Ephesians 6:7

Christian Standard Bible ®

Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people,

Parallel Translations

King James Version (1611)
With good will doing seruice, as to the Lord, and not to men,

King James Version
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

English Standard Version
rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,

New American Standard Bible
With goodwill render service, as to the Lord, and not to people,

New Century Version
Do your work with enthusiasm. Work as if you were serving the Lord, not as if you were serving only men and women.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men,

Legacy Standard Bible
serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to men,

Berean Standard Bible
Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men,

Contemporary English Version
Gladly serve your masters, as though they were the Lord himself, and not simply people.

Complete Jewish Bible
Work willingly as slaves, as people do who are serving not merely human beings but the Lord.

Darby Translation
serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to men;

Easy-to-Read Version
Do your work, and be happy to do it. Work as though it is the Lord you are serving, not just an earthly master.

Geneva Bible (1587)
With good will, seruing the Lord, and not men.

George Lamsa Translation
And serve well with your whole soul, with love, as to our LORD, and not to men:

Good News Translation
Do your work as slaves cheerfully, as though you served the Lord, and not merely human beings.

Lexham English Bible
serving with goodwill as to the Lord and not to people,

Literal Translation
serving as slaves with good will to the Lord, and not as to men,

Amplified Bible
rendering service with goodwill, as to the Lord, and not [only] to men,

American Standard Version
with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men:

Bible in Basic English
Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men:

Hebrew Names Version
with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men;

International Standard Version
Serve willingly, as if you were serving the Lord and not merely people.as to the Lord and not people">[fn]

Etheridge Translation
And serve them from all your soul, in love, as unto our Lord, and not as unto men;

Murdock Translation
And serve them with your whole heart, in love, as if serving our Lord and not men;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Doyng the wyll of God fro the heart, with good wyll seruyng the Lorde, and not men:

English Revised Version
with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men:

World English Bible
with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men;

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
With good will doing service as unto the Lord, and not to men:

Weymouth's New Testament
With right good will, be faithful to your duty as service rendered to the Lord and not to man.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
with good wille seruynge as to the Lord, and not as to men;

Update Bible Version
with good will serving as slaves, as to the Lord, and not to men:

Webster's Bible Translation
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

New English Translation
Obey with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord and not people,

New King James Version
with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,

New Living Translation
Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

New Life Bible
Be happy as you work. Do your work as for the Lord, not for men.

New Revised Standard
Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
with good will, rendering service - as unto the Lord, and not unto men;

Douay-Rheims Bible
With a good will serving, as to the Lord, and not to men.

Revised Standard Version
rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to men,

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
with good will servinge ye Lorde and not men.

Young's Literal Translation
with good-will serving, as to the Lord, and not to men,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
with good wyll. Thynke that ye serue the LORDE and not me:

Mace New Testament (1729)
serve them with affection, as if it was to the Lord,

Simplified Cowboy Version
Work hard, just as if it were Jesus standing there telling you what to do.

Contextual Overview

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. ²Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, ³so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land. ⁴Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. ⁵Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ. ⁶Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. ⁷Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, ⁸knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. ⁹And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

good: Genesis 31:6, Genesis 31:38-40, 2 Kings 5:2, 2 Kings 5:3, 2 Kings 5:13

as: Ephesians 6:5, Ephesians 6:6, 1 Corinthians 10:31

Reciprocal: Acts 20:19 - Serving Colossians 3:23 - as 1 Peter 2:15 - so

Cross-References

Genesis 6:1
When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them,

Genesis 6:2
the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves.

Genesis 6:3
And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.”

Genesis 6:4
The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.

Genesis 6:20
Two of everything—from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds—will come to you so that you can keep them alive.

Genesis 6:22
And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.

Psalms 37:20
But the wicked will perish;the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,will fade away—they will fade away like smoke.

Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the Lord prolongs life,but the years of the wicked are cut short.

Proverbs 16:4
The Lord has prepared everything for his purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.

Hosea 4:3
For this reason the land mourns,and everyone who lives in it languishes,along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky;even the fish of the sea disappear.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

With good will doing service,.... To their masters; not grudgingly, with an ill will; no otherwise, nor longer than when they are forced to it; but of a ready mind, and with a cheerful spirit, taking delight in their work, and reckoning it a pleasure to serve their masters; as an Israelite that is not sold, who does his work ברצונו, "with his good will", and according to his own mind b; doing what they do

as to the Lord, and not to men; not merely because it is the will of men, and they are commanded by them, and in order to please them, but because it is the will of the Lord, and is wellpleasing in his sight.

b Maimon. Hilchot Abadim, c. 1. sect. 7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

As to the Lord, and not to men - That is, he should regard his lot in life as having been ordered by Divine Providence for some wise and good purpose; and until he may be permitted to enjoy his liberty in a quiet and peaceable manner (notes, 1 Corinthians 7:21), he should perform his duties with fidelity, and feel that he was rendering acceptable service to God. This would reconcile him to much of the hardships of his lot. The feeling that “God” has ordered the circumstances of our lives, and that he has some wise and good ends to answer by it, makes us contented there; though we may feel that our fellowman may be doing us injustice. It was this principle that made the martyrs so patient under the wrongs done them by people; and this may make even a slave patient and submissive under the wrongs of a master. But let not a master think, because a pious slave shows this spirit, that, therefore, the slave feels that the master is right in withholding his freedom; nor let him suppose, because religion requires the slave to be submissive and obedient, that, therefore, it approves of what the master does. It does this no more than it sanctioned the conduct of Nero and Mary, because religion required the martyrs to be unresisting, and to allow themselves to be led to the stake. A conscientious slave may find happiness in submitting to God, and doing his will, just as a conscientious martyr may. But this does not sanction the wrong, either of the slave-owner or of the persecutor.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 7. With good will — μετ ευνοιας. With cheerfulness; do not take up your service as a cross, or bear it as a burden; but take it as coming in the order of God's providence, and a thing that is pleasing to him.