Passage

Ephesians 5.21

Book: Ephesians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"19. speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20. giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;"

"21. subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ."

"22. Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body." (Ephesians 5:19-23, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"19. speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20. giving thanks always concerning all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father;"

"21. subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ."

"22. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body." (Ephesians 5:19-23, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;"

"21. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."

"22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body." (Ephesians 5:19-23, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"19. speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20. giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the God and Father;"

"21. subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of God."

"22. The wives! to your own husbands subject yourselves, as to the Lord, 23. because the husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ [is] head of the assembly, and he is saviour of the body," (Ephesians 5:19-23, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle (imprisonment)
Audience: Christian believers in Ephesus (and circular to other Asian churches)
Location: composed during Roman imprisonment
Time period: composed c. AD 60-62

Theological reading

Key words

G2316 - theos, theos (Strong's G2316). Also appears in: Matthew 1.23, Matthew 3.16, Matthew 5.9.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.