Ephesians 6:9

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Masters, treat your slaves the same way, giving up the use of threats, because you know that both you and they have the same master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Καὶ, οἱ κύριοι, τὰ αὐτὰ ποιεῖτε πρὸς αὐτούς, ἀνιέντες τὴν ἀπειλήν: εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ὁ Κύριός ἐστιν ἐν οὐρανοῖς· καὶ προσωποληψία οὐκ ἔστιν παρʼ αὐτῷ.

Transliteration

And, the kyrioi, the same things poieite pros them, anientes the apeilēn: eidotes that also of you yourselves the Kyrios estin in ouranois; and prosōpolēpsia ouk estin par' him.

Grammar Details

• *kyrioi*: nominative, masculine, plural - masters/lords
• *poieite*: present imperative, 2nd person plural - do/practice [continuous command]
• *pros*: preposition + accusative - toward/to
• *anientes*: present participle, nominative, masculine, plural - giving up/forsaking [continuous action]
• *apeilēn*: accusative, feminine, singular - threatening/threat
• *eidotes*: perfect participle, nominative, masculine, plural - knowing [completed action with continuing results]
• *Kyrios*: nominative, masculine, singular - Lord/Master
• *estin*: present indicative, 3rd person singular - is
• *ouranois*: dative, masculine, plural - heavens
• *prosōpolēpsia*: nominative, feminine, singular - favoritism/partiality
• *ouk estin*: negative + present indicative, 3rd person singular - is not
• *par'*: preposition + dative - with/beside

Word Meanings

• *kyrioi*: masters/lords/owners
• *poieite*: do/practice/perform
• *pros*: toward/to/with regard to
• *anientes*: giving up/forsaking/refraining from
• *apeilēn*: threatening/threat/intimidation
• *eidotes*: knowing/understanding/being aware
• *Kyrios*: Lord/Master [divine title]
• *ouranois*: heavens/sky/celestial realm
• *prosōpolēpsia*: favoritism/partiality/respect of persons

Referenced Verses

• Acts 10:34 : 34 Then Peter started speaking:“I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,
• Col 3:25-4:1 : 25 For the one who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there are no exceptions. 1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.
• Jas 2:8 : 8 But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture,“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
• John 13:13 : 13 You call me‘Teacher’ and‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, for that is what I am.
• Job 31:13-15 : 13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me, 14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes, how will I respond to him? 15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb?
• Deut 10:17 : 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,
• Matt 7:12 : 12 In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.
• Rom 2:11 : 11 For there is no partiality with God.
• 1 Cor 1:2 : 2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
• Luke 6:31 : 31 Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you.
• Luke 12:45-46 : 45 But if that slave should say to himself,‘My master is delayed in returning,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, 46 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
• Lev 19:13 : 13 You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against him. You must not withhold the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning.
• Lev 25:39-46 : 39 “‘If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service. 40 He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner; he must serve with you until the year of jubilee, 41 but then he may go free, he and his children with him, and may return to his family and to the property of his ancestors. 42 Since they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they must not be sold in a slave sale. 43 You must not rule over him harshly, but you must fear your God. 44 “‘As for your male and female slaves who may belong to you– you may buy male and female slaves from the nations all around you. 45 Also you may buy slaves from the children of the foreigners who reside with you, and from their families that are with you, whom they have fathered in your land, they may become your property. 46 You may give them as inheritance to your children after you to possess as property. You may enslave them perpetually. However, as for your brothers the Israelites, no man may rule over his brother harshly.
• 1 Cor 7:22 : 22 For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. In the same way, the one who was called as a free person is Christ’s slave.
• Eph 6:5-7 : 5 Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ, 6 not like those who do their work only when someone is watching– as people-pleasers– but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. 7 Obey with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord and not people,
• Phil 2:10-11 : 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow– in heaven and on earth and under the earth– 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
• Jas 2:13 : 13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.
• Jas 5:4 : 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
• Matt 22:8 : 8 Then he said to his slaves,‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy.
• Matt 22:10 : 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
• Matt 24:48 : 48 But if that evil slave should say to himself,‘My master is staying away a long time,’
• Matt 24:51 : 51 and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
• Deut 15:11-16 : 11 There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land. 12 Release of Debt Slaves If your fellow Hebrew– whether male or female– is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant go free. 13 If you set them free, you must not send them away empty-handed. 14 You must supply them generously from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress– as the LORD your God has blessed you, you must give to them. 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you to do this thing today. 16 However, if the servant says to you,“I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your household, since he is well off with you,
• Deut 24:14-15 : 14 You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. 15 You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
• 1 Sam 15:17 : 17 Samuel said,“Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD chose you as king over Israel.
• Neh 5:5 : 5 And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, and our children are just like their children, still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.”
• Neh 5:8-9 : 8 I said to them,“To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen, so that we can then buy them back!” They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say. 9 Then I said,“The thing that you are doing is wrong! Should you not conduct yourselves in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?
• Job 24:10-12 : 10 They go about naked, without clothing, and go hungry while they carry the sheaves. 11 They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees; they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty. 12 From the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry out for help, but God charges no one with wrongdoing.
• Ps 140:12 : 12 I know that the LORD defends the cause of the oppressed and vindicates the poor.
• Eccl 5:8 : 8 Government Corruption If you see the extortion of the poor, or the perversion of justice and fairness in the government, do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, and there are higher ones over them!
• Isa 47:6 : 6 I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.
• Isa 58:3-6 : 3 They lament,‘Why don’t you notice when we fast? Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’ Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, you oppress your workers. 4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by arguments, brawls, and fistfights. Do not fast as you do today, trying to make your voice heard in heaven. 5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the LORD? 6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. I want you to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed, and to break every burdensome yoke.
• Dan 3:6 : 6 Whoever does not bow down and pay homage will immediately be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire!”
• Dan 3:15 : 15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?”
• Dan 5:19-20 : 19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 20 And when his mind became arrogant and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him.
• Amos 8:4-7 : 4 Listen to this, you who trample the needy, and do away with the destitute in the land. 5 You say,“When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins? We’re eager to sell less for a higher price, and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! 6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy! We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” 7 The LORD confirms this oath by the arrogance of Jacob:“I swear I will never forget all you have done!
• Mal 3:5 : 5 “I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the resident foreigner and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.