Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Colossians 3:25 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 25. 25But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The wrongdoer will receive for the wrong done, because God's judgment shows no favoritism.
Read It With
- Colossians 3:18-4:1
Read Colossians 3:18-4:1 as a complete movement. The letter addresses less-powerful and more-powerful members of an ancient patriarchal slaveholding household under the Lord, forbidding bitterness and child-discouragement, dignifying enslaved workers' moral agency, warning wrongdoers of impartial judgment, and requiring masters to provide justice and equality under their heavenly Master. At 3:25, focus on this verse's contribution: The wrongdoer will receive for the wrong done, because God's judgment shows no favoritism.
Why This Verse Appears Here
At 3:25, this verse advances Colossians 3:18-4:1 with this contribution: The wrongdoer will receive for the wrong done, because God's judgment shows no favoritism.
Read Colossians 3:18–4:1 together
Why these verses belong together: Wives/husbands, children/fathers, and enslaved people/masters are paired under the Lord, with 4:1 completing the master address.
Verse 18. 18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
Verse 19. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Verse 20. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
Verse 21. 21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
Verse 22. 22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
Verse 23. 23 And what soever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Verse 24. 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Verse 25. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
Verse 1. 1 Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
Follow the Context
- Wives and husbands are addressed with submission bounded 'in the Lord' and a command to love without bitterness.
- Children and fathers are addressed with obedience and a prohibition against provoking and discouraging children.
- Enslaved people receive an extended Lord-centered address, wrongdoers face impartial judgment, and masters must give what is just and equal because they too answer to a heavenly Master.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“no respect of persons”
In plain language: There is no favoritism based on status.
The warning bridges from the slave address to the master command in 4:1 and can confront powerful wrongdoers.
Why it matters: It keeps accountability from flowing only downward.
How certain? strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Impartial judgment does not authorize private vengeance, collective punishment, or presuming the verse targets only enslaved people.
What Remains True
Neither low status nor high status hides wrongdoing from the impartial Lord.
How It Can Shape Life
- Apply accountability to owners, leaders, parents, husbands, and institutions as rigorously as to those with less power.
Teach It Back
Explain Colossians 3:25's exact contribution to Colossians 3:18-4:1. Include its role in the argument, one material wording or alternative, one uncertainty where present, and what this verse does not permit.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Colossians 3:18-4:1 — Household Instructions Place Every Role under the LordSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The immediate grammatical target of the wrongdoer is debated; the no-favoritism principle refuses status exemption.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup for Colossians 3:18-4:1.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Colossians 3:18-4:1; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Exact location: Official Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Col.txt, Colossians 3:18-4:1.
Open the Colossians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - Colossians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
Exact location: NET Bible official Colossians chapter 3 and chapter 4, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Colossians 3:18-4:1.
Open NET Colossians 3 notesmodern open commentary
Colossians
Alistair I. Wilson
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: A current pro-Pauline commentary check on literary flow, theology, pastoral purpose, and major interpretations.
Exact location: Alistair I. Wilson, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “Colossians,” TGC Ethical Instructions 3:18-4:1.
Open source ↗modern annotated new testament
Colossians introduction and annotations in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Peter Zaas; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Oxford University Press, 2011
Supports: A modern historical-critical and Jewish-context check on authorship, setting, calendar, ethics, slavery, and textual questions.
Exact location: Peter Zaas, “Colossians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print pp. 370-371.
Open source ↗peer reviewed article abstract
Slavery, Sexuality and House Churches: A Reassessment of Colossians 3:18-4:1 in Light of New Research on the Roman Family
Margaret Y. MacDonald
New Testament Studies 53.1, 2007
Supports: Only the abstract's stated importance of Roman family complexity, slave vulnerability, sexual treatment, and believing/non-believing household configurations.
Exact location: Margaret Y. MacDonald, ‘Slavery, Sexuality and House Churches,’ New Testament Studies 53.1 (2007), publisher abstract and metadata for pp. 94-113 only.
Open source ↗peer reviewed review article abstract
Reading the New Testament Household Codes in Light of New Research on Children and Childhood in the Roman World
Margaret Y. MacDonald
Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses 41.3, 2012
Supports: Only the abstract's stated relevance of childhood research, overlapping free/slave identities, and household education.
Exact location: Margaret Y. MacDonald, ‘Reading the New Testament Household Codes,’ Studies in Religion 41.3 (2012), publisher abstract and metadata for pp. 376-387 only.
Open source ↗