'Servants' in the Bible

So the servants of Saul said to him, "Look please, an evil spirit from God [is] tormenting you.

Please, let our lord command your servants [who are] before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. {When} the evil spirit from God [is] upon you, he can play {on it} and {you will feel better}."

So Saul said to his servants, "Please select a man {who plays a stringed instrument well} and bring [him] to me."

One of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite [who is] skillful in playing a stringed instrument, a {brave man, a warrior, prudent in speech, and handsome}. And Yahweh [is] with him."

He stood and called to the battle lines of Israel and said to them, "Why have you come out to form ranks [for] battle? [Am] I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Commission for yourselves a man and let him come down to me.

If he [is] able to fight with me and he defeats me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail over him and defeat him, then you will be our servants and you will serve us."

David went out {whenever} Saul sent him, [and] he succeeded. So Saul appointed him over the men of the war, and it {pleased} all the people and even {pleased} the servants of Saul.

Then Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David in secret, saying, 'Look, the king [is] pleased with you, and all his servants love you. So then, become a son-in-law of the king.'"

And Saul's servants spoke these words {to David privately}. But David said, "[Is] it insignificant {in your sight} to become the son-in-law of the king, [as] I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?"

So the servants of Saul informed him, saying, "{This is what David said}."

So his servants told David these words, and the matter {pleased David} to become the son-in-law of the king [as] {the specified time had not expired}.

Then the commanders of [the] Philistines went out [for battle], and as often as they went out, David succeeded more than all the servants of Saul, and his name became very esteemed.

Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants about killing David, but Saul's son Jonathan {liked David very much}.

So David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me [with] a matter and said to me, 'No one must know anything about this matter [on] which I am sending you, [with] which I have charged you and the servants.'" So {I have arranged to meet with my servants at a certain place}.

Now there was a man from the servants of Saul on that day, detained before Yahweh, whose name [was] Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

The servants of Achish said to him, "[Is] not this David the king of the land? [Is] it not for this [one] that they sang in the dances, saying, 'Saul killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands?'"

Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see a madman! Why did you bring him to me?

Now Saul heard that David and the men who [were] with him had been located. Saul [was] sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk [tree] at Ramah. Now his spear [was] in his hand and all his servants [were] stationed around him.

Then Saul said to the servants who [were] standing around him, "Please listen, {Benjaminites}! Will the son of Jesse give you all fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?

But Doeg the Edomite, who [was] stationed among the servants of Saul, answered and said, "I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

But Ahimelech answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants [is] as faithful as David? He [is] the son-in-law of the king who moves [quickly] to safeguard you and is honored in your house.

So the king said to the runners [who were] stationed around him, "Turn and kill the priests of Yahweh, because {they also support David} and because they knew that he was fleeing and {did not disclose it to me}." But the servants of the king [were] not willing to raise their hand to attack the priests of Yahweh.

Ask your servants and they will tell you! Let the young men find favor in your eyes because we have come on a feast day. Please give {whatever you have on hand} for your servants and for your son David."

But Nabal answered David's servants and said, "Who [is] David? And who [is] the son of Jesse? Today, [there] are many servants breaking away from the presence of their masters.

But a young man of the servants told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Look, David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, but he addressed them angrily,

Then she said to her servants, "Go ahead before me; look, I am coming after you," but she did not tell her husband Nabal.

So the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, and they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you to take you for his wife."

She got up and bowed down [with] her face to the ground and said, "Here is your female servant, as a slave to wash the feet of my lord's servants."

So Saul said to his servants, "Search for me {a woman who is a medium} so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "Look [there is] a woman who [is] a medium in Endor."

But he refused and said, "I will not eat!" However, his servants urged him, and the woman also. So he listened {to what they said}, and he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and went away that [very] night.

So then, rise early in the morning, [you] and the servants of your lord who came with you. When you rise early in the morning and it is light [enough] for you, leave.

Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

Then Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out, and they met at the pool of Gibeon. The one group sat on one side of the pool, and the other sat on the other side.

So they came forward and passed by in number: twelve for Benjamin and for Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

Then the battle {became increasingly fierce} on that day, and Abner and the men of Israel [were] defeated before the servants of David.

After Joab returned from [pursuing] Abner, he gathered all the people; nineteen of the servants of David [were] missing [along] with Asahel.

The servants of David had killed some of the Benjaminites among the men of Abner; three hundred and sixty men had died.

And look, the servants of David and Joab came from the raid, and they brought much plunder with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had dismissed him, and he had gone in peace.

Then the king said to his servants, "Did you not realize that a prince and a great man has fallen today in Israel?

When David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David. She said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today {by uncovering himself} before the eyes of the maids of his servants, {as the total exposure of a worthless one}."

When he defeated Moab, he measured them with the cord, making them lie on the ground. He measured two cords to kill and {the third cord} to let live. So Moab became servants of David, bringing tribute.

David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went.

David took the small round gold shields which had {belonged} to the servants of Hadadezer, and he brought them [to] Jerusalem.

He put garrisons in Edom; all over Edom he put garrisons, and all of Edom became servants of David. Yahweh protected David wherever he went.

You shall till the land for him, you and your sons and your servants; you shall bring [in the produce] and it shall be food for the son of your master that he may eat. But Mephibosheth the son of your master may always eat food at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty slaves.)

Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name [was] Micah, and all of the dwelling of the household of Ziba [became] servants for Mephibosheth.

David said, "I will show loyal love with Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed loyal love with me." So David sent to console him concerning his father, by the hand of his servants. And the servants of David came to the land of the {Ammonites}.

But the commanders of the {Ammonites} said to Hanun their master, "{In your opinion}, [is] David honoring your father because he has sent condolences to you? [Is] it not in order to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it [that] David sent his servants to you?"

Then Hanun took the servants of David, and he shaved off half of their beards and cut their garments off in the middle up to their buttocks, then sent them away.

When all the kings, the servants of Hadadezer, saw that he had been defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them, and Aram [was] afraid to help the {Ammonites} any longer.

{It came about in the spring}, at the time {kings} go out, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all of Israel. They ravaged all of the {Ammonites} and besieged Rabbah, but David [was] remaining in Jerusalem.

But Uriah slept [at] the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his master and did not go down to his house.

Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah [are] living in the booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord [are] camping on the surface of the open field; and I, shall I go to my house to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? [By] your life and the life of your soul, I surely will not do this thing."

David invited him, and he ate and drank in his presence {so that he became drunk}, and he went out in the evening to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

The men of the city came out and fought with Joab. Some from the army from the servants of David fell; Uriah the Hittite also died.

The archers shot at your servant from [atop] the wall, and some of the servants of the king died; your servant Uriah the Hittite also died."

It happened on the seventh day that the child died, and the servants of David [were] afraid to tell him that the child [was] dead, for they said, "Look, when the child [was] alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How can we tell him, 'The child [is] dead'? He may do [something] evil."

When David saw that his servants [were] whispering together, he realized that the child [was] dead. Then David said to his servants, "[Is] the child dead?" And they said, "He [is] dead."

Then his servants said to him, "What [is] this thing that you have done? While the child [was] alive, you fasted and wept; [now] that the child has died, you get up and eat food!"

Then Absalom went to the king and said, "Look, here [are] your servant's shearers; please let the king and his servants go with your servant.

Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "Please watch. At the moment the heart of Amnon [is] {tipsy} with wine, then I shall say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' and you shall kill him! Don't be afraid. [Is] it not I myself who has commanded you? Be courageous and be {valiant!}

So Absalom's servants did to Amnon just as Absalom commanded, and all the sons of the king got up, and each mounted his mule and fled.

Then the king rose and tore his garments, and he lay on the ground, and all his servants standing by [were] tearing their garments.

When he finished speaking, look, the sons of the king came and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also, the king and all his servants wept a very great weeping.

So he said to his servants, "Look at the tract of land of Joab {next to mine}, for he has barley plants there. Go, set it ablaze with fire." So the servants of Absalom set the tract of land ablaze with fire.

Then Joab got up and went to Absalom, to the house, and said to him, "Why have your servants set my tract of land ablaze with fire?"

Then David said to all his servants who [were] with him in Jerusalem, "Get up and let us flee, for there will be no escape for us from Absalom! Hurry to go, otherwise he will come quickly and overtake us! And he will bring disaster on us and evil! He will attack the city with the edge of the sword!"

Then the servants of the king said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king chooses, {your servants are ready to act}!"

All his servants [were] passing {by him}: all of the Kerethites and all of the Pelethites and all of the Gittites--six hundred men {who had followed him} from Gath--passing {before the king}.

And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David and at all the people and at all the mighty warriors on his right and on his left.

David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my son who came out of my loins [is] seeking my life. Now {as far as} [this] Benjaminite, leave him alone and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him.

When the servants of Absalom came to the woman [at] the house, they said, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" And she said to them, "They crossed over the brook of water." So they searched but could not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

The army of Israel [was] defeated there before the servants of David, and the defeat there was great on that day: twenty thousand.

Absalom was found in the presence of the servants of David [as he was] riding on the mule. The mule went under the thicket of the great oak tree, and his head [was] caught in the tree. He [was] left hanging between heaven and earth, and the mule which [was] under him went on.

Then Joab came to the king's house and said, "Today you have humiliated the faces of all of your servants who have saved your life this day, and the life of your sons and your daughters, the life of your wives, and the life of your concubines,

So then, get up and go out and {speak kindly to your servants}, for I swear by Yahweh, if you do not go out, no man will lodge this night with you, and this disaster [will be] greater for you than any disaster that has come upon you from your childhood until now!"

So he turned the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, and they sent [word] to the king, "Return, you and all your servants."

and a thousand men [were] with him from Benjamin. Too, Ziba the servant of the household of Saul and fifteen of his sons and twenty of his servants [were] with him, and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.

Then David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bicri will do us more harm than Absalom. You take the servants of your lord and pursue after him, lest he find fortified cities for himself and escape from us."

There [was] war again for [the] Philistines with Israel, and David and his servants with him went down, and they fought [the] Philistines, and David grew weary.

These four [were] born for the Raphah in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming over to him, so Araunah went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

His servants said to him, "Let them search for a young virgin for my lord the king, and let her stand before the king. Let her be of use for him, and let her lie in your lap that my lord the king may be warm."

And Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened animals near the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel. He invited all of his brothers, the sons of the king, and all the men of Judah, the servants of the king.

If it was from my lord the king that this thing has happened, [then all is well,] but if not, you must let your servants know who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him."

The king said to them, "Take with you all the servants of your lord, and let them make Solomon my son ride on my mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

The servants of the king also came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'Your God has made the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!' So the king worshiped on the bed.

Then Solomon awoke, and look, [it was] a dream, and he came [to] Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of [the] Lord, and he offered burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings, and he held a feast for all of his servants.

Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him as king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend for David.

So then, command that they may cut cedars for me from Lebanon, and let my servants be with your servants. The wage of your servants I will give to you according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows [how] to cut timber like the Sidonians."

My servants will bring [them] down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them [into] rafts in the sea [to float to] the place which you indicated to me. Then I shall break them up there, and you may carry [them further], and {you shall meet my needs} by giving food for my house."

and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart.

then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

Hiram sent his servants with the fleet of ships, {sailors} who knew the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

the food of his table, the seat of his servants, the {manner} of his servants and their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered in the house of Yahweh, {she was breathless}.

Happy [are] your men and happy [are] these your servants who stand before you continually hearing your wisdom.

King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all of her desire that she asked, besides that which {King Solomon freely offered her}. Then she turned and went to her land with her servants.

But Hadad himself had fled, and some Edomite men from the servants of his father with him, to go to Egypt, when Hadad [was] a young boy.

They said to him, "If you will be a servant today to this people, then you will serve them; and if you answer them and speak good words to them, they will always be your servants."