Colossians 3:22

Colossians 3:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
• New International Version (NIV)Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.

Context of Colossians 3:22

20Children, always obey your parents. That pleases the Lord. 21Fathers, do not cause your children to be upset. If you do, they might think that they never do anything that is good. Slaves, always obey your human masters. Do not do good work only when they can see you. Some people only work to make other people like them. Instead, serve your masters well because you want to. That will show that you respect the Lord as your master. 23Whatever things you are doing, do them well. Remember that you are serving the Lord. You are not only serving people. 24You know that you will receive the good things that the Lord has promised to his people. He will give you what is right for you. The Lord Jesus Christ is the master that you serve.

Colossians 3:22 word by word

Οἱ δοῦλοι, ὑπακούετε κατὰ πάντα τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις, μὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλίᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας φοβούμενοι τὸν κύριον.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Servantsδοῦλοςdoulos · slaveG1401
• obeyὑπακούωhupakouō · to obeyG5219
• inκατάkata · according toG2596
• all thingsπᾶςpas · allG3956
• mastersκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561
• notμήmē · notG3361
• withἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• eyeserviceὀφθαλμοδουλείαophthalmodouleia · eye-serviceG3787
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• menpleasersἀνθρωπάρεσκοςanthrōpareskos · people-pleaserG441
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• singlenessἁπλότηςhaplotēs · opennessG572
• of heartκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• fearingφοβέωphobeō · to fearG5399
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for Colossians 3:22

• Colossians 3:20Children, always obey your parents. That pleases the Lord.
• Psalms 123:2Yes, our eyes look up to the Lord our God. We want him to be kind to us, so we wait for his help. We wait like servants who want help from their master.
• Malachi 1:6The Lord Almighty says this to the priests: ‘A son respects his father. A servant respects his master. If I am really your father and your master, why do you not respect me? You are my priests, but you insult my name. But then you ask, “What have we done to insult your name?”
• Matthew 8:9In my work, someone has authority over me. I also have authority over other soldiers. I say to one soldier, “Go!” and he goes. I say to another one, “Come!” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this!” and he does it.’
• Luke 6:46Jesus said, ‘If you refuse to obey me, do not call me, “Master, Master.”
• Luke 7:8In my work, someone has authority over me. I also have authority over other soldiers. I say to one soldier, “Go!” and he goes. I say to another one, “Come!” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this!” and he does it.’
• Ephesians 6:5You who are slaves, obey your human masters. Respect them and be afraid of them. Work well to help them, as if you were working for Christ as your master.
• 1 Timothy 6:1All slaves should know that it is right to respect their masters. Then other people will not insult God's name or the message that we teach.
• Philemon 1:16You can have him back again not only as your slave. He will be something much better than a slave for you. He will be like a brother that you love. I love him very much. But now you will love him even more. He will serve you as a slave, but he will also serve the Lord, as you do.
• 1 Peter 2:18You who are slaves must obey your masters. Always respect them. Do that to every kind of master. Obey those who are good and kind. But also obey masters who are not fair to you.
• Galatians 1:10When I say these things, I am not trying to please people. No, it is God that I want to please. If I only wanted to make people happy, then I would not be a servant of Christ.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:4Instead, we say what God wants us to say. He has chosen us to tell his good news to people. So we do not do it to make people happy. We do it to make God happy. He is the one who knows what we are really like.
• Matthew 6:22Your eyes are like lamps and your body is like a room. Make sure that your eyes are like a clean lamp, then your whole body will have light.
• Acts 2:46The whole group of believers met together every day in the yard of the temple. They shared their food and they ate meals together in each other's homes. They were very happy and they were honest with each other.
• Genesis 42:18On the third day Joseph said to them, ‘Do what I say. Then you will stay alive, because I respect God.
• Nehemiah 5:9Then I said to them, ‘You are doing something that is completely wrong. Instead, you should obey God and live in a good way. Then the foreign people who are our enemies will not have a chance to insult us.

Commentaries on Colossians 3:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Servants, obey - See on Ephesians 6:5-8; (note).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22-25Verses 22-25 Servants, obey in all things … - ; see the notes at Ephesians 6:5-8.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 The epistles most taken up in displaying the glory of the Divine grace, and magnifying the Lord Jesus, are the most particular in pressing the duties of the Christian life. We must never separate the privileges and duties of the gospel. Submission is the duty of wives. But it is submission, not to a severe lord or stern tyrant, but to her own husband, who is engaged to affectionate duty. And husbands must love their wives with tender and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-24Slaves have masters on earth they must obey. Slavery was central to life and the economy in the ancient world. The New Testament does not directly oppose slavery. Yet, Christian faith creates relationships that change the nature of the social structure (see Philemon 1:15–16). It is the Lord Christ you are serving: All Christians, whether slave or free, serve a higher Master. His will is most important.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2222. (Ep 6:5, 6.) This is to fear God, when, though none sees us, we do no evil: but if we do evil, it is not God, but men, whom we fear. singleness--"simplicity of heart." fearing God--The oldest manuscripts read, "the Lord."Read the comment

Topics related to Colossians 3:22

• Fear of God
• Heart
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Admonish
• Bond
• Charity
• Covetousness
• Discourage
• Ephesians, Epistle to
• Eye
• Fit

Commentaries on Colossians 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings