'Slave' in the Bible

“He loosens the bond of kingsAnd binds their loins with a loincloth.

The sojourners in my house and my slave women count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes.

Will he make a covenant with youso that you can take him as a slave forever?

Turn toward me and have mercy on me! Give your servant your strength! Deliver your slave!

He had sent a man ahead of them—Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

“Moab is My washbowl;Over Edom I will throw My shoe [to show Edom is Mine];Over Philistia I will shout [in triumph].”

Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant; I am your lowest slave. You saved me from death.

The one who brings ruin on his householdwill inherit the wind,and a fool will be a slaveto someone whose heart is wise.

The diligent person will rule, but the slothful will become a slave.

A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully, and in the midst of brothers he will share his inheritance.

Luxury is not appropriate for a fool—how much less for a slave to rule over princes!

The rich rule over the poor,and the borrower is a slave to the lender.

A slave will not be instructed by words alone;For though he understands, there will be no response.

A slave pampered from his youthwill become arrogant later on.

Do not slander a slave to his master,Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.

Under a slave when he becomes a king, a fool when he is overfed,

And it shall be as [with] the people, so [with] the priest; as [with] the slave, so [with] his master; as [with] the female slave, so [with] her mistress; as [with] the buyer, so [with] the seller; as [with] the lender, so [with] the borrower; as [with] the creditor, so [with] [the one] to whom he lends.

“You have not brought Me your sheep or goats for your burnt offerings,Nor honored Me with your sacrifices.I have not burdened you with offerings,Nor wearied you with [demands for offerings of] incense.

“Take millstones [as a female slave does] and grind meal;Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,Uncover the leg, cross the rivers [at the command of your captors].

Thus says Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel, his holy one, to the one who despises life, to the one who abhors [the] nation, to [the] slave of rulers: "Kings shall see and stand up; princes, and they shall bow down, for the sake of Yahweh, who [is] faithful, the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you."

Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?

“And if you [wonder and] say in your heart,‘Why have these things happened to me?’It is because of the greatness and nature of your sinThat your skirts have been pulled away [subjecting you to public disgrace]And [like a barefoot slave] your heels have been wounded.

“So I Myself will throw your skirts up over your face,That your shame may be exposed [publicly].

All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his country's time also comes, and then many nations and great kings will use him as a slave.

And it will happen on that day,' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'I will break his yoke from your neck and your bonds I will tear to pieces. And strangers will no longer let him work as a slave.

that every man should let his Hebrew slaves, male and female, go free, so that no one should make a slave of a Jew, his brother.

And all the officials and all the people obeyed, who had entered into the covenant to let go each one his [male] slave and each one his female slave, not enslaving them again, and they obeyed and they let [them] go.

But you turned back and you profaned my name when you brought back each one his [male] slave and each one his female slave, whom you had let go free according to their desire, and you subdued them to be to you as [male] slaves and as female slaves.'

How she sits alone,the city once crowded with people!She who was great among the nationshas become like a widow.The princess among the provinceshas been put to forced labor.

So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley [the price of a common slave].

Thus says the Lord,“For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared]And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].

Nineveh is taken into exile and is led away; her slave girls moan like doves while they beat their breasts.

but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’

"A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, 'How have we made light of your name?'

“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.)