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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, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
³⁵I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:34‑35)

v

Col. 4:12• ¹²Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently 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 we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly 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• ¹⁷But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. (Ex. 5:17)

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Prov. 6:6‑9• ⁶Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
⁷Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
⁸Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
⁹How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? 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, so is the sluggard to them that send him. (Prov. 10:26)

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Prov. 13:4• ⁴The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. (Prov. 13:4)

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Prov. 18:9• ⁹He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. (Prov. 18:9)

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Prov. 22:29• ²⁹Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. (Prov. 22:29)

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Prov. 24:30‑34• ³⁰I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
³¹And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
³²Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
³³Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
³⁴So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man. (Prov. 24:30‑34)

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Prov. 26:13‑16• ¹³The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
¹⁴As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.
¹⁵The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. (Prov. 26:13‑16)

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Eccl. 9:10• ¹⁰Whatsoever 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 thou goest. (Eccl. 9:10)

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Isa. 56:10• ¹⁰His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. (Isa. 56:10)

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Matt. 25:26• ²⁶His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: (Matt. 25:26)

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Acts 20:34‑35• ³⁴Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
³⁵I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:34‑35)

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Eph. 4:28• ²⁸Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. (Eph. 4:28)

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1 Thess. 4:11‑12• ¹¹And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
¹²That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. (1 Thess. 4:11‑12)

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2 Thess. 3:6‑12• ⁶Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
⁷For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
⁸Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
⁹Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
¹⁰For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
¹¹For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
¹²Now them that are such we command and exhort by our 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 to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. (1 Tim. 5:13)

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

fervent.

Matt. 24:12• ¹²And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Matt. 24:12)

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Acts 18:25• ²⁵This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. (Acts 18:25)

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Col. 4:12‑13• ¹²Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
¹³For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. (Col. 4:12‑13)

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James 5:16• ¹⁶Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)

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1 Peter 1:22• ²²Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: (1 Peter 1:22)

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1 Peter 4:8• ⁸And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

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Rev. 2:4• ⁴Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left 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 then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (Rev. 3:15‑16)

serving.

1 Cor. 7:22• ²²For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. (1 Cor. 7:22)

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Eph. 6:5‑8• ⁵Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
⁶Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
⁷With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
⁸Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. (Eph. 6:5‑8)

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Col. 3:22‑24• ²²Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
²³And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
²⁴Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. (Col. 3:22‑24)

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Col. 4:1• ¹Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. (Col. 4:1)

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Titus 2:9‑10• ⁹Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
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 we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly 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.