τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις, μὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι, ἀλλ’ ἐν
ἁπλότητι καρδίας, φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον. ^{23}ὃ ἐὰν ποιῆτε, ἐκ ψυχῆς
ἐργάζεσθε ὡς
22. ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείαις.
22.–iv. 1. ‘Ye slaves, be obedient in all things to the masters set over
you in the flesh, not rendering them service only when their eyes are
upon you, as aiming merely to please men, but serving in all sincerity
of heart, as living in the sight of God and standing in awe of Him. And
in every thing that ye do, work faithfully and with all your soul, as
labouring not for men, but for the great Lord and Master Himself;
knowing that ye have a Master, from whom ye will receive the glorious
inheritance as your recompense, whether or not ye may be defrauded of
your due by men. Yes, Christ is your Master and ye are his slaves. He
that does a wrong shall be requited for his wrong-doing. I say not this
of slaves only, but of masters also. There is no partiality, no respect
of persons, in God’s distribution of rewards and punishments. Therefore,
ye masters, do ye also on your part deal justly and equitably by your
slaves, knowing that ye too have a Master in heaven’.
22. Οἱ δοῦλοι] The relations of masters and slaves, both here and in the
companion epistle (Ephes. vi. 5–9), are treated at greater length than
is usual with St Paul. Here especially the expansion of this topic,
compared with the brief space assigned to the duties of wives and
husbands (vv. 18, 19), or of children and parents (vv. 20, 21), deserves
to be noticed. The fact is explained by a contemporary incident in the
Apostle’s private life. His intercourse with Onesimus had turned his
thoughts in this direction. See above, p. 33, and the introduction to
the Epistle to Philemon: comp. also the note on ver. 11.
ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ] ‘_eye-service_’, as Ephes. vi. 6: comp. _Apost. Const._
iv. 12 μὴ ὡς ὀφθαλμόδουλος ἀλλ’ ὡς φιλοδέσποτος. This happy expression
would seem to be the Apostle’s own coinage. At least there are no traces
of it earlier. Compare ἐθελοθρησκεία ii. 23. The reading ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ
is better supported than ὀφθαλμοδουλείαις, though the plural is rendered
slightly more probable in itself by its greater difficulty.
ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι] again in Ephes. vi. 6. It is a LXX word, Ps. lii. 6,
where the Greek entirely departs from the Hebrew: comp. also
ἀνθρωπαρεσκεῖν Ign. _Rom._ 2, ἀνθρωπαρέσκεια Justin _Apol._ i. 2 (p. 53
E). So ὀχλοαρέσκης or ὀχλόαρεσκος, Timo Phlias. in Diog. Laert. iv. 42
(vv. 11.).
ἁπλότητι καρδίας] as in Ephes. vi. 5, i.e. ‘with _undivided_ service’; a
LXX expression, 1 Chron. xxix. 17, Wisd. i. 1.
τὸν Κύριον] ‘_the_ one _Lord_ and Master’, as contrasted with τοῖς κατὰ
σάρκα κυρίοις: the idea being carried out in the following verses. The
received text, by substituting τὸν Θεόν, blunts the edge of the
contrast.