Ephesians 6:5-9
Wycliffe Bible
5 Servants, obey ye to fleshly lords with dread and trembling, in simpleness of your heart, as to Christ;
6 not serving at the eye [not serving at eye], as pleasing to men, but as servants of Christ; doing the will of God by discretion,
7 with good will serving as to the Lord, and not as to men [and not to men];
8 witting that each man, whatever good thing he shall do, he shall receive this of the Lord [this he shall receive of the Lord], whether servant, whether free man.
9 And, ye lords, do the same things to them, forgiving menacings [forgiving menaces]; witting that both their Lord and yours is in heavens, and the taking of persons is not with God.
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Ephesians 6:5-9
New Matthew Bible
5 Servants, be obedient to your carnal masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ – 6 not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart with good will: 7 serving the Lord, and not men. 8 And remember, whatever good thing anyone does, that he will receive back again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
9 And ye masters, do the same toward your servants, putting away threatenings. And remember that even your master also is in heaven; neither is there any respect of person with him.
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Ephesians 6:5-9
1599 Geneva Bible
5 (A)[a]Servants, be obedient unto them that are your masters, [b]according to the flesh, with [c]fear and trembling in singleness of your hearts, as unto Christ,
6 Not with service to the eye, as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, [d]doing the will of God from the heart.
7 With good will, serving the [e]Lord, and not men.
8 [f]And know ye that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, that same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free,
9 [g]And ye masters, do the same things unto them, putting away threatening: and know that even your master also is in heaven, neither is there (B)[h]respect of person with him.
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- Ephesians 6:5 Now he ascendeth to the third part of a family, to wit, to the duty both of the masters and of the servants. And he showeth that the duty of servants consisteth in a hearty love and reverence to their master.
- Ephesians 6:5 He mitigateth the sharpness of service, in that they are spiritually free, notwithstanding the same, and yet that spiritual freedom taketh not away corporal service, insomuch that they cannot be Christ’s, unless they serve their masters willingly and faithfully, so far forth as they may with safe conscience.
- Ephesians 6:5 With careful reverence: for slavish fear is not allowable, much less in Christian servants.
- Ephesians 6:6 To cut off occasion of all pretences, he teacheth us that it is God’s will that some are either born or made servants, and therefore they must respect God’s will, although their service be never so hard.
- Ephesians 6:7 Being moved with a reverence so Godward, as though ye served God himself.
- Ephesians 6:8 Although they serve unkind and cruel masters, yet the obedience of servants is no less acceptable to God, than the obedience of them that are free.
- Ephesians 6:9 It is the duty of masters to use the authority that they have over their servants modestly, and holily, seeing that they in another respect have a common master, which is in heaven, who will judge both the bond and the free.
- Ephesians 6:9 Either of freedom or bondage.
Ephesians 6:5-9
Authorized (King James) Version
5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. 9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
Read full chapter2001 by Terence P. Noble
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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