Ephesians 5–6

CHAPTER 5

Be Imitators of God

^1aTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,

²and ^awalk in love, just as Christ also ^bloved ¹us and ^cgave Himself up for us, an ^doffering and a sacrifice to God ²as a ^efragrant aroma.

³But ^asexual immorality ¹or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among ²saints;

⁴nor ^afilthiness and foolish talk, or coarse jesting, which ^bare not fitting, but rather ^cgiving of thanks.

⁵For this you know with certainty, that ^ano one sexually immoral or impure or greedy, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom ^bof Christ and God.

^6aLet no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things ^bthe wrath of God comes upon ^cthe sons of disobedience.

⁷Therefore do not be ^apartakers with them,

⁸for ^ayou were formerly ^bdarkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as ^cchildren of light

⁹(for ^athe fruit of that light consists in all ^bgoodness and righteousness and truth),

^101atrying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

^11aAnd do not participate in the unfruitful ^bworks of ^cdarkness, but instead even ^1dexpose them.

¹²For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

¹³But all things become visible ^awhen they are ¹exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

¹⁴For this reason ¹it says,

“^aAwake, sleeper,

And arise from ^bthe dead,

And Christ ^cwill shine on you.”

¹⁵Therefore look carefully how you ^awalk, not ^bas unwise but as wise,

^16aredeeming the time, because ^bthe days are evil.

¹⁷On account of this, do not be foolish, but ^aunderstand what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸And ^ado not get drunk with wine, ¹for that is ^bdissipation, but be ^cfilled with the Spirit,

^19aspeaking to ¹one another in ^bpsalms and ^chymns and spiritual ^dsongs, ^esinging and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

^20aalways giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to ^1bGod, even the Father;

^211aand being subject to one another in the ^2bfear of Christ.

Wives and Husbands

^22aWives, ^bbe subject to your own husbands, ^cas to the Lord.

²³For ^athe husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the ^bhead of the church, He Himself ^cbeing the Savior of the body.

²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

^25aHusbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and ^bgave Himself up for her,

^26aso that He might sanctify her, having ^bcleansed her by the ^cwashing of water with ^dthe word,

²⁷that He might ^apresent to Himself the church ¹in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be ^bholy and blameless.

²⁸So husbands ought also to ^alove their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

²⁹for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

³⁰because we are ^amembers of His ^bbody.

^31aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

³²This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

³³Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to ^alove his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she ^1brespects her husband.

CHAPTER 6

Children and Parents

^1aChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

^2ahonor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),

³so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long in the land.

^4aFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but ^bbring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

^5aSlaves, be obedient to those who are your ¹masters according to the flesh, with ^bfear and trembling, in the ²integrity of your heart, ^cas to Christ;

^6anot ¹by way of eyeservice, as ^bmen-pleasers, but as ^cslaves of Christ, ^ddoing the will of God from the ²heart,

⁷serving with good will ^aas to the Lord, and not to men,

^8aknowing that ^bwhatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, ^cwhether slave or free.

⁹And masters, do the same things to them, ^agiving up threatening, knowing that ^bboth their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is ^cno partiality with Him.

The Armor of God

¹⁰Finally, ^abe strong in the Lord and in ^bthe might of His strength.

^11aPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the ^bschemes of the devil.

¹²For our ^astruggle is not against ^1bflesh and blood, but ^cagainst the rulers, against the authorities, against the ^dworld forces of this ^edarkness, against the ^fspiritual forces of wickedness in ^gthe heavenly places.

¹³Therefore, take up ^athe full armor of God, so that you will be able to ^bresist in ^cthe evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

¹⁴Stand firm therefore, ^ahaving girded your loins with truth, and having ^bput on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁵and having ^ashod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

¹⁶¹In addition to all, having taken up the ^ashield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the ^bflaming arrows of ^cthe evil one,

¹⁷also receive ^athe helmet of salvation, and the ^bsword of the Spirit, which is ^cthe word of God,

^18apraying at all times ¹with all ^bprayer and petition ^cin the Spirit, and to this end, ^dbeing on the alert with all ^eperseverance and ^fpetition for all the saints,

¹⁹as well as ^aon my behalf, that ¹words may be given to me ^bin the opening of my mouth, to make known with ^cboldness ^dthe mystery of the gospel—

²⁰for which I am an ^aambassador ^bin ¹chains—so that ²in proclaiming it I may speak ^cboldly, ^das I ought to speak.

^21aBut that you also may know about all my affairs, ¹how I am doing, ^bTychicus, ^cthe beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

^221aI have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know ²our circumstances, and that he may ^bencourage your hearts.

^23aPeace be to the brothers, and ^blove with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ ¹with incorruptible love.