What Does Luke 16:13 Mean in the King James?
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
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
You cannot divide your allegiance because what you serve becomes your master.
THE MEANING
Your deepest allegiance cannot be split between God and wealth as rival authorities. Whatever you treat as master shapes what you love and what you turn away from.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that wealth can remain a neutral possession even while it governs your trust and choices.
THE ROOT
δουλεύειν
douleuein
GROWS FROM
δουλ-
doul-
The Greek word family of δοῦλος (doulos), a slave or bonded servant; serving carries the sense of belonging to a master.
“serve” in this verse is douleuein. The verse uses the same word family for the servant and the act of serving: role and action share one seed. That makes the warning about more than handling money; it is about which master claims a person’s allegiance.
ALSO GROWS
doulos: slave, servant
δοῦλος
This is the noun for the servant in the verse, linking the person’s status to the act of serving.
douleia: slavery, bondage
δουλεία
This branch shows the condition beneath the service: allegiance can bind a person to a master.
THE PATTERN
The one a person yields to becomes the authority whose way they serve.
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?THE THREAD
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.Matthew uses the same Greek word family for “serve,” rooted in δοῦλος (doulos), meaning “slave” or “servant.” The shared root makes the force visible: mammon is not merely something possessed; it can become a master whose claim binds its servant.
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