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Ephesians 6:5–9, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Ephesians 6:5–9
Enslaved People and Masters Before One Lord
This household word is not a charter for slavery as a modern institution.
Paul addresses enslaved people / slaves and slaveholders inside Greco-Roman slavery, an unjust Roman system he does not baptize as God's ideal. Translating it as modern 'employees' hides the coercive ancient institution. Service is rendered as to Christ. Masters are told to stop threatening, because they and the enslaved have the same Lord in heaven, and there is no partiality with him. The pressure in the passage runs against terror and against the lie that some people are lesser.
The passage does not call slavery good, does not declare slavery morally good, and does not justify race-based chattel slavery. Do not use this text to defend enslavement, racial hierarchy, labor exploitation, or a boss's claimed right to own a person's body. Where a practice is bondage or abuse, seek the other's freedom and dignity.
The same Lord stands over the one who holds power.
If you have power over another person's work, pay, or housing, you are under the same Master. Threats, humiliation, and stolen wages are not Christian order.
Obey Christ by refusing to treat a worker as property. There is no partiality with him.
How this should shape us
Do not quote this at a modern worker, tenant, or trafficked person as if God authorized owning them. If you hold pay, housing, or a schedule, drop threats and seek the other's freedom and dignity, because you share the same Lord.
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Explain Ephesians 6:5–9 in your own words. Include what came before, why this section appears here, the main movement, and one interpretation the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact KJV wording and immediate English context for Ephesians 6:5–9.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Ephesians 6; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and sentence relationships used to check the passage.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Eph.txt, Ephesians 6, verses within Ephesians 6:5–9.
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants checked for this passage.
NET Bible, Ephesians 6, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Ephesians 6:5–9.
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, older interpretive options, and passage boundaries tested against primary evidence and newer research.
T. K. Abbott, Ephesians, pp. 214–224.
Supports: A cross-check of Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for reader-facing word notes.
STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Ephesians 6, verses within Ephesians 6:5–9.
Supports: The ancient master-slave relation and the need to avoid silently recasting enslaved people as modern employees.
Olubiyi A. Adewale, Domestic workers in Nigerian Christian families, sections on the Graeco-Roman household code and Ephesians 6:5–9.
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
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 KJV wording and immediate English context for Ephesians 6:5–9.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Ephesians 6; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the 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 and sentence relationships used to check the passage.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Eph.txt, Ephesians 6, verses within Ephesians 6:5–9.
Open the Ephesians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Ephesians with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants checked for this passage.
Exact location: NET Bible, Ephesians 6, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Ephesians 6:5–9.
Open NET Ephesians 6 ↗public domain critical commentary
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians
T. K. Abbott
T. & T. Clark, 1897
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, older interpretive options, and passage boundaries tested against primary evidence and newer research.
Exact location: T. K. Abbott, Ephesians, pp. 214–224.
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A cross-check of Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for reader-facing word notes.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Ephesians 6, verses within Ephesians 6:5–9.
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access contextual study
Domestic workers in Nigerian Christian families: A socio-rhetorical reading of Ephesians 6:5–9
Olubiyi A. Adewale
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 78.3, 2022
Supports: The ancient master-slave relation and the need to avoid silently recasting enslaved people as modern employees.
Exact location: Olubiyi A. Adewale, Domestic workers in Nigerian Christian families, sections on the Graeco-Roman household code and Ephesians 6:5–9.
Open source ↗