceptsSlavery, In OtIsolated PersonsMarriage Controlled

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. Verse ConceptsServanthood, In SocietyProselytesThe Eternal CovenantBorn In One's HouseCircumcisionGod's Covenant With The PatriarchsGroups Of Slaves

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

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. Verse ConceptsOwning LivestockGroups Of Slaves

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

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. Verse ConceptsChildren, examples ofAttackingSlavery, In OtHelpful ChildrenOther Wives

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. Verse ConceptsSpoils Of WarRules About BootyFamily Conflict

When you go out to do battle with your enemies and the Lord your God allows you to prevail and you take prisoners, if you should see among them an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife, you may bring her back to your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails, read more.
discard the clothing she was wearing when captured, and stay in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may have sexual relations with her and become her husband and she your wife. If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go where she pleases. You cannot in any case sell her; you must not take advantage of her, since you have already humiliated her.

The young men perform menial labor; boys stagger from their labor. Verse ConceptsHard LaborStaggeringGrinding FoodFirewoodYoung People Suffering

The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it back to Samaria. Verse ConceptsSlavery, In OtTwo Hundred Thousand And More

And now you are planning to enslave the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God?

He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power. Verse ConceptsBabylon, Israel Exiled ToBabylonRemnantTravelExile Of Judah To Babylon

cinnamon, spice, incense, perfumed ointment, frankincense, wine, olive oil and costly flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages, slaves and human lives. Verse ConceptsBabylonFrankincensePerfumeSpirit, Nature OfTradeCinnamonCommerceProviding WineProvision Of OilGroups Of Slaves

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. Verse ConceptsBanishmentKidnappingCommerceDeath Penalty For Violencerelaxation

When you go out to do battle with your enemies and the Lord your God allows you to prevail and you take prisoners, if you should see among them an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife, you may bring her back to your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails, read more.
discard the clothing she was wearing when captured, and stay in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may have sexual relations with her and become her husband and she your wife. If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go where she pleases. You cannot in any case sell her; you must not take advantage of her, since you have already humiliated her.

sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers -- in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching. Verse ConceptsTradeSound DoctrineThe End Of LiarsDefilementgaysSexual ImmoralityBeing GayGay MarriageSame Sex MarriageSexual Purity




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. 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.

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.

When you go out to do battle with your enemies and the Lord your God allows you to prevail and you take prisoners, if you should see among them an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife, you may bring her back to your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails, read more.
discard the clothing she was wearing when captured, and stay in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may have sexual relations with her and become her husband and she your wife. If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go where she pleases. You cannot in any case sell her; you must not take advantage of her, since you have already humiliated her.

"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 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, Verse ConceptsPoor People

However, if the servant says to you, "I do not want to leave you," because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you, you shall take an awl and pierce a hole through his ear to the door. Then he will become your servant permanently (this applies to your female servant as well).

Our leaders and all who live in our land told us, 'Take provisions for your journey and go meet them. Tell them, "We are willing to be your subjects. Make a treaty with us."' This bread of ours was warm when we packed it in our homes the day we started out to meet you, but now it is dry and hard. These wineskins we filled were brand new, but look how they have ripped. Our clothes and sandals have worn out because it has been a very long journey." read more.
The men examined some of their provisions, but they failed to ask the Lord's advice. Joshua made a peace treaty with them and agreed to let them live. The leaders of the community sealed it with an oath. Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities -- Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. The whole community criticized the leaders, but all the leaders told the whole community, "We swore an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. So now we can't hurt them! We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them." The leaders then added, "Let them live." So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided.

Call judgment down on Meroz,' says the Lord's angelic messenger; 'Be sure to call judgment down on those who live there, because they did not come to help in the Lord's battle, to help in the Lord's battle against the warriors.' Verse ConceptsOpposition, To Sin And EvilAngels, Ministry To UnbelieversCursing The UngodlyNo Helpcurses

The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this desert to kill this whole assembly with hunger!" Verse ConceptsIngratitudeMeatSelf PityCynicismDying In The WildernessDesire For DeathPlenty In EgyptNo FoodGod Might Kill His PeoplePots For Cooking And EatingDying In The Desert WeedComplaininghungerpot

and they said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? What in the world have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn't this what we told you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, because it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!'"

Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, listening to the shepherds playing their pipes for their flocks? As for the clans of Reuben -- there was intense searching of heart. Gilead stayed put beyond the Jordan River. As for Dan -- why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? Asher remained on the seacoast, he stayed by his harbors. The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; Naphtali charged on to the battlefields.

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. Verse ConceptsCivil LibertySlavesConsider Your Call To SalvationPeople Freeing SlavesOpportunityReligious FreedomslaveryFreedomPositive ThinkingBeing ContentMoralityfree

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. So I, the Lord, say: "You have not really obeyed me and granted freedom to your neighbor and fellow countryman. Therefore, I will grant you freedom, the freedom to die in war, or by starvation or disease. I, the Lord, affirm it! I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to you. I will punish those people who have violated their covenant with me. I will make them like the calf they cut in two and passed between its pieces. I will do so because they did not keep the terms of the covenant they made in my presence. I will punish the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the other people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf. I will hand them over to their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals. I will also hand King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials over to their enemies who want to kill them. I will hand them over to the army of the king of Babylon, even though they have temporarily withdrawn from attacking you. For I, the Lord, affirm that I will soon give the order and bring them back to this city. They will fight against it and capture it and burn it down. I will also make the towns of Judah desolate so that there will be no one living in them."'"

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord's message spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord stirred the mind of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict the following: "Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: "'The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Anyone from his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel -- he is the God who is in Jerusalem. read more.
Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.'"

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. Verse ConceptsEating Before GodEating Drinking And Rejoicing

You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you). Verse ConceptsNo Earthly Inheritance

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. Verse ConceptsOrphansPoverty, Attitudes TowardsWidowsWidows, Should BeRejoicingForeigners Permitted At The FeastsPeople Helping OrphansEating Drinking And RejoicingA Place For God's 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. Verse ConceptsWidowsForeigners Permitted At The FeastsPeople Helping OrphansEating Drinking And Rejoicing

You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God -- the heads of your tribes, your elders, your officials, every Israelite man, your infants, your wives, and the foreigners living in your encampment, those who chop wood and those who carry water --

be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery. Verse ConceptsForgettingBeing BewareGroups Of SlavesGod Bringing Israel Out Of Egyptslavery

Come, let's deal wisely with them. Otherwise they will continue to multiply, and if a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with our enemies and fight against us and leave the country." So they put foremen over the Israelites to oppress them with hard labor. As a result they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. As a result the Egyptians loathed the Israelites, read more.
and they made the Israelites serve rigorously. They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you assist the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery: If it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she may live." But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this and let the boys live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women -- for the Hebrew women are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!" So God treated the midwives well, and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he made households for them. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "All sons that are born you must throw into the river, but all daughters you may let live."

"You must no longer give straw to the people for making bricks as before. Let them go and collect straw for themselves. But you must require of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. Do not reduce it, for they are slackers. That is why they are crying, 'Let us go sacrifice to our God.' Make the work harder for the men so they will keep at it and pay no attention to lying words!" read more.
So the slave masters of the people and their foremen went to the Israelites and said, "Thus says Pharaoh: 'I am not giving you straw. You go get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, because there will be no reduction at all in your workload.'" So the people spread out through all the land of Egypt to collect stubble for straw. The slave masters were pressuring them, saying, "Complete your work for each day, just like when there was straw!" The Israelite foremen whom Pharaoh's slave masters had set over them were beaten and were asked, "Why did you not complete your requirement for brickmaking as in the past -- both yesterday and today?"

you must say to them, "We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way. Verse ConceptsempiresOppression, God's Attitude ToGod's HandGroups Of SlavesGod Bringing Israel Out Of Egypt

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."

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. But my servant has slandered me to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like an angel of God. Do whatever seems appropriate to you.

The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful and lived in the household of his Egyptian master. His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. 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. read more.
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. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph's care; he gave no thought to anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. Soon after these things, his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Have sex with me." But he refused, saying to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not give any thought to his household with me here, and everything that he owns he has put into my care. There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?" Even though she continued to speak to Joseph day after day, he did not respond to her invitation to have sex with her. One day he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants were there in the house. She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, "Have sex with me!" But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran outside. When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, she called for her household servants and said to them, "See, my husband brought in a Hebrew man to us to humiliate us. He tried to have sex with me, but I screamed loudly. When he heard me raise my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside." So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. This is what she said to him: "That Hebrew slave you brought to us tried to humiliate me, but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside." When his master heard his wife say, "This is the way your slave treated me," he became furious. Joseph's master took him and threw him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison.

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I recall my failures. Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards -- me and the chief baker. We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. read more.
Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guards, was with us there. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. It happened just as he had said to us -- Pharaoh restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker." Then Pharaoh summoned Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard about you, that you can interpret dreams." Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "It is not within my power, but God will speak concerning the welfare of Pharaoh." Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing by the edge of the Nile. Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt! The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven fat cows. When they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. I also saw in my dream seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. Then seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning." Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent seven years of famine. This is just what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land. The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed by God, and God will make it happen soon. "So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh should do this -- he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh's authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food, and they should preserve it. This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine." This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. So Pharaoh asked his officials, "Can we find a man like Joseph, one in whom the Spirit of God is present?" So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning as you are! You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. Only I, the king, will be greater than you. "See here," Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I place you in authority over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph's. He clothed him with fine linen clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. Pharaoh had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, and they cried out before him, "Kneel down!" So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will move his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt." Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by Pharaoh and was in charge of all the land of Egypt. During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it. Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure. Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, "Certainly God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's house." He named the second child Ephraim, saying, "Certainly God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end. Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you." While the famine was over all the earth, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. People from every country came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

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. Verse ConceptsGiving, Of TalentsDiscernment Of GovernorsRescueRulersWisdom, Human ImportanceGod Gives WisdomAfflictions

A man from the household of Levi married a woman who was a descendant of Levi. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a healthy child, she hid him for three months. But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile. read more.
His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Now come, I will send you to Egypt.' Verse ConceptsAnswered PrayerOppression, God's Attitude ToRescueAnswered PromisesGod Seeing Their AfflictionGod Saving From EnemiesOppressorsGod Sending His SonGod Sending Prophets

Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power over Egypt. He said to his people, "Look at the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are! Come, let's deal wisely with them. Otherwise they will continue to multiply, and if a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with our enemies and fight against us and leave the country." read more.
So they put foremen over the Israelites to oppress them with hard labor. As a result they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. As a result the Egyptians loathed the Israelites, and they made the Israelites serve rigorously. They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you assist the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery: If it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she may live." But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this and let the boys live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women -- for the Hebrew women are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!" So God treated the midwives well, and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he made households for them. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "All sons that are born you must throw into the river, but all daughters you may let live."

This was the one who exploited our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die. Verse ConceptsSanctity Of LifeInfanticideOppressorsKilling Sons And DaughtersThe Death Of Babies

Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, 'Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.' But his master answered, 'Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn't sow and gather where I didn't scatter? read more.
Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received my money back with interest! Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

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? read more.
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.

"For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work and gained five more. read more.
In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money in it. After a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, 'Sir, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master answered, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.' The one with the two talents also came and said, 'Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more.' His master answered, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.'

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.'

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. Verse ConceptsServanthood, In SocietyWork, And RestIndustryStrangersThe Seventh Day Of The WeekForeigners Included In The LawDay 7No Work On Feast DaysRegulations For Men And WomenSabbaths InstitutedStrangers in israel

For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant's son and any hired help may refresh themselves. Verse ConceptsOxenDonkeysHolidayLaw, OtSlavery, In OtEmployeesRecreationAliens, Believers DutyAnimals, Types OfThe Seventh Day Of The WeekSix DaysDay 7Doing One's WorkNo Work On Feast DaysSabbaths InstitutedRestrelaxation

but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. Verse ConceptsServanthood, In SocietyWork, And RestStrangersThe Seventh Day Of The WeekForeigners Included In The LawDay 7No Work On Feast DaysRegulations For Men And Women

"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey. When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. read more.
Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and get his inheritance!' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest."

Then he began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey. At harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his portion of the crop. But those tenants seized his slave, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. read more.
So he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed. He had one left, his one dear son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and the inheritance will be ours!' So they seized him, killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

This was my lot for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave for you -- fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! Verse ConceptsdowryCovetousness, Example OfDishonesty, Examples OfThe Number FourteenTen TimesSix YearsTen To Fourteen Years20 To 30 YearsChangeServing Individuals

You know that I've worked for your father as hard as I could, but your father has humiliated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm.

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." He added, "Just name your wages -- I'll pay whatever you want." "You know how I have worked for you," Jacob replied, "and how well your livestock have fared under my care. read more.
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?" So Laban asked, "What should I give you?" "You don't need to give me a thing," Jacob replied, "but if you agree to this one condition, I will continue to care for your flocks and protect them: Let me walk among all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and the spotted or speckled goats. These animals will be my wages. My integrity will testify for me later on. When you come to verify that I've taken only the wages we agreed on, if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen." "Agreed!" said Laban, "It will be as you say."

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, Zimri came in and struck him dead. (This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa's reign over Judah.) Zimri replaced Elah as king.

When Jehu came through the gate, she said, "Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?" Verse ConceptsKilling Kings

Look, I will pay your servants who cut the timber 20,000 kors of ground wheat, 20,000 kors of barley, 120,000 gallons of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil." Verse ConceptsGrainGrindingWeights And Measures, DryWeights And Measures, Liquidartists

So Laban asked, "What should I give you?" "You don't need to give me a thing," Jacob replied, "but if you agree to this one condition, I will continue to care for your flocks and protect them: Let me walk among all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and the spotted or speckled goats. These animals will be my wages.

But everyone's servant who is bought for money, after you have circumcised him, may eat it. Verse ConceptsCircumcision, physicalServanthood, In SocietyServants Of PeopleCircumcision

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. Verse ConceptsServanthood, In SocietyProselytesThe Eternal CovenantBorn In One's HouseCircumcisionGod's Covenant With The PatriarchsGroups Of Slaves

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

It read: "This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: 'The Lord God of the heavens has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build for him a temple in Jerusalem in Judah. May the Lord your God energize you who belong to his people, so you may be able to go back there!" Verse ConceptsJerusalem, History OfKingdomsThe Second TempleGod Be With You

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord's message spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord stirred the mind of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict the following: "Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: "'The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Anyone from his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel -- he is the God who is in Jerusalem. read more.
Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.'"

But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed. 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." When Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel! read more.
I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you." And the servant was healed at that hour.

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. When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, read more.
because he loves our nation, and even built our synagogue." So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. For I too am a man set 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." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!" So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.

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. Verse ConceptsGrainArsonBurning Plants

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!" So Absalom's servants did to Amnon exactly what Absalom had instructed. Then all the king's sons got up; each one rode away on his mule and fled.

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!" Verse ConceptsLoyaltyServants, GoodFriendship, Examples OfCompanionshipLife And Death

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!" Verse ConceptsRashnessServants, GoodThe Seventh Day Of The WeekHarming OneselfDay 7Death Of Unnamed IndividualsTelling Of People's SituationsFear Of IndividualsThe Death Of Babieslosing a loved oneDeath Of A ChildLosing SomeoneExamples Of Good Servants

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

Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you." Verse ConceptsSeafaringNeverSea TravelReturning to the oldGroups Of Slavesslavery

Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them. I will repay you for what you have done! I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. They will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away. Indeed, the Lord has spoken!

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. Verse ConceptsAbuse Of Authority, Examples OfMastersOppression, Nature OfSuffering, Causes OfEmployers, Bad ExamplesGiven Into One's HandsLeaving People Alonemistress

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not given birth to any children, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her." Abram did what Sarai told him.

She replied, "Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with her so that she can bear children for me and I can have a family through her." Verse ConceptsKneelingMaidsMarital SexKneesMarital Sex Between

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. Verse ConceptsConcubinesCessationGiving In Marriage

Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made. Verse ConceptsLordship, Human And DivineDebtorsOther WivesSettling AccountsUnable To Do Other ThingsDebt

"'If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service. Verse ConceptsSlavery, In OtPoor People

but if a priest buys a person with his own money, that person may eat the holy offerings, and those born in the priest's own house may eat his food. Verse ConceptsMoney, Uses OfRightsSlavesPermitted To Eat Offerings

Now while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest's slave girls came by. Verse ConceptsCourtyard

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. Verse ConceptsPunishment, Nature Of

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!" Verse ConceptsIndeterminate Sums Of MoneyLoss Of DonkeysWhy People Did ThingsFear Of Individuals



Then Laban said to Jacob, "Should you work for me for nothing because you are my relative? Tell me what your wages should be." Verse ConceptsBeing FairNegotiationServants, Working Conditions OfWagesFree Of Charge

Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. Then I'll depart, because you know how hard I've worked for you." Verse ConceptsPeople With General KnowledgeServing Individuals

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

Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let's not lay a hand on him, for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers agreed. So when the Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites then took Joseph to Egypt.

The rest of the events of Joash's reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. His servants conspired against him and murdered Joash at Beth-Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla. His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer murdered him. He was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Amaziah replaced him as king.

My guests and my servant girls consider me a stranger; I am a foreigner in their eyes. I summon my servant, but he does not respond, even though I implore him with my own mouth.

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." Verse ConceptsServants, GoodNamed Prophets Of The LordExamples Of Good Servants

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." So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, "Is everything all right?" 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.'" read more.
Naaman said, "Please accept two talents of silver. He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi. When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way. When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant hasn't been anywhere." Elisha replied, "I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. Therefore Naaman's skin disease will afflict you and your descendants forever!" When Gehazi went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow.

Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, "Why did you trick us by saying, 'We live far away from you,' when you really live nearby? Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God." They said to Joshua, "It was carefully reported to your subjects how the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified we would lose our lives, so we did this thing. read more.
So now we are in your power. Do to us what you think is good and appropriate. Joshua did as they said; he kept the Israelites from killing them and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in that capacity to this very day.)

So he went and worked for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He was longing to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 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! read more.
I will get up and go to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers."'

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! Verse ConceptsSelf KnowledgeRegaining SanitySoliloquyNo FoodDeath Of A Fatherhomecoming

I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers."' Verse ConceptsServants Of The Lord

"You must exact a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of five hundred, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep. You are to take it from their half-share and give it to Eleazar the priest for a raised offering to the Lord. From the Israelites' half-share you are to take one portion out of fifty of the people, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep -- from every kind of animal -- and you are to give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord's tabernacle." read more.
So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. The spoil that remained of the plunder which the fighting men had gathered was 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 young women who had never had sexual intercourse with a man. The half-portion of those who went to war numbered 337,500 sheep; the Lord's tribute from the sheep was 675. The cattle numbered 36,000; the Lord's tribute was 72. The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord's tribute was 61. The people were 16,000, of which the Lord's tribute was 32 people. So Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord's raised offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. From the Israelites' half-share that Moses had separated from the fighting men, there were 337,500 sheep from the portion belonging to the community, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 people. From the Israelites' share Moses took one of every fifty people and animals and gave them to the Levites who were responsible for the care of the Lord's tabernacle, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you. Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages he prefers; you must not oppress him.

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." So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath. When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had then returned,

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

(Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) Verse ConceptsdowryBetrothalMaidsMarriage, Customs ConcerningMarriage, The Bride

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 Verse ConceptsBreastplatesArmourShieldsArmor ProtectionFractions, One HalfHalf Of Groups

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. Verse ConceptsWeaponsPeople Stripping Off

"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. read more.
He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and three o'clock that afternoon, he did the same thing. And about five o'clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why are you standing here all day without work?' They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go and work in the vineyard too.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the workers and give the pay starting with the last hired until the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each received a full day's pay. And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage. When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner, saying, 'These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.' And the landowner replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn't you agree with me to work for the standard wage? Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last man the same as I gave to you. Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

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. Verse ConceptsActual Widows

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

Just before the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. Elijah told Elisha, "Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. Some members of the prophetic guild in Bethel came out to Elisha and said, "Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?" He answered, "Yes, I know. Be quiet." read more.
Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho." But he replied, "As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. Some members of the prophetic guild in Jericho approached Elisha and said, "Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?" He answered, "Yes, I know. Be quiet." Elijah said to him, "Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he replied, "As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they traveled on together.

"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.

But Nabal responded to David's servants, "Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters! Verse ConceptsContempt, Examples OfInhospitalityDisloyaltyEscaping From PeopleWho Is This?Other Unimportant PeopleI Am Unimportant

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." Elisha said to her, "What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" She answered, "Your servant has nothing in the house except a small jar of olive oil." He said, "Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers. Get as many as you can. read more.
Go and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour the olive oil into all the containers; set aside each one when you have filled it." So she left him and closed the door behind her and her sons. As they were bringing the containers to her, she was pouring the olive oil. When the containers were full, she said to one of her sons, "Bring me another container." But he answered her, "There are no more." Then the olive oil stopped flowing. She went and told the prophet. He said, "Go, sell the olive oil. Repay your creditor, and then you and your sons can live off the rest of the profit."

David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" The young man said, "I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days. Verse ConceptsAbandonmentEmployers, Bad ExamplesSick IndividualsWhere From?

But Abraham lodged a complaint against Abimelech concerning a well that Abimelech's servants had seized. Verse ConceptsServants, BadWellsDishonesty, Examples Of

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." Verse ConceptsFugitivesServants, BadThree YearsOthers Who FledTwo Other MenExamples Of Bad Servants

who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you and me. Verse ConceptsUseless PeopleUseful People

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!" Verse ConceptsHuman AffectionHeart, HumanUnity, Of God's PeopleArmorbearerFighting Togetherarmor

who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you and me. Verse ConceptsUseless PeopleUseful People

Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day. Verse ConceptsForced LabourRelationships To This Day

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.

Since I was confident that you would obey, I wrote to you, because I knew that you would do even more than what I am asking you to do.

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. Verse ConceptsSkillViolenceWarfare, Strategies InAbraham, Testing And VictoryBodyguardsThree To Four HundredThree Hundred And AboveBorn In One's HouseOvercoming Adversitytraining

You will cultivate the land for him -- you and your sons and your servants. You will bring its produce and it will be food for your master's grandson to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, will be a regular guest at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) Verse ConceptsTilling The SoilFifteenTwenty

Since I was confident that you would obey, I wrote to you, because I knew that you would do even more than what I am asking you to do.

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.) Verse ConceptsLivestockServants, BadStock KeepingResolving Conflict

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, Verse ConceptsDevout MenTwo Other Men

And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Verse ConceptsAgreeing For GoodMoney, Uses OfNegotiationCoinsAgreeingOnce A Day

Then the Lord's angel said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority. Verse ConceptsAngel of the LordHumble Yourselfmistress

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." Verse ConceptsCommands, in NTServants, GoodHuman Authority, Nature OfAuthority Delegated To PeopleMen's OrdersObeying PeopleExamples Of Good Servants

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!" Verse ConceptsCourteousnessGreetingsSalutationsGod Be With YouMay God Bless!Spoken Greetingsfriendliness

But some men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. Verse ConceptsAlexandria The CityConfrontationMissionaries, Support ForSynagogueGod, Impartiality OfFalse Teachers, Examples OfDisputes

NET Bible copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. NetBible