What Does Colossians 4:1 Mean in the King James?
Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The authority that expects service is itself answerable to a higher Master, so fairness is built into the structure of command.
THE MEANING
Where you hold authority over another, you also stand under authority in heaven. The verse names what those under you are owed as both right and equal treatment, so their status does not make arbitrary treatment just. The measure of your power lies in what is due.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that holding power makes its use self-justifying is undone: the one who commands also answers to a Master in heaven.
THE ROOT
κύριοι
kyrioi
GROWS FROM
κυρι-
kyri-
The Greek word family for a lord or master, one who holds authority.
“Masters / Master” in this verse is kyrioi. Greek uses the same word family for the human masters and their Master in heaven. Authority is real, but the wording places it under a greater authority; it is never ultimate or unanswerable.
ALSO GROWS
kyrieuō: to rule or exercise lordship
κυριεύω
It shows the action of exercising authority that this verse places under heavenly accountability.
kyriotēs: lordship, dominion
κυριότης
It names the authority shared by the human masters and the Master above them.
ἰσότητα
isotēta
GROWS FROM
ἴσος
isos
Equal, the same in measure.
“equal” in this verse is isotēta. The word gives equality its own weight beside what is just: what is due must also be measured fairly. The verse makes fair treatment part of the obligation within the relationship.
ALSO GROWS
isos: equal, the same
ἴσος
It carries the sense of a shared measure into the command to give what is equal.
isotimos: equal in honor or value
ἰσότιμος
It shows the word family can describe equality in worth, deepening the force of equitable treatment.
δίκαιον
dikaion
GROWS FROM
δικ-
dik-
Right, justice, what is due.
The Greek family of “just” includes dikaiosynē, which carries the sense of alignment. Paired with “equal,” the verse describes treatment that is aligned with what is due, not simply what authority permits.
ALSO GROWS
dikē: justice, what is right
δίκη
It gives the word its grounding in right order and what is due.
dikaiosynē: alignment, righteousness
δικαιοσύνη
It reveals justice as alignment with what is right, the measure governing the treatment named here.
dikaioō: to set right or declare right
δικαιόω
It shows the same word family reaching toward what is made or recognized as right.
THE PATTERN
Justice places every exercise of power under an impartial measure.
For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.THE THREAD
And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.Ephesians uses the same Greek word kyrios (κύριος, master/lord) for earthly masters and the Master in heaven. It also says that this heavenly Master shows no partiality, making the accountability named here explicit.
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