be a slave
douleuo describes being under a master’s claim, expressed as service to God, people, or competing powers.
The attested uses most often describe active service rendered to a master, God, Christ, another person, or a stated allegiance; they also describe persons as enslaved or subject to sin, elemental principles, desires, and other controlling claims. The same verb can therefore mark willing service in a stated relationship or bondage under a power.
Senses in use
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Rendering service under a master or allegiance · dominant
Present active forms describe ongoing service directed toward a named master or object of allegiance: in Acts 20:19 the APB renders the participial clause “Serving the Lord with all humility,” and in Galatians 5:13 it renders the command “through love serve one another.” The infinitive in Matthew 6:24 occurs in the assertion that no one can be a slave to both God and mammon, while Romans 7:25 contrasts serving the law of God with serving the law of sin.
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Being held in bondage or subjection · common
Perfect passive and other forms portray people as under a controlling power. In Galatians 4:3 the APB renders the clause “were enslaved under the elemental principles of the world”; Galatians 4:9 speaks of a desire “once more to be enslaved,” and Romans 6:6 states the aim that people might “no longer be enslaved to sin.”
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB commonly uses “serve” or “serving” when the clause names God, Christ, another person, or an allegiance, and “enslaved” or “be a slave” in bondage contexts. Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, these renderings confirm the clauses’ overall contrast without fixing a separate English equivalent in every verse.