Ephesians 6:5-9
English Standard Version
Bondservants and Masters
5 (A)Bondservants,[a] obey your earthly masters[b] with fear and trembling, (B)with a sincere heart, (C)as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as (D)people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 (E)knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, (F)whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, (G)and stop your threatening, knowing that (H)he who is both their Master[c] and yours is in heaven, and that (I)there is no partiality with him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ephesians 6:5 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 6; likewise for bondservant in verse 8
- Ephesians 6:5 Or your masters according to the flesh
- Ephesians 6:9 Greek Lord
Ephesians 6:5-9
Common English Bible
5 As for slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling and with sincere devotion to Christ. 6 Don’t work to make yourself look good and try to flatter people, but act like slaves of Christ carrying out God’s will from the heart. 7 Serve your owners enthusiastically, as though you were serving the Lord and not human beings. 8 You know that the Lord will reward every person who does what is right, whether that person is a slave or a free person. 9 As for masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Stop threatening them, because you know that both you and your slaves have a master in heaven. He doesn’t distinguish between people on the basis of status.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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