Then his lord called the first slave ¹  and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me!

That same day Pharaoh commanded ¹  the slave masters and foremen ²  who were ³  over the people: ⁴ 

Small and great are ¹  there, and the slave is free ²  from his master. ³ 

Turn toward me and have mercy on me! Give your servant your strength! Deliver your slave! ¹ 

The diligent ¹  person ²  will rule, but the slothful ³  will become a slave. ⁴ 

“A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a slave ¹  greater than his master.

The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt.

and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave ¹  –

Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work ¹  when he comes.

and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave ¹  of all.

But ¹  those tenants ²  seized his slave, ³  beat him, ⁴  and sent him away empty-handed. ⁵ 

So ¹  when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave ²  well.

Blessed is that slave ¹  whom his master finds at work ²  when he returns.

Then ¹  the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’ ² 

He won’t thank the slave because he did what he was told, ¹  will he? ² 

Then ¹  one of them ²  struck the high priest’s slave, ³  cutting off his right ear.

The slave does not remain in the family ¹  forever, but the son remains forever. ² 

When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered. ¹ 

So she said to Abraham, “Banish ¹  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

¹ During ²  that long period of time ³  the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites ⁴  groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry ⁵  because of their slave labor went up to God.