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Rom. 12:11 KJV (With Strong’s)

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11

Not slothful in businessu; ferventv in spirit; servingw the Lord;

u

Acts 20:34‑35• ³⁴yea, yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those that were with me.
³⁵In all things I gave you an example how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:34‑35)

v

Col. 4:12• ¹²There saluteth you Epaphras, who [is] of you, a bondman of Jesus Christ, always striving for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all [the] will of God. (Col. 4:12)

w

Heb. 12:28• ²⁸Wherefore let us, receiving a kingdom not to be shaken, have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and fear. (Heb. 12:28)

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Spirit

Cross References

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Ministry on This Verse

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slothful.

Ex. 5:17• ¹⁷And he said, Ye are idle, idle! therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah. (Ex. 5:17)

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Prov. 6:6‑9• ⁶Go to the ant, thou sluggard;{HR}Consider her ways, and be wise:
⁷Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,
⁸Provideth her bread in the summer,{HR}[And] gathereth her food in the harvest.
⁹How long, sluggard, wilt thou lie down?{HR}When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? (Prov. 6:6‑9)

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Prov. 10:26• ²⁶As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes,{HR}So [is] the sluggard to those that send him. (Prov. 10:26)

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Prov. 13:4• ⁴A sluggard's soul desireth, and hath nothing;{HR}But the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. (Prov. 13:4)

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Prov. 18:9• ⁹He also that is slack in his work{HR}Is brother to him that is a destroyer. (Prov. 18:9)

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Prov. 22:29• ²⁹Hast thou seen a man diligent in his work?{HR}He shall stand before kings,{HR}He shall not stand before the obscure. (Prov. 22:29)

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Prov. 24:30‑34• ³⁰I went by the field of the slothful,{HR}And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
³¹And, behold, it was all grown over with thorns:{HR}Nettles had covered its face,{HR}And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
³²Then I beheld with set heart;{HR}I saw [and] received instruction:
³³A little sleep, a little slumber,{HR}A little folding of the hands to sleep;
³⁴So shall thy poverty come, [as] a robber;{HR}And thy want as a man in armour. (Prov. 24:30‑34)

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Prov. 26:13‑16• ¹³The sluggard saith, A lion in the way;{HR}A lion in the streets
¹⁴The door turneth on its hinges,{HR}So the sluggard on his bed.
¹⁵The sluggard burieth his hand in [a] dish;{HR}It wearieth him to bring it again to his mouth.
¹⁶The sluggard [is] wiser in his own eyes{HR}Than seven that answer discreetly. (Prov. 26:13‑16)

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Eccl. 9:10• ¹⁰Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,{HR}Do with thy might;{HR}For there is no work, nor device,{HR}Nor knowledge, nor wisdom,{HR}In Sheol whither thou goest. (Eccl. 9:10)

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Isa. 56:10• ¹⁰His watchmen [are] blind, they are all without knowledge; they [are] all dumb dogs, they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. (Isa. 56:10)

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Matt. 25:26• ²⁶But his lord answering said to him, Wicked and slothful bondman, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather whence I scattered not. (Matt. 25:26)

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Acts 20:34‑35• ³⁴yea, yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those that were with me.
³⁵In all things I gave you an example how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:34‑35)

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Eph. 4:28• ²⁸Let him that stealeth steal no longer but rather labour, working what is good with his own hands, that he may have to distribute to him that hath need. (Eph. 4:28)

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1 Thess. 4:11‑12• ¹¹and that ye make it your aim to be quiet and mind your own affairs and work with your own hands, even as we charged you,
¹²that ye may walk honourably toward those without, and may have need of nothing. (1 Thess. 4:11‑12)

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2 Thess. 3:6‑12• ⁶Now we charge you, brethren, in [the] name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition which they received from us.
⁷For yourselves know how ye ought to imitate us; because we were not disorderly among you,
⁸nor did we eat bread for nought from anyone, but in toil and travail, working night and day, that we might not burden any of you:
⁹not because we have not title, but to make ourselves an example to you that ye should imitate us.
¹⁰For even when we were with you, this we charged you, that if any will not work, neither let him eat.
¹¹For we hear of some walking among you disorderly, doing no business, but busybodies.
¹²Now those that are such we charge and exhort in [the] Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work and eat their own bread. (2 Thess. 3:6‑12)

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1 Tim. 5:13• ¹³And withal they learn also [to be] idle, going about the houses; and not only idle but also tattlers and busy-bodies, speaking things that are not fitting. (1 Tim. 5:13)

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Heb. 6:10‑11• ¹⁰For God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and the love which ye showed unto his name, in that ye ministered to his saints and do minister.
¹¹But we desire earnestly that each of you should show the same diligence unto the full assurance of hope until the end, (Heb. 6:10‑11)

fervent.

Matt. 24:12• ¹²And because lawlessness shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall grow cool. (Matt. 24:12)

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Acts 18:25• ²⁵He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in his spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John; (Acts 18:25)

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Col. 4:12‑13• ¹²There saluteth you Epaphras, who [is] of you, a bondman of Jesus Christ, always striving for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all [the] will of God.
¹³For I bear him witness that he hath much labor for you and those in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. (Col. 4:12‑13)

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James 5:16• ¹⁶Confess therefore your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. A righteous [one's] supplication hath much power if it work. (James 5:16)

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1 Peter 1:22• ²²purified your souls as ye have in your obedience to the truth unto brotherly affection unfeigned, love one another out of a pure heart fervently, (1 Peter 1:22)

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1 Peter 4:8• ⁸and before all things having your love toward each other fervent, for love covereth a multitude of sins; (1 Peter 4:8)

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Rev. 2:4• ⁴But I have against thee that thou hast relaxed thy first love. (Rev. 2:4)

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Rev. 3:15‑16• ¹⁵I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot.
¹⁶So, because thou art lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spue thee out of my mouth. (Rev. 3:15‑16)

serving.

1 Cor. 7:22• ²²For the bondman called in [the] Lord is [the] Lord's freedman; likewise, he that was called free is Christ's bondman. (1 Cor. 7:22)

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Eph. 6:5‑8• ⁵Bondmen, obey your masters according to flesh with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to the Christ;
⁶not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as bondmen of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul,
⁷with good-will doing service as to the Lord and not to men;
⁸knowing that whatever good each shall do, this he shall receive of [the] Lord, whether bond or free. (Eph. 6:5‑8)

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Col. 3:22‑24• ²²Bondmen, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but in simplicity of heart fearing the Lord.
²³And whatever ye do, heartily work as to the Lord and not to men,
²⁴knowing that from [the] Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ. (Col. 3:22‑24)

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Col. 4:1• ¹Masters, justice and equity accord to your bondmen, knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. (Col. 4:1)

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Titus 2:9‑10• ⁹bond-servants to be in subjection to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not gainsaying,
¹⁰not purloining, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. (Titus 2:9‑10)

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Heb. 12:28• ²⁸Wherefore let us, receiving a kingdom not to be shaken, have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and fear. (Heb. 12:28)

• “Not slothful in business” is a misleading translation, as it really does not refer to man’s business. Rather, it pertains in general to all of our Christian opportunities for serving the Lord. See the J. N. Darby (JND) translation of this verse. (“Help on Hard Verses” by A.C. Brown)

• It should be translated, "As to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent, serving the Lord." This is an exhortation to serving the Lord with commitment and energy, because it is possible to become neglectful in the work of the Lord. (“Practical Righteousness Toward Fellow-Believers: Romans 12:9-16” by B. Anstey)

J. N. Darby Translation

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11

as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spiritb fervent; servingc the Lord.

JND Translation Notes

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b

Or "by the Spirit." See Note at ch. 8.9.

c

The word means "to serve as a bondman" douleuo. It is different from the words used for service in ver. 1 (which is from latreuo), and for service in ver. 7 (which is from diakoneo). See 1 Cor. 4.1.

W. Kelly Translation

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in diligence not slothful, in spirit fervent, serving the Lorda;

WK Translation Notes

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a

I see no good reason here for taking the dative as a mere case of relation like so many others in the context, and for rendering it "as to the Lord, obedient or engaged in His service." The common construction as the complement of the participle seems to me more exact and simpler.