Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Parallel translations
- WEB Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.
- 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 16:15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
- Luke 12:43Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
- Luke 12:37Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
- 2 Pet 1:13–15Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
- Phil 1:21–23For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
- 2 Tim 4:6–8For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
- Matt 25:34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
- Rev 2:19I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.