'Slave' in the Bible

“No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.

and saying, "Lord, my slave is lying paralyzed in my house, terribly tormented!"

And the centurion answered [and] said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. But only say the word and my slave will be healed.

For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go, as you have believed it will be done for you." And the slave was healed at that hour.

A disciple is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master.

It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household!

“At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’

Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.

“But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’

“At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

“Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’

and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;

“Who then is a faithful and sensible slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time?

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

But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’

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

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’

“But his master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy slave! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered,

And throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his ear.

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A slave girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean."

When he went out to the gateway, another slave girl saw him and said to the people there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene."

and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all.

At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers.

But those tenants seized his slave, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

Again he sent another slave to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.

And one of those who stood by drew his sword, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his ear.

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

When the slave girl saw him, she began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them."

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

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

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

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

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

For this reason neither did I consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my slave must be healed.

For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

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

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

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

the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

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

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

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

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

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

The slave replied, 'Your brother has returned, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he got his son back safe and sound.'

But he answered his father, "Listen! All these years I've worked like a slave for you. I've never disobeyed a command of yours. Yet you've never given me so much as a young goat for a festival so I could celebrate with my friends.

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

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

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

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

Then another slave came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth.

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

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

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

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

Then a slave girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, stared at him and said, "This man was with him too!"

Jesus responded, “I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever.

“I assure you: A slave is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him.

I do not call you slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from My Father.

Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours.

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. (The slave’s name was Malchus.)

But Simon Peter was left standing outside by the door. So the other disciple who was acquainted with the high priest came out and spoke to the slave girl who watched the door, and brought Peter inside.

Then the slave girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?”“I am not!” he said.

"Joseph's brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. However, God was with him

When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered.

Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling.

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God’s good news—

For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am merely human, sold as a slave to sin.

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh, to the law of sin.

Who are you to criticize another’s household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand. For the Lord is able to make him stand.

Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything [and brought under its power, allowing it to control me].

If, however, the unbeliever is determined to leave, let him or her do so. Under such circumstances the Christian man or woman is no slave; God has called us to live lives of peace.

Were you called while a slave? It should not be a concern to you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.

For he who is called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave.

Although I am a free man and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people.

but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.

The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.

But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything.

So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and the other by a free woman.

But the one by the slave was born according to the impulse of the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.

Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is a slave with her children.

But what does the Scripture say?Drive out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free woman.

Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord.

Instead He emptied Himselfby assuming the form of a slave,taking on the likeness of men.And when He had come as a manin His external form,

You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf,

In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

For he who does wrong will be punished for his wrongdoing, and [with God] there is no partiality [no special treatment based on a person’s position in life].

Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful servant, and fellow slave in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always contending for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills.

The Lord’s slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient,