Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.
Parallel translations
- KJV Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
- BSB Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
- NKJV Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
- NASB Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
- NLT If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.
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
Blessed is the servant found doing his duty when the master comes. Faithful, ongoing obedience is rewarded.
Overview
The master's return finds the good servant actively at work, and pronounces him blessed. This is the heart of watchfulness: not nervous speculation but steady faithfulness in one's calling. The blessing is the master's approval and the joy that follows. It encourages believers to keep serving until Christ returns.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rev 16:15“Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.”
- Luke 12:43Blessed is that servant whom his lord will find doing so when he comes.
- Luke 12:37Blessed are those servants, whom the lord will find watching when he comes. Most certainly I tell you, that he will dress himself, and make them recline, and will come and serve them.
- 2 Pet 1:13–15I think it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you;
- Phil 1:21–23For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
- 2 Tim 4:6–8For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come.
- Matt 25:34Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
- Rev 2:19“I know your works, your love, faith, service, patient endurance, and that your last works are more than the first.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 24:46 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.