5:22

Wives, submit to your husbands: The words Wives and husbands are plural. But take care that your translation does not sound like some wives have more than one husband. You may want to say:

Wives, each of you must submit to your own husband.

Also, think about how a person speaking your language would speak to a group of people to give advice or teaching like this. Some may use “we husbands(inclusive) ” for this kind of teaching. Others may use “you(plural),” others “you(singular) ”.

as to the Lord: There are various views as to the meaning of this phrase. The two main views are:

(1) It means that the wife should submit to her husband like she submits to the Lord or in the same way as she submits to the Lord. For example:

Wives, place yourselves under your husbands’ authority as you have placed yourselves under the Lord’s authority. (God’s Word)

(NLT98, New Century Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version)

(2) It means that when a wife submits to her husband it is as though she is submitting to the Lord. In other words, when a wife obeys her husband, she is obeying the Lord, because this is what the Lord has asked her to do. For example:

Wives, be subject to your husbands as though to the Lord

(Revised English Bible, SSA)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). See 6:5c where Paul used a similar construction.

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