Footnotes

1. Ephesians 6:5 tn Traditionally, “Servants” (KJV). Though δοῦλος (doulos) is often translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households.
2. Ephesians 6:5 tn Grk “the masters according to the flesh.” In the translation above, the article τοῖς (tois) governing κυρίοις (kuriois) is rendered in English as a possessive pronoun (i.e., “your”) and the prepositional phrase κατὰ σάρκα (kata sarka) is taken as modifying κυρίοις (indicating that the author is referring to human masters) and not modifying the imperative ὑπακούετε (hupakouete, which would indicate that obedience was according to a human standard or limitation).
3. Ephesians 6:6 tn Grk “not according to eye-service.”
4. Ephesians 6:6 tn Grk “from the soul.”
5. Ephesians 6:7 tn Though the verb does not appear again at this point in the passage, it is nonetheless implied and supplied in the English translation for the sake of clarity.
6. Ephesians 6:7 tn Grk “serving as to the Lord.”
7. Ephesians 6:8 sn The pronoun “this” (τοῦτο, touto) stands first in its clause for emphasis, and stresses the fact that God will reward those, who in seeking him, do good.
8. Ephesians 6:9 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9. Ephesians 6:9 tn Though the Greek text only has αὐτούς (autous, “them”), the antecedent is the slaves of the masters. Therefore, it was translated this way to make it explicit in English.
10. Ephesians 6:9 tn Grk “do the same things to them.”
11. Ephesians 6:9 tn Grk “giving up the threat.”
12. Ephesians 6:9 tn Grk “because of both they and you, the Lord is, in heaven…”