'Servant' in the Bible

And the custom of the priests with the people [was this]: When any man {brought a sacrifice}, as the meat was boiling, the servant of the priest would take a three-pronged meat fork in his hand

Also, before they {offered up} the fat as a burnt offering, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but only {raw}."

So Eli said to Samuel "Go lie down. {If he calls} to you, then you must say, 'Speak Yahweh, because your servant [is] listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Then Yahweh came and stood [there] and called out {as before}, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, because your servant [is] listening."

When they entered the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who [was] with him, "Come, let us return, lest my father cease [caring about] the female donkeys and worry about us!"

So Saul said to his servant, "Look, we may go, but what should we bring to the man? For the bread [is] gone from our bags, and there [is] no present to bring to the man of God. What [do we have] with us?"

The servant again answered Saul and said, "Look, {I have} in my hand a quarter shekel of silver! I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us our way."

So Saul said to his servant, "{Your suggestion is a good one}. Come, let us go." And they went to the town where the man of God [was].

So Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them to a room in the building and gave them a place at the head of {the invited guests}. There were about thirty men.

As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to pass on before us. When he has passed, you stand here {a while}, so that I can make known to you [the] word of God."

Then Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "To search [for] the female donkeys; and when we saw none, we went to Samuel."

David said to Saul, "Do not let anyone's heart fail concerning him! Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

And David said to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd of the flock for his father. If the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the group,

Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he defied the battle lines of the living God."

Then Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" And David said, "[I am] the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

So Jonathan spoke well about David to his father Saul and said to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his service for you [has been] very good.

If he says 'Good,' [it will mean] peace for your servant; but if he [is] very angry, know that {he has decided to do me harm}.

So you must show loyal love to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there [is] guilt in me, [then] kill me yourself! But why should you bring me to your father?"

{Then} I will send [word to] my servant, 'Go, find the arrows!' If I clearly say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows [are] {on this side of you}; {bring} it,' then come, for [it means] peace for you. And there is no problem, {as Yahweh lives}.

He said to his servant, "Run, please find the arrows that I am shooting!" The boy ran, and he shot the arrow to pass [over] him.

Then Jonathan called out after the boy, "Quick, hurry, do not linger!" And Jonathan's servant collected the arrows and came to his master.

Jonathan gave his weapons to his servant and said to him, "Go, bring [them] to the city."

For all of you have conspired against me, and {no one discloses to me} the {making} [of an agreement] between my son and the son of Jesse! None of you have had sympathy for me or {disclosed to me} [that] {my son commissioned my servant against me to ambush me} as [has been done] this day!"

[Only] today I began to inquire of God for him. Far be it from me that {the king should impute anything against his servant} or against my father's household, for your servant has not known any of this matter, little or much."

And David said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul [is] seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.

Will the rulers of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Yahweh, God of Israel, please tell your servant!" And Yahweh said, "He will come down."

She fell at his feet and said, "On me, my lord, [be] the guilt! Please let your female servant speak {to you personally}! Hear the words of your female servant!

Please do not let my lord set his heart against {this worthless man}, Nabal; for as his name, so [is] he. Nabal [is] his name, and stupidity [is] with him! But I, your female servant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

So then, this gift which your female servant has brought to my lord, may it be given to the young men {who follow my lord}.

Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, because Yahweh will certainly make a lasting house for my lord, because my lord [is] fighting the battles of Yahweh, and evil will not be found in you {as long as you live}.

then this will not be an obstacle for you or a stumbling block of conscience for my lord [either] by the shedding of blood without cause or by {my lord taking matters into his own hands}. And when Yahweh does good to my lord, then remember your female servant."

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his [own] head." Then David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her 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."

Then he said, "Why [is] my lord pursuing after his servant? For what have I done? And what evil [is] in my hand?

And so then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant: If Yahweh has incited you against me, may he delight in an offering; but if {it is mortals}, [may] they be accursed {before} Yahweh, for they have driven me away today from sharing in the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, 'Go, serve other gods!'

Then David said to Achish, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then let them give me a place in one of the {country towns} that I can live there. Why should your servant live in {the royal city} with you?"

And Achish trusted David, saying, "{He has made himself utterly hated} among his people in Israel, and he will be my servant forever."

David said to Achish, "Very well, you will know what your servant can do." Achish said to David, "Very well, I will make you {my bodyguard} for life."

Then the woman came to Saul and realized that he was absolutely terrified, so she said to him, "Look, your female servant {has obeyed you}, and I have {risked my life}. I have listened to your words that you have spoken to me.

So then, you also please listen to the voice of your female servant, and let me set before you a morsel of bread, and [you] eat so that {you will have strength} in you when you go on your way."

Then the commanders of [the] Philistines said, "What [are] these Hebrews [doing here]?" And Achish said to the commanders of [the] Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, who has been with me {for days and years}? I have not found anything [threatening] in him from the day of his desertion until this day!"

Then David said to Achish, "But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day that I {entered your service} until this day, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

Then David said to him, "{To whom do you belong}, and from where [are] you? The young man said, "I am an Egyptian young man, a servant of an Amalekite man, but my master abandoned me because I became ill three days ago.

So then, bring it about, because Yahweh had said to David, "Through the hand of David my servant [I am about] to save my people Israel from the hand of [the] Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies."

"Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says Yahweh: "[Are] you the one to build for me a house for my dwelling?

So then, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, "I took you from the pasture {from following} the sheep to be a leader over my people, over Israel,

Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh.

{What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh.

Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know.

So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised.

Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you.

For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you.

Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant.

So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Now Saul's household had a servant whose name [was] Ziba, so they summoned him to David, and the king asked him, "[Are] you Ziba?" He said, "{At your service}!"

Then he did obeisance and said, "What [is] your servant that you have paid attention to the dead dog like me?"

David summoned Ziba the servant of Saul and said to him, "All that [was] Saul's and all his household I have given to the son of your master.

Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my master the king commands his servant, so your servant will do." So Mephibosheth [was] eating at his table as one of the sons of the king.

Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerub-bosheth, if not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from [atop] the wall and he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?' Then you shall say, 'Your servant 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."

Now there [was] a long-sleeved robe on her, for so they clothed the daughters of the king who [were] virgins, in robes. His servant put her outside, and he bolted the door behind her.

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.

Jonadab said to the king, "Look, the sons of the king have come. According to the word of your servant, so it has come about."

Your servant had two sons, and they both fought in the open field, and there [was] no one {to part them}. One struck the other and killed him.

And look, all of the family has risen up against your servant, and they said, 'Give up the one who struck his brother, that we may kill him in exchange for the life of his brother whom he murdered. We will also wipe out the heir,' and so they would put out my embers which remain, by not preserving for my husband a name and a remnant on the face of the earth."

The woman said, "Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak."

Now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, because the people made me afraid, and your servant thought, 'I will speak to the king, perhaps the king will grant the request of his servant.

For the king will listen, to deliver his servant from the hand of the man [who seeks] to destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.'

Your servant also thought, 'May the word of my lord the king {bring rest}, for as an angel of God, so [is] my lord the king, {to sense what is good and what is bad}.' May Yahweh your God be with you."

The king asked, "[Was] the hand of Joab with you in all of this?" The woman answered and said, "{As your soul lives}, my lord the king, surely [one cannot] go to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken. Yes, your servant Joab himself commanded me, and he put all of these words in the mouth of your servant.

In order {to change the situation}, your servant Joab did this thing. But my lord [has] wisdom, as the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that [is] on the earth."

Joab fell with his face to the ground and did obeisance. And he blessed the king, and he said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, [in] that the king has granted the request of his servant."

Absalom used to rise early in the morning, and he stood {beside} the road [at] the gate; {anyone} who had a legal dispute to bring to the king for judgment Absalom would call to him and say, "{Where are you from?}" And he would say, "Your servant [is] from one of the tribes of Israel."

for your servant made a vow while I [was] staying in Geshur in Aram, saying, '{If Yahweh will indeed let me return} to Jerusalem, then I will worship Yahweh.'"

But Ittai answered the king and said, "{As Yahweh lives} and {my lord the king lives}, surely in the place wherever my lord the king shall be, if for death or if for life, surely there your servant will be."

but if you want to return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I [am] your servant, O king. I used to be a servant of your father, but from then and now I [will be] your servant,' then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me.

Now David passed a little from beyond the summit, and suddenly Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth [was] there to meet him [with] a pair of saddled donkeys; on them [were] two hundred loaves of bread and a hundred raisin cakes, [with] a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine.

Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz [were] staying at En Rogel, so a servant girl used to go and tell them, then they would go and tell King David, for they [were] not able to be seen coming to the city.

The king said, "[Is] it peace for the young man Absalom?" Ahimaaz said, "I saw the great commotion when Joab the servant of the king sent your servant, but I do not know what [it was all about]."

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.

and he said to the king, "May not my lord hold me guilty, and may you not remember how your servant did wrong on the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, by taking it to heart!

For your servant knows that I have sinned; look, I have come this day [as the first] of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king."

Then he said, "My lord the king, my servant deceived me, for your servant had said, 'Let me saddle the donkey that I may ride on her and go with the king,' for your servant [is] lame.

But he slandered against your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king [is] like the angel of God; {do as you see fit.}."

For there [was no one] in all the house of my father {who were not doomed to death} before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. Do I have any righteousness any longer except to cry out to the king?"

I [am] eighty years old today. Can I discern between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be a burden any longer to my lord the king?

Your servant shall go over the Jordan with the king a little way, but why should the king recompense me with this reward?

Please let your servant return, and let me die in my city in the tomb of my father and my mother. Here [is] your servant Kimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him that which [is] good in your eyes."

Then he came near to her, and the woman asked, "[Are] you Joab?" And he said, "I [am]." Then she said to him, "Listen to the words of your servant." He said, "I [am] listening."

The heart of David struck him after he had counted the people, and David said to Yahweh, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done! So then, O Yahweh, please forgive the guilt of your servant because I have acted very foolishly."

Then Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy from you the threshing floor, to build an altar to Yahweh who brought a halt to the plague on the people."

Come, go to King David and say to him, 'Have you not, my lord the king, sworn to your servant, "Surely Solomon your son shall become king after me. And he will sit on my throne"? But why is Adonijah king?'

She said to him, "My lord, you swore by Yahweh your God to your servant, 'Solomon your son surely shall become king after me, and he will sit upon my throne!'

He has sacrificed oxen and sheep and fattened animals {in abundance}, and he has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he did not invite.

But me, your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Solomon your servant he did not invite.

Solomon was told, "Look, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, and he has grasped the horns of the altar, saying, 'Let King Solomon swear to me {first} that he will surely not kill his servant with the sword!'"

Shimei said to the king, "The word is good that my lord the king has spoken to me; thus will your servant do." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

Then Solomon said, "You have shown great loyal love with your servant David my father, as he walked before you in faithfulness and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with you. You have shown for him this great loyal love, and you have given a son to him who is sitting on his throne as [it is] this day.

So then, O Yahweh, you are my God. You have made your servant king in place of David my father [though] I [am] a young boy. I do not know going out or coming in.

Your servant [is] in the middle of your people whom you have chosen; a great people who cannot be counted or numbered because of abundance.