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OET (OET-LV) The Slaves, be_submitting to_your masters in all things according_to flesh, not with eyeservice as men_pleasing, but in sincerity of_heart, revering the master.
OET (OET-RV) You slaves should submit to your human masters in everything, not just when they’re watching like others do, but sincerely, and so honouring the master.
In this section, Paul continued to instruct the Colossians about the way that they should behave in order to please Christ. In this section, however, he was writing about how they should behave at home rather than within the Christian community. He gave instructions to six types of people: wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and masters. His message was the same for all:
That people should submit to those who had authority over them,
That those who had authority should be considerate toward those under them.
Paul gave instructions to wives in 3:18, to husbands in 3:19, to children in 3:20, to parents in 3:21, to slaves in 3:22, and to masters in 4:1. Make sure you begin each of these verses in the same way.
Theme: Paul gave instructions to slaves and their masters: that slaves should obey their masters and do their work to honor Christ, and that masters should be just and fair in the way they treat their slaves.
This passage is similar to Ephesians 6:5–9. You should compare your translations of these two passages.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything,
¶ Slaves, obey your masters here on earth in everything you do.
¶ You slaves, do all that your human masters tell you to do.
Slaves: See the note on 3:11b. Slaves had no freedom to do what they wanted to do or to go where they wanted to go. They had no possessions of their own and were completely dependent on their owners for everything.
obey…in everything: Paul told slaves to obey their masters in everything. This was the same command he gave to children in 3:20a.
your earthly masters: That is, your human masters. In Greek the same word kurios is used for both “Lord” and “master.” So when Paul told slaves to obey their earthly masters, it also reminded them that they had a heavenly master/Lord also (see 3:24b). Notice that in 4:1b Paul used the phrase “Master in heaven” to refer to Christ.
In 3:22b–c Paul told slaves how and why (in what manner and for what reason) they were to obey their masters. In 3:22b he told them ways they should not behave, and in 3:22c he told them ways they should behave.
not only to please them while they are watching,
Obey them all the time. Do not just obey them when they are watching you and so they will praise you.
Do not only work well when you know that they are watching you and so that they will think well of you.
not only to please them while they are watching: This means that a slave should obey his master not only when the master was watching him, but all the time.
Paul was not saying that it was wrong for a slave to work to please his master, but he meant that pleasing their master should not be the only reason for hard work. He clarifies this in the rest of this verse.
but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.
But work sincerely all the time because you honor the Lord.
But, since you respect the Lord Jesus, serve your master sincerely.
but with sincerity of heart: Slaves should obey and do their work sincerely and honestly, that is, with no hidden motives, not just so their masters will praise them.
fear of the Lord: The BSB translates this Greek word literally as fear. However, you should avoid a translation that means, “because you are afraid of the Lord.” In this context, this Greek word means the respect/awe that a person feels because of how great the Lord is. Because of this, in many languages it is best to translate phrases about “fearing the Lord” as “honoring the Lord,” or “respecting the Lord.”
Lord: Again this refers to the Lord Jesus.
οἱ δοῦλοι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ Δουλοῖ ὑπακούετε κατά παντᾶ τοῖς κατά σάρκα κυρίοις μή ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι ἀλλʼ ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας φοβούμενοι τόν Κύριον)
Here Paul directly addresses the Slaves in the audience. Use a form in your language that indicates that the speaker is singling out a specific group of people as the intended audience of the following words. Alternate translation: [You slaves]
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις
˱to˲_your (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ Δουλοῖ ὑπακούετε κατά παντᾶ τοῖς κατά σάρκα κυρίοις μή ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι ἀλλʼ ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας φοβούμενοι τόν Κύριον)
The phrase according to the flesh describes the masters as humans on this earth. Paul uses this phrase to describe these masters because he is already setting up a contrast with the “Master” over these masters: Jesus (See: [4:1](../04/01.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable idiom or express the idea with an adjective such as “human” or “earthly.” Alternate translation: [your earthly masters] or [your human masters]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τοῖς & κυρίοις
˱to˲_your & masters
Here Paul does not explicitly state that slaves must obey “their own” masters. However, Paul writes this sentence in such a way that the Colossians would have understood him to mean this. The ULT includes your because this is an essential part of what Paul is saying. Use a form in your language that specifies that Paul has each slave’s master in mind. Alternate translation: [your own masters]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
κατὰ πάντα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ Δουλοῖ ὑπακούετε κατά παντᾶ τοῖς κατά σάρκα κυρίοις μή ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι ἀλλʼ ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας φοβούμενοι τόν Κύριον)
Just as in [3:20](../03/20.md), the phrase in all things is an idiom that indicates that slaves should obey “everything their masters command” or “in every situation.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable idiom or indicate what the things are. Alternate translation: [in everything they tell you to do]
Note 4 topic: translate-unknown
μὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλεία
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ Δουλοῖ ὑπακούετε κατά παντᾶ τοῖς κατά σάρκα κυρίοις μή ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι ἀλλʼ ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας φοβούμενοι τόν Κύριον)
The word eyeservice describes how people sometimes behave to look good more than to do the right thing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable expression or a short phrase such as “wanting to look impressive.” Alternate translation: [not focusing on how you appear to others]
Note 5 topic: translate-unknown
ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι
as men_pleasing
The phrase people pleasers describes the kind of people who care about “eyeservice.” Here, people pleasers are those who focus on impressing humans rather than doing what God desires. If it would be helpful in your language, you could emphasize that people pleasers want to please humans only, not God. Alternate translation: [as people who want to please humans rather than God]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας
with in sincerity ˱of˲_heart
Paul here uses the possessive form to describe a heart that is characterized by its sincerity. If your language would not use the possessive form to express that idea, you could express the idea by translating sincerity with an adjective such as “sincere.” Alternate translation: [with a sincere heart]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας
with in sincerity ˱of˲_heart
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind sincerity, you could express the idea by using an adjective such as “sincere” or and adverb such as “sincerely.” Alternate translation: [sincerely in your heart] or [with a sincere heart]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
καρδίας
˱of˲_heart
In Paul’s culture, the heart is the place where a person thinks and desires. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer to the place where humans think in your culture or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [of mind] or [of desire]
Note 9 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον
revering (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ Δουλοῖ ὑπακούετε κατά παντᾶ τοῖς κατά σάρκα κυρίοις μή ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι ἀλλʼ ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας φοβούμενοι τόν Κύριον)
The phrase fearing the Lord could describe: (1) the reason why the slaves should obey their masters. Alternate translation: [because you fear the Lord] (2) the way or manner in which the slaves should obey their masters. Alternate translation: [showing fear for the Lord] or [in a way that shows that you fear the Lord]
3:22-24 Slaves have earthly masters whom they must obey. Slavery was central to the life and economy of the ancient world, and the New Testament never attacks the practice as such. However, Christian faith establishes relationships that change the nature of the social structure (see Phlm 1:15-16).
• and that the Master you are serving is Christ: All Christians, both slave and free, serve a higher Master, whose will is paramount.
OET (OET-LV) The Slaves, be_submitting to_your masters in all things according_to flesh, not with eyeservice as men_pleasing, but in sincerity of_heart, revering the master.
OET (OET-RV) You slaves should submit to your human masters in everything, not just when they’re watching like others do, but sincerely, and so honouring the master.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.