J. B. Lightfoot on Colossians 3:24-25

ἠδίκησεν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολημψία. IV. ^1Οἱ κύριοι, τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα τοῖς δούλοις παρέχεσθε, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔχετε Κύριον ἐν οὐρανῷ. § 4 ὁ Κύριος ἀπροσωπολήμπτως κρινεῖ τὸν κόσμου· ἕκαστος, καθὼς ἐποίησεν, κομιεῖται. In the parallel passage Ephes. vi. 8, the form is certainly κομίσεται: here it is more doubtful, the authorities being more equally divided between κομιεῖται and κομίσεται. See however the note on γνωρίσουσιν iv. 9. προσωπολημψία] On this word see the note Gal. ii. 6. This προσωπολημψία, though generally found on the side of rank and power, may also be exercised in favour of the opposite; Levit. xix. 15 οὐ λήψῃ πρόσωπον πτωχοῦ οὐδὲ μὴ θαυμάσῃς πρόσωπον δυνάστου. There would be a tendency in the mind of the slave to assume that, because the προσωπολημψία of man was on the side of the master, there must be a corresponding προσωπολημψία of God on the side of the slave. This assumption is corrected by St Paul. IV. 1. τὴν ἰσότητα] ‘_equity_’, ‘_fairness_’; comp. Plut. _Sol. et Popl. Comp._ 3 νόμων ἰσότητα παρεχόντων. Somewhat similarly Lysias _Or. Fun._ 77 (speaking of death) οὔτε γὰρ τοὺς πονηροὺς ὑπερορᾷ οὔτε τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς θαυμάζει, ἀλλ’ _ἴσον ἑαυτὸν παρέχει_ πᾶσιν. It seems a mistake to suppose that ἰσότης here has anything to do with the treatment of slaves _as equals_ (comp. Philem. 16). When connected with τὸ δίκαιον, the word naturally suggests an even-handed, impartial treatment, and is equivalent to the Latin _æquitas_: comp. Arist. _Top._ vi. 5 (p. 143) ὁ τὴν δικαιοσύνην (λέγων) ἕξιν ἰσότητος ποιητικὴν ἢ διανεμητικὴν τοῦ ἴσου, Philo _de Creat. Princ._ 14 (II. p. 373) ἔστι γὰρ ἰσότης ... μήτηρ δικαιοσύνης, Clem. Alex. _Strom._ vi. 6 (p. 764) μετὰ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἰσότητος τῆς πρὸς τοὺς επιστρέφοντας. Thus in Arist. _Eth. Nic._ v. 1 τὸ δίκαιον and τὸ ἴσον are regarded as synonymes, and in Plut. _Mor._ p. 719 the relation of ἰσότης to δικαίοτης is discussed. The word here is used in the same sense in which the adjective occurs in the common expressions ἴσος δικαστής, ἴσος ἀκροατής, etc. Philo, describing the Essene condemnation of slavery, says, _Omn. prob. lib._ 12 (II. p. 457) καταγινώσκουσί τε τῶν δεσποτῶν, οὐ μόνον ὡς ἀδίκων, ἰσότητα λυμαινομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ἀσεβῶν κ.τ.λ., but he possibly does mean ‘equality’ rather than ‘equity.’ παρέχεσθε] ‘_exhibit on your part_.’ The middle παρέχεσθαι, ‘to afford from oneself,’ will take different shades of meaning according to the context, as ‘to furnish one’s _quota_’ (e.g. Herod. viii. 1, 2) or ‘to put forward one’s _representative_’ (esp. of witnesses, e.g. Plato _Apol._ 19 D). Here the idea is ‘reciprocation’, the master’s duty as corresponding to the slave’s. ἔχετε Κύριον] as Ephes. vi. 9; comp. 1 Cor. vii. 22 ὁ ἐλεύθερος κληθὲις δοῦλός ἐστιν Χριστοῦ.