What Does Luke 16:13 Mean?
No household servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and cherish the other, or he will cling to the one and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and the wealth.
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
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 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.
You shall stand in awe of the LORD your God, and serve him, and swear by his nature.No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will hold fast to one and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.Do you not know that to the one you set yourselves beside as servants for hearing and response, his servants you are, the one you hear and respond to; whether of falling short unto death, or of hearing and response unto alignment?THE THREAD
No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will hold fast to one and look down on the other. You 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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