Section 5:21–33

Paul gave advice to husbands and their wives

In 4:17–5:20, Paul taught the Ephesian Christians to behave differently than pagans (people who do not know God). For the next three sections, Paul taught about how Christians should behave in their relationships in their families and at work. In this first section, he dealt with the duties of wives and husbands. He described the marriage relationship as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.

Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:

Paul’s advise to wives and husbands (God’s Word)
-or-
How a wife and a husband should live together

Paragraph 5:21–24

Some English versions make verse 5:21 part of the previous section, and begin this section with 5:22. However, since Paul began to talk about a new topic—submitting—in 5:21, other versions make 5:21 the beginning of a new section.

You may want to consult your national version and use it as a model to follow.

5:21

Submit to one another: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Submit means “to surrender or yield (oneself) to the will or authority of another person.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Place yourselves under each other’s authority (God’s Word)
-or-
Yield to obey each other (New Century Version)
-or-
accept orders from other people

Some languages have special ways to talk about submitting, for example:

Each of you should be willing to put yourself under the others
-or-
Each of you should bow your head to the others
-or-
Among God’s people you are to be underneath ⌊them⌋

out of reverence for Christ: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as out of reverence for Christ is literally “in the fear of Christ.” The Berean Standard Bible and most modern translations use words like “reverence,” “respect,” or “honor,” instead of “fear.” These words are closer to the true meaning in this context.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

because you honor Christ
-or-
out of respect for Christ (God’s Word)
-or-
in order to honor Christ
-or-
You are to regard Christ’s name highly

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