Ephesians 6 · Verse 7

Ephesians 6:7

With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

Ephesians 6:7, King James Version

Ephesians 6:7 in other translations

BSB	Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men,
WEB	with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men,
ASV	with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men:
YLT	with good-will serving, as to the Lord, and not to men,
DARBY	serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to men;
BBE	Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men:
Webster	With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

What does Ephesians 6:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

7. good will--expressing his feeling towards his master; as "doing the will of God from the heart" expresses the source of that feeling (Col 3:23). "Good will" is stated by Xenophon [Economics] to be the principal virtue of a slave towards his master: a real regard to his master's interest as if his own, a good will which not even a master's severity can extinguish.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 7. As to the Lord, and not to men. That is, he should regard his lot in life as having been ordered by Divine Providence for some wise and good purpose; and, until he may be permitted to enjoy his liberty in a quiet and peaceable manner, 1Cor 7:21, he should perform his duties with fidelity, and feel that he was rendering acceptable service to God. This would reconcile him to much of the hardships of his lot. The feeling that God has ordered the circumstances of our lives, and that he has some wise and good ends to answer by it, makes us contented there; though we may feel that our fellow-man may be doing us injustice. It was this principle that made the martyrs so patient under the wrongs done them by men; and this may make even a slave patient and submissive under the wrongs of a master. But let not a master think, because a pious slave shows this spirit, that therefore the slave feels that the master is right in withholding his freedom; nor let him suppose, because religion requires the slave to be submissive and obedient, that therefore it approves of what the master does. It does this no more than it sanctioned the conduct of Nero and Mary, because religion required the martyrs to be unresisting, and to allow themselves to be led to the stake. A conscientious slave may find happiness in submitting to God, and doing his will, just as a conscientious martyr may. But this does not sanction the wrong, either of the slave-owner or of the persecutor.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 7 With good will - Μετ' ευνοιας· With cheerfulness; do not take up your service as a cross, or bear it as a burden; but take it as coming in the order of God's providence, and a thing that is pleasing to him.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ephesians 6:5-9

The duty of servants is summed up in one word, obedience. The servants of old were generally slaves. The apostles were to teach servants and masters their duties, in doing which evils would be lessened, till slavery should be rooted out by the influence of Christianity. Servants are to reverence those over them. They are to be sincere; not pretending obedience when they mean to disobey, but serving faithfully. And…

Read the full comment on Ephesians 6:5-9 →

Ephesians 6:7 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

μετ᾽met᾽withG3326

εὐνοίαςeunoiasgood willG2133

δουλεύοντεςdouleuontesrendering serviceG1398

ὡςhōsasG5613

τῷtōto theG3588

κυρίῳkuriōLordG2962

καὶkaiandG2532

οὐκouknotG3756

ἀνθρώποις,anthrōpoisto men,G444

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ephesians 6:7

Colossians 3:23
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
1 Corinthians 10:31
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Ephesians 6:5-6
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
2 Kings 5:13
And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
Genesis 31:38-40
This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
2 Kings 5:2-3
And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
Genesis 31:6
And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

good.
Ge 31:6,38-40; 2Ki 5:2,3,13
as.
5,6; 1Co 10:31

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Ephesians 6:6
Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
Ephesians 6:7
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
Ephesians 6:8
Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Read all of Ephesians 6

Ephesians 6:7 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Sirviendo con buena voluntad, como al Señor, y no á los hombres;
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	servant joyeusement, comme asservis au Seigneur et non pas aux hommes,
German Elberfelder 1871	und mit Gutwilligkeit dienet, als dem Herrn und nicht den Menschen,
Latin Clementine Vulgate	cum bona voluntate servientes, sicut Domino, et non hominibus: