What Does The Bible Say About?

Slavery

100 Verses|| 200,647 Engagements

What Does The Bible Say About Slavery

Colossians 4:1

5,941 helpful votes

Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

Exodus 21:16

5,764 helpful votes

Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession.

Ephesians 6:5

5,410 helpful votes

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

Leviticus 25:44-46

4,881 helpful votes

Your menservants and maidservants shall come from the nations around you, from whom you may purchase them. You may also purchase them from the foreigners residing among you or their clans living among you who are born in your land. These may become your property. You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.

Galatians 5:1

4,790 helpful votes

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

Exodus 21:20-21

4,721 helpful votes

If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished. However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property.

Galatians 3:28

4,609 helpful votes

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 2:18

4,265 helpful votes

Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable.

Titus 2:9-10

4,244 helpful votes

Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.

Philemon 1:16

3,979 helpful votes

no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.

Exodus 21:26-27

3,441 helpful votes

If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye. And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.

Ephesians 6:9

3,374 helpful votes

And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

Luke 4:18

3,363 helpful votes

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,

Exodus 21:2

3,255 helpful votes

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.

Exodus 21:1-36

3,160 helpful votes

“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them: If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything. If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ . . .

1 Timothy 6:1

3,100 helpful votes

All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as fully worthy of honor, so that God’s name and our teaching will not be discredited.

Deuteronomy 23:15

3,011 helpful votes

Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you.

1 Peter 2:16

2,947 helpful votes

Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

1 Timothy 6:1-2

2,835 helpful votes

All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as fully worthy of honor, so that God’s name and our teaching will not be discredited. Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.

Deuteronomy 24:7

2,822 helpful votes

If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.

1 Timothy 1:10

2,625 helpful votes

for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

1 Corinthians 7:21

2,472 helpful votes

Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity.

Colossians 3:22

2,469 helpful votes

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.

Exodus 21:2-6

2,392 helpful votes

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything. If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

Luke 12:47-48

2,316 helpful votes

That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows. But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

Ephesians 6:5-8

2,293 helpful votes

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

John 8:34

2,227 helpful votes

Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

Exodus 21:32

2,188 helpful votes

If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.

Ephesians 6:5-9

2,148 helpful votes

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

Proverbs 22:16

2,138 helpful votes

Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.

Deuteronomy 5:15

2,130 helpful votes

Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Exodus 21:7

2,119 helpful votes

And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.

Exodus 21:7-11

2,117 helpful votes

And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do. If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her. And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.

Romans 1:1

2,115 helpful votes

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

Exodus 21:20

2,098 helpful votes

If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.

Leviticus 25:44

2,073 helpful votes

Your menservants and maidservants shall come from the nations around you, from whom you may purchase them.

1 Corinthians 12:13

2,060 helpful votes

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

Romans 8:15

2,028 helpful votes

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Leviticus 25:1-55

2,015 helpful votes

Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD. For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops. But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard. You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. . . .

Proverbs 12:24

1,956 helpful votes

The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.

Leviticus 25:39

1,954 helpful votes

If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.

Romans 6:22

1,924 helpful votes

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.

John 8:36

1,881 helpful votes

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Isaiah 58:6

1,795 helpful votes

Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?

Deuteronomy 15:12-18

1,787 helpful votes

If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free. And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. You are to furnish him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today. But if your servant says to you, ‘I do not want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and is well off with you, . . .

Proverbs 22:7

1,785 helpful votes

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

Deuteronomy 15:12

1,722 helpful votes

If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.

Genesis 9:25

1,714 helpful votes

he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

Acts 17:26

1,674 helpful votes

From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.

1 Corinthians 7:21-23

1,653 helpful votes

Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

Deuteronomy 23:15-16

1,652 helpful votes

Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you. Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.

Galatians 3:28-29

1,573 helpful votes

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

Romans 6:5-6

1,570 helpful votes

For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

Leviticus 25:43

1,556 helpful votes

You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.

Titus 2:9

1,508 helpful votes

Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,

Genesis 1:27

1,418 helpful votes

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Deuteronomy 15:12-15

1,394 helpful votes

If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free. And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. You are to furnish him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.

Luke 16:13

1,389 helpful votes

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Deuteronomy 21:10-14

1,355 helpful votes

When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand and you take them captive, if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife, then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails, and put aside the clothing of her captivity. After she has lived in your house a full month and mourned her father and mother, you may have relations with her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

Matthew 6:24

1,349 helpful votes

No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Genesis 15:13-14

1,341 helpful votes

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.

Leviticus 19:20

1,321 helpful votes

If a man lies carnally with a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. But they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.

1 Timothy 1:9-10

1,312 helpful votes

We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

Exodus 21:18-21

1,295 helpful votes

If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed, then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed. If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished. However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property.

Colossians 3:22-24

1,265 helpful votes

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men, because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Exodus 22:3

1,264 helpful votes

But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft.

Ephesians 6:6

1,251 helpful votes

And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

Exodus 21:12

1,244 helpful votes

Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:8

1,238 helpful votes

If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.

Jeremiah 34:14

1,206 helpful votes

Every seventh year, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free. But your fathers did not listen or incline their ear.

Matthew 25:46

1,186 helpful votes

And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Leviticus 19:33-34

1,182 helpful votes

When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him. You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

Luke 12:43-48

1,181 helpful votes

Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows. . . .

Exodus 20:1-26

1,177 helpful votes

And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, . . .

Exodus 21:4

1,157 helpful votes

If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

Leviticus 25:38-46

1,154 helpful votes

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor. Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers. Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. . . .

Matthew 10:24

1,137 helpful votes

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

Colossians 3:11

1,116 helpful votes

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

Leviticus 25:46

1,112 helpful votes

You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.

Leviticus 19:20-22

1,111 helpful votes

If a man lies carnally with a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. But they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting as his guilt offering to the LORD. The priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven the sin he has committed.

Romans 1:30

1,091 helpful votes

slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.

Jeremiah 34:9

1,084 helpful votes

that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage.

Leviticus 25:53

1,078 helpful votes

He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight.

Exodus 3:1-15:27

1,072 helpful votes

Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered. “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” . . .

Deuteronomy 15:16-17

1,071 helpful votes

But if your servant says to you, ‘I do not want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and is well off with you, then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way.

Matthew 20:26-27

1,071 helpful votes

It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—

Genesis 4:1-26

1,066 helpful votes

And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said. Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. . . .

Exodus 21:1

1,063 helpful votes

“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:

Genesis 11:1-32

1,022 helpful votes

Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.” Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. . . .

Exodus 20:10

1,020 helpful votes

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.

Deuteronomy 13:5

1,002 helpful votes

Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 20:14

1,000 helpful votes

But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.

Luke 7:1-10

996 helpful votes

When Jesus had concluded His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. There a highly valued servant of a centurion was sick and about to die. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask Him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and pleaded with Him earnestly, “This man is worthy to have You grant this, for he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” . . .

Colossians 3:12

977 helpful votes

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Exodus 22:2-3

977 helpful votes

If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed. But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft.

Exodus 21:6

974 helpful votes

then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

Revelation 1:1-20

840 helpful votes

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near. John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, . . .

Exodus 21:11

837 helpful votes

If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.

Exodus 21:1-4

816 helpful votes

“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them: If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything. If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

1 Corinthians 6:12

796 helpful votes

“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.

Suggest a verse for topic "Slavery"

If you have an additional reference verse for "Slavery" please enter it below.

e.g. John 10:28 or John 10:28-30

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z