You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
Parallel translations
- WEB You were bought with a price. Don’t become bondservants of men.
- KJV Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
- NKJV You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
- NASB You were bought for a price; do not become slaves of people.
- NLT God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
You were purchased at the costly price of Christ's blood, so do not become enslaved to the demands and opinions of men. Your ultimate allegiance belongs to your Redeemer.
Overview
The "price" is Christ's atoning death, which makes every believer God's own possession (cf. 1 Cor 6:20). Because of this redemption, believers must not surrender their consciences and souls to human masters or worldly pressures. Whatever one's earthly station, the deeper reality is being owned by Christ, and that ownership sets the limit on every other loyalty.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 6:20you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
- 1 Pet 1:18–19For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Titus 2:14He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
- Lev 25:42Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves.
- Rev 5:9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Acts 20:28Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
- Gal 2:4This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.
- Matt 23:8–11But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 7:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.