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Monday, July 7th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Matthew 23:11

Whoever serves you like a servant is the greatest among you.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Deacon;   Hypocrisy;   Man;   Minister, Christian;   Pharisees;   Pride;   Satire;   Teachers;   Thompson Chain Reference - Greatness, God's;   Honour-Dishonour;   True Greatness;   The Topic Concordance - Greatness;   Servants;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Ambition;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Pharisees;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Father;   Matthew, gospel of;   Servant;   Tradition;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Anger;   Greatness;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Supralapsarians;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Matthew, the Gospel of;   Salutation;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Deacon;   Hypocrite;   Judas Iscariot;   Scribes;   Sin;   Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Ambition;   Courage;   Discipleship;   Discourse;   Doctrines;   Equality;   Error;   Greatness;   Guest;   Head ;   Humility;   Law of God;   Minister, Ministration;   Paradox;   Sanctify, Sanctification;   Winter ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Pharisee;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Scribe;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Great;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Peter, Simon;   Washing of Feet;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The greatest among you will be your servant.
King James Version (1611)
But hee that is greatest among you, shall be your seruant.
King James Version
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
English Standard Version
The greatest among you shall be your servant.
New American Standard Bible
"But the greatest of you shall be your servant.
New Century Version
Whoever is your servant is the greatest among you.
Amplified Bible
"But the greatest among you will be your servant.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
Legacy Standard Bible
But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
Berean Standard Bible
The greatest among you shall be your servant.
Contemporary English Version
Whoever is the greatest should be the servant of the others.
Complete Jewish Bible
The greatest among you must be your servant,
Darby Translation
But the greatest of you shall be your servant.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But he that is greatest among you, let him be your seruant.
George Lamsa Translation
But he who is greatest among you, let him be your minister.
Good News Translation
The greatest one among you must be your servant.
Lexham English Bible
And the greatest among you will be your servant.
Literal Translation
But the greater of you shall be your servant.
American Standard Version
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Bible in Basic English
But let the greatest among you be your servant.
Hebrew Names Version
But he who is greatest among you will be your servant.
International Standard Version
The person who is greatest among you must be your servant.Matthew 20:26-27;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
But he who is great among you, let him be your servitor.
Murdock Translation
And the great one among you will be your servitor.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
He that is greatest among you, shalbe your seruaunt.
English Revised Version
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
World English Bible
But he who is greatest among you will be your servant.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Weymouth's New Testament
He who is the greatest among you shall be your servant;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He that is grettest among you, schal be youre mynystre.
Update Bible Version
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Webster's Bible Translation
But he that is greatest among you, shall be your servant.
New English Translation
The greatest among you will be your servant.
New King James Version
But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
New Living Translation
The greatest among you must be a servant.
New Life Bible
"He who is greatest among you will be the one to care for you.
New Revised Standard
The greatest among you will be your servant.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, the greatest of you, shall be to you, a minister;
Douay-Rheims Bible
He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant.
Revised Standard Version
He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
He that is greatest amoge you shalbe youre seruaunte.
Young's Literal Translation
And the greater of you shall be your ministrant,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He that is greatest amoge you, shalbe youre seruaunt.
Mace New Testament (1729)
he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
THE MESSAGE
"Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.
Simplified Cowboy Version
The one who is the top hand among you will be your servant who works like a pack mule.

Contextual Overview

1 Then Jesus spoke to the people and to his followers. He said, 2 "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the Law of Moses says. 3 So you should obey them. Do everything they tell you to do. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don't do those things themselves. 4 They make strict rules that are hard for people to obey. They try to force others to obey all their rules. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules. 5 "The only reason they do what they do is for other people to see them. They make the little Scripture boxes they wear bigger and bigger. And they make the tassels on their prayer clothes long enough for people to notice them. 6 These men love to have the places of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues. 7 They love for people to show respect to them in the marketplaces and to call them ‘Teacher.' 8 "But you must not be called ‘Teacher.' You are all equal as brothers and sisters. You have only one Teacher. 9 And don't call anyone on earth ‘Father.' You have one Father. He is in heaven. 10 And you should not be called ‘Master.' You have only one Master, the Messiah.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Matthew 20:26, Matthew 20:27, Mark 10:43, Mark 10:44, Luke 22:26, Luke 22:27, John 13:14, John 13:15, 1 Corinthians 9:19, 2 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 11:23, Galatians 5:13, Philippians 2:5-8

Reciprocal: Matthew 18:1 - Who Matthew 18:4 - humble Luke 9:48 - he that

Cross-References

Genesis 23:6
"Sir, you are a great leader among us. You can have the best place we have to bury your dead. You can have any of our burying places that you want. None of us will stop you from burying your wife there."
Genesis 23:7
Abraham got up and bowed to the people.
Genesis 23:12
Abraham bowed before the Hittites.
Genesis 23:20
Abraham bought the field and the cave in it from the Hittites. So this became his property to be used as a burial place.
Numbers 35:30
"A killer should be put to death as a murderer only if there are witnesses. No one can be put to death if there is only one witness.
Deuteronomy 17:6
But no one should be punished with death if only one witness says that person did that evil thing. But if two or three witnesses say it is true, the person must be killed.
Deuteronomy 19:15
"If someone is accused of doing something against the law, one witness is not enough to prove that the person is guilty. There must be two or three witnesses to prove that the person really did wrong.
Ruth 4:1
Boaz went to the place where people gather near the city gates. He sat there until the close relative he had told Ruth about passed by. Boaz called to him, "Come and sit here, friend."
Ruth 4:4
I decided to tell you about this in front of the people living here and in front of the elders of our people. If you want to pay the widow for the land and keep it in the family, then pay her for it. If you don't want to buy the land, tell me, because I am the next one in the family who has the right to buy it. If you don't buy the land from her, I will." Naomi's closest relative said, "I will buy the land from her."
Ruth 4:9
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But he that is greatest among you,.... Either who really is so, having more grace, and greater gifts bestowed upon him, than others; which doubtless was the case of some of the disciples, or who desired to be the greatest, was ambitious of, and affected a superiority over others, and to be in the highest post and place, as it is certain some of them did. This was what they were often contending about among themselves, who should be greatest: and Christ here seems to have regard to that vain spirit, which appeared among them; and his view is, to check and restrain it: "shall be your servant"; or "let him be your servant". Service is the way to honour; he that would be most esteemed ought to do the most work; and the man that has the most grace, and the greatest gifts, ought to employ them for the use and benefit of others;

:-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 20:26.

He that shall humble himself ... - God will exalt or honor him that is humble, and that seeks a lowly place among people. That is true religion, and God will reward it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 23:11. Your servant. — διακονος, deacon. See on Matthew 20:26.


 
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