Colossians 4.1

type: passage created: 2026-05-06 updated: 2026-05-06 book: Colossians chapter: 4 verses: "1" translation_default: ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT tags: [scripture] citation_count: 1 enriched: false

Quoted in

• Biblical Slavery Objection Defeater
• G5219 - hypakouo
• Israelite Slavery Possession-vs-Ownership Defeater
• Philemon 16

Colossians 4.1

Book: Colossians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Masters, render unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven."

"2. Continue stedfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving; 3. withal praying for us also, that God may open unto us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds;" (Colossians 4:1-3, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven."

"2. Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving; 3. praying together for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds;" (Colossians 4:1-3, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven."

"2. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; 3. Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:" (Colossians 4:1-3, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. The masters! that which is righteous and equal to the servants give ye, having known that ye also have a Master in the heavens."

"2. In the prayer continue ye, watching in it in thanksgiving; 3. praying at the same time also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the secret of the Christ, because of which also I have been bound," (Colossians 4:1-3, YLT)

Setting

• Speaker: Paul the Apostle (imprisonment) + Timothy
• Audience: Christian believers in Colossae (Asia Minor)
• Location: composed during Roman imprisonment
• Time period: composed c. AD 60-62

Theological reading

Key words

• G1342 - dikaios, dikaios (Strong's G1342). Also appears in: Matthew 1, Matthew 9.13, Matthew 23.
• G1401 - doulos, doulos (Strong's G1401). Also appears in: Matthew 8.5-12, Matthew 18.23-35, Matthew 20.25-28.
• G2962 - kyrios, kyrios (Strong's G2962). Also appears in: Matthew 1.20, Matthew 1, Matthew 6.24.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

• ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
• WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
• KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
• YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.