Ephesians 5:22–6:9

²²Wives, yield to your husbands, as you do to the Lord, ²³because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church. ²⁴As the church yields to Christ, so you wives should yield to your husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it ²⁶to make it belong to God. Christ used the word to make the church clean by washing it with water. ²⁷He died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be pure and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other wrong thing in it. ²⁸In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹No one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church, ³⁰because we are parts of his body. ³¹The Scripture says, “So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.” ^{n 32}That secret is very important—I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³But each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself, and a wife must respect her husband.

Children and Parents

6Children, obey your parents as the Lord wants, because this is the right thing to do. ²The command says, “Honor your father and mother.” ⁿ This is the first command that has a promise with it—³“Then everything will be well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” ⁿ

⁴Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.

Slaves and Masters

⁵Slaves, obey your masters here on earth with fear and respect and from a sincere heart, just as you obey Christ. ⁶You must do this not only while they are watching you, to please them. With all your heart you must do what God wants as people who are obeying Christ. ⁷Do your work with enthusiasm. Work as if you were serving the Lord, not as if you were serving only men and women. ⁸Remember that the Lord will give a reward to everyone, slave or free, for doing good.

⁹Masters, in the same way, be good to your slaves. Do not threaten them. Remember that the One who is your Master and their Master is in heaven, and he treats everyone alike.