Genesis 16:9

16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit ¹  to her authority.

Psalms 123:2

123:2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, ² 

so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

Malachi 1:6

The Sacrilege of Priestly Service

1:6 “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects ³  his master. If I am your ⁴  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?’

Matthew 6:24

6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate ⁵  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ⁶  the other. You cannot serve God and money. ⁷ 

Matthew 8:9

8:9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. ⁸  I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes, ⁹  and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my slave ¹⁰  ‘Do this’ and he does it.” ¹¹ 

Acts 10:7-8

10:7 When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius ¹²  called two of his personal servants ¹³  and a devout soldier from among those who served him, ¹⁴  10:8 and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Colossians 3:22

3:22 Slaves, ¹⁵  obey your earthly ¹⁶  masters in every respect, not only when they are watching – like those who are strictly people-pleasers – but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 1:1-3

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁸  brothers and sisters ¹⁹  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ²⁰  from God our Father! ²¹ 

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ²²  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Titus 2:9-10

2:9 Slaves ²³  are to be subject to their own masters in everything, ²⁴  to do what is wanted and not talk back, 2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ²⁵  in order to bring credit to ²⁶  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

Titus 2:1

Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching

2:1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with ²⁷  sound teaching.

Titus 2:1

Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching

2:1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with ²⁸  sound teaching.

[16:9]  ¹ tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.

[123:2]  ² sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.

[1:6]  ³ tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).

[1:6]  ⁴ tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).

[6:24]  ⁵ sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[6:24]  ⁶ tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[6:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “God and mammon.”

[8:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “having soldiers under me.”

[8:9]  ⁹ sn I say to this one ‘Go’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.

[8:9]  ¹⁰ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally 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. 1). The most accurate 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.

[8:9]  ¹¹ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[10:7]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:7]  ¹³ tn Or “domestic servants.” The Greek word here is οἰκέτης (oiketh"), which technically refers to a member of the household, but usually means a household servant (slave) or personal servant rather than a field laborer.

[10:7]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the genitive participle προσκαρτερούντων (proskarterountwn) could either be “a soldier from the ranks of those who served him” (referring to his entire command) or “a soldier from among his personal staff” (referring to a group of soldiers who were his personal attendants). The translation “from among those who served him” is general enough to cover either possibility.

[3:22]  ¹⁵ tn On this word here and in 4:1, see the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[3:22]  ¹⁶ tn The prepositional phrase κατὰ σάρκα (kata sarka) does not necessarily qualify the masters as earthly or human (as opposed to the Master in heaven, the Lord), but could also refer to the sphere in which “the service-relation holds true.” See BDAG 577 s.v. κύριος 1.b.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ²¹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:3]  ²² tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[2:9]  ²³ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:9]  ²⁴ tn Or “to be subject to their own masters, to do what is wanted in everything.”

[2:10]  ²⁵ tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.

[2:10]  ²⁶ tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”

[2:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).

[2:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).