What Does Colossians 3:23 Mean?
Whatever you do, work at it from the living soul, as to the Lord and not to humans.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And what soever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;THE KEY
This verse shifts work from performance for human approval to expression from the whole living self, offered to the Lord.
THE MEANING
What you do carries meaning beyond who sees it: it comes from your living soul and is directed toward the Lord. Your work is not measured only by human recognition.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Your work matters only when people notice or reward it.
THE ROOT
ἐκ ψυχῆς
ek psychēs
GROWS FROM
ψυχ-
psych-
living soul, life, the living self
The phrase means “from the living soul”: the verse points to the living self as the source of the work, not merely a mood of enthusiasm. “Heartily” can sound like intensity; the Greek connects the action to the whole person.
ALSO GROWS
psychē: living soul; life
ψυχή
This is the word behind “heartily,” showing that the work flows from the living self.
psychikos: natural; belonging to the soul or living self
ψυχικός
This related form keeps the same connection to the living self, showing that the root reaches beyond a passing feeling.
ἐργάζεσθε
ergazesthe
GROWS FROM
ἐργ-
erg-
work, labor
The verb translated “do it” carries the sense of working or laboring. Joined to “from the living soul,” it links the whole person not just to inward feeling but to the work itself.
ALSO GROWS
ergazomai: work; labor
ἐργάζομαι
This verb shares the work stem and makes clear that the verse concerns the effort itself.
ergon: work; deed
ἔργον
The related noun names the work or deed, connecting the worker’s living self with what is actually done.
THE PATTERN
Work finds its deeper direction in the one before whom it is done, beyond human recognition.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your strength, for there is no work, no reckoning, no knowledge, and no wisdom in the grave, where you go.So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the end that God is given weight.With good will serving, as to the Lord, and not to people.THE THREAD
For what would it help a human if he gained the whole world, and lost his living soul?The word translated “soul” here is the same ψυχή (psychē, living soul) behind “heartily” in Colossians. The connection casts wholehearted work as an expression of the living self, whose worth cannot be measured by human reward.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us