Greek word · G1402

δουλόω

douloō

to enslave

To enslave, to bring into bondage, to make someone a doulos (slave). In the passive it means to be enslaved or held in bondage. A doulos was a person legally owned by another, whose body and labour belonged to the master.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 25, 2026

What it means

δουλόω, -ῶ

(δοῦλος), [in LXX for עָבַד ;]

to enslave, bring into bondage: Acts 7:6 (LXX), 2 Peter 2:19; metaphorically, 1 Corinthians 9:19; pass., before ἐν, 1 Corinthians 7:15; τ. θεῷ, Romans 6:22; τ. δικαιοσύνῃ, Romans 6:18; οἴνῳ, Titus 2:3; ὑπὸ τὰ στοιχεῖα τ. κόσμου, Galatians 4:3 (Cremer, 217).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Romans 6:18

Range of meaning: To enslave, to bring into bondage, to make someone a doulos (slave). In the passive it means to be enslaved or held in bondage. A doulos was a person legally owned by another, whose body and labour belonged to the master.
Against the English: BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB say "slaves". KJV and YLT say "servants", and WEB says "bondservants". "Servant" makes a modern reader think of a paid employee or a voluntary helper, and that drains the word of its point: ownership, with no exit.
How it drifted: Early English translators often softened doulos to "servant". Some argue they did so partly because the household "servants" of their own day overlapped with bonded labour. Today "servant" mostly suggests voluntary service.
Used elsewhere in the period: The word is common in classical and Hellenistic Greek for subjugating people or cities. In the LXX it is used for Israel's bondage. Paul uses it in 1 Cor 9:19 ("I enslaved myself to all"), Gal 4:3 ("enslaved under the elements") and Rom 6:22.

From the study of Titus 2:3

Range of meaning: 'To make a slave of, enslave'. In the passive, 'to be enslaved, be in bondage to'. Used both literally and figuratively, of being mastered by passions, habits or powers.
Against the English: BSB and NIV have 'addicted to', ESV 'slaves to', WEB and NASB 'enslaved to', KJV 'given to'. 'Addicted' is accurate but clinical. KJV's 'given to' loses the slavery image altogether.
Used elsewhere in the period: Paul uses the verb figuratively in Rom 6:18, 22 and Gal 4:3. Greek moralists commonly describe a person ruled by appetite as a slave, and 2 Pet 2:19 says 'a person is enslaved to whatever overcomes him'.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 7:15

Range of meaning: To make someone a slave, to enslave or subjugate. In the passive, to be enslaved or held in servitude. Used figuratively of being in total subjection to something, such as sin, righteousness, or the elemental powers of the world.
Against the English: KJV and NASB "not under bondage", YLT "not under servitude", BSB and NIV "not bound", ESV "not enslaved", NLT "no longer bound to the other". "Bound" is the mildest of these and sounds like the ordinary language of a marriage bond. "Enslaved" keeps Paul's stronger image.
How it drifted: Paul uses a different verb, δέω ("to bind"), for the marriage tie in 7:27 ("are you bound to a wife?") and 7:39 ("a wife is bound as long as her husband lives"), and also in Romans 7:2. When English uses "bound" in all these places, readers cannot see that Paul chose a harsher word here. That makes the verse look more directly connected to the marriage-bond verses than the Greek alone shows.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the LXX it is used for literal servitude (e.g. Genesis 15:13). Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 9:19 ("I enslaved myself to all"), Romans 6:18, 22 ("enslaved to righteousness/God") and Galatians 4:3 ("enslaved under the elemental spirits"). Some scholars (e.g. Instone-Brewer) compare the freedom formulas of ancient Jewish documents: the divorce certificate (get) declared "you are free to marry any man" (Mishnah Gittin 9:3), and slave-release documents used similar wording.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

Acts 7:6 δουλώσουσιν they will enslave

God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

Romans · 2

Romans 6:18 ἐδουλώθητε you have become slaves

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Here: "You were enslaved." This is the main verb, and it is passive and past like the participle. It is the jolt in the sentence: the people just freed are at once made slaves again, to a new owner.
Romans 6:22 δουλωθέντες having become slaves

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.

Here: "Having been enslaved": the same tense and voice as "set free", and built the same way. Release from one master and enslavement to another are one event seen from two sides. Paul means real slavery, which is why he apologises for the harsh image in verse 19.

1 Corinthians · 2

1 Corinthians 7:15 δεδούλωται has bee under bondage

But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace.

Here: Perfect passive, meaning a settled state: "has not been made a slave, is not in slavery". This is slave-market language, sharper than the ordinary word for being "bound" to a spouse. (The supplied gloss "has bee under bondage" contains a typo for "has been".)
1 Corinthians 9:19 ἐδούλωσα I became servant

Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

Here: An active verb with an object: "I enslaved [myself]". It means putting someone into slavery, which is stronger than "I served" or "I became a servant." The aorist (simple past) tense presents Paul's whole way of working as one settled decision.

Galatians · 1

Galatians 4:3 δεδουλωμένοι· held in bondage;

So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.

Here: Perfect passive participle: 'having been made slaves' and staying so. Paired with 'we were', it describes an established condition of slavery. It sets up 4:7, 'so you are no longer a slave, but a son'.

Titus · 1

Titus 2:3 δεδουλωμένας, enslaved,

Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good.

Here: A perfect passive participle, 'having been enslaved', so 'in a settled state of slavery'. The picture is of a habit that has become a master. In a letter that goes on to address actual slaves (vv. 9–10), the image would have been vivid.

2 Peter · 1

2 Peter 2:19 δεδούλωται. he has been enslaved.

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

Here: Perfect passive: 'has been made a slave and remains one.' It echoes 'slaves' (douloi) earlier in the verse and finishes the picture: defeat leads to ownership.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.