Colossians 3:23

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
what	τι ti	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — accusative singular neuter
soever	πᾶν pan	G3956	all · adjective — accusative singular neuter
do	ποιῆτε, poiēte	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — present active subjunctive, 2nd person plural
do	ἐργάζεσθε ergazesthe	G2038	to toil (as a task · verb — present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person plural
heartily	ψυχῆς psuchēs	G5590	breath · noun — genitive singular feminine
as	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
Lord	κυρίῳ kuriō	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — dative singular masculine, a title
and	καί kaí	G2532	and
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
men	ἀνθρώποις· anthrōpois	G444	from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — dative plural masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Colossians 3:17 And what soever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Ephesians 6:6-7 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
2 Chronicles 31:21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with…
Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither…
1 Peter 2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
Psalms 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Colossians 3:18–end

The apostle concludes the chapter with exhortations to relative duties, as before in the epistle to the Ephesians. The epistles which are most taken up in displaying the glory of divine grace, and magnifying the Lord Jesus, are the most particular and distinct in pressing the duties of the several relations. We must never separate the privileges and duties of the gospel religion. I. He begins with the duties of wives and husbands (Col 3:18): Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Submission is the duty of wives, hupotassesthe. It is the same word which is used to express our duty to magistrates (Rom 13:1, Let every soul be subject to the higher powers), an…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Colossians 3:23

And--omitted in the oldest manuscripts (compare Eph 6:7-8). Compare the same principle in the case of all men, Hezekiah (Ch2 31:21; Rom 12:11). do, do it--two distinct Greek verbs, "Whatsoever ye do, work at it" (or "labor at" it). heartily--not from servile constraint, but with hearty good will.

Adam Clarke on Colossians 3:22

Servants, obey - See on Eph 6:5-8 (note).

John Gill on Colossians 3:23

And whatsoever ye do,.... Some have thought that these words, and the two following verses, regard the Colossians in general, and the performance of any, and all good works by them; but by their connection with the preceding verse, and with the beginning of the next chapter, they appear to concern servants only, and what they do under that character, and under the discharge of their duty: do it heartily, not by mere force and necessity, grudgingly, and with murmurings, but from the heart, and with good will, having a true, real, and hearty affection for their masters, having their good and interest at heart, and a delight in their service; like the Hebrew servant, that loved his master, as…

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The Church Fathers

He desires to have them freed not only from hypocrisy, but also from slothfulness. He hath made them instead of slaves free, when they need not the superintendence of their master for the expression "heartily" means this, "with good will," not with a slavish necessity, but with freedom, and of choice. And what is the reward?
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 10

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Commandments · PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES — PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES
Integrity · 3:13,14;6:31;11:42;16:10; — 3:13,14;6:31;11:42;16:10;
Servants · Should serve: Heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men — Should serve: Heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Colossians 3:23

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Colossians 3:18–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Colossians 3:23

Adam Clarke on Colossians 3:22

John Gill on Colossians 3:23

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Colossians 3:23

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Colossians 3:18–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Colossians 3:23

Adam Clarke on Colossians 3:22

John Gill on Colossians 3:23

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Colossians 3:18–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Colossians 3:22-24