ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Ephesians 5.25-32

Book: Ephesians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

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

25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; 26. that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, 27. that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28. Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself: 29. for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church; 30. because we are members of his body. 31. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. 32. This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church.

  1. Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she fear her husband. (Ephesians 5:23-33, ASV)
WEB

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. 24. But as the assembly is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their own husbands in everything.

25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it; 26. that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, 27. that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without defect. 28. Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. 29. For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the assembly; 30. because we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones. 31. “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife. The two will become one flesh.” 32. This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and of the assembly.

  1. Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:23-33, WEB)
KJV

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. 24. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

  1. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. (Ephesians 5:23-33, KJV)
YLT

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, 24. but even as the assembly is subject to Christ, so also [are] the wives to their own husbands in everything.

25. The husbands! love your own wives, as also the Christ did love the assembly, and did give himself for it, 26. that he might sanctify it, having cleansed [it] with the bathing of the water in the saying, 27. that he might present it to himself the assembly in glory, not having spot or wrinkle, or any of such things, but that it may be holy and unblemished; 28. so ought the husbands to love their own wives as their own bodies: he who is loving his own wife, himself he doth love; 29. for no one ever his own flesh did hate, but doth nourish and cherish it, as also the Lord, the assembly, 30. because members we are of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones; 31. 'for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they shall be, the two, for one flesh;' 32. this secret is great, and I speak in regard to Christ and to the assembly;

  1. but ye also, every one in particular, let each his own wife so love as himself, and the wife, that she may reverence the husband. (Ephesians 5:23-33, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle.
  • Audience: Believers at Ephesus. Several of the earliest witnesses, including P46 and the original hands of Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, lack the words "in Ephesus" at 1:1, which has long suggested the letter circulated among the churches of the Roman province of Asia rather than addressing one congregation alone.
  • Location: Written from imprisonment. Paul calls himself "the prisoner of Christ Jesus" (Eph 3:1, 4:1) and "an ambassador in chains" (Eph 6:20); the traditional identification is the Roman custody of Acts 28.
  • Time period: c. AD 60-62 on the traditional Roman-imprisonment dating.

Theological reading

The husband's instruction is longer, harder and more theologically loaded than the wife's, and its measure is stated at once.

The standard. Agapate tas gynaikas heautōn, kathōs kai ho Christos ēgapēsen tēn ekklēsian kai heauton paredōken hyper autēs. The verb paradidōmi, hand over or deliver up, is the passion-narrative term, and here Christ is both subject and object. The love commanded is therefore not affection and not provision but self-surrender to death on behalf of the other. Any reading of headship in this passage that does not run through this verse has taken the authority and left the cost.

What the self-giving accomplishes. Verses 26 and 27 give three purpose clauses: to sanctify her, having cleansed her tō loutrō tou hydatos en rhēmati, by the washing of water with the word; to present her to Himself in splendour; and that she should be holy and blameless. Loutron is a bath or washing, widely read against the ancient bridal bath before a wedding, and often, though not necessarily, against baptism. The presentation language is nuptial: the bridegroom presents the bride to himself, which is unusual and makes the point that no third party arranges this marriage.

Ektrephei kai thalpei. Verse 29 grounds the command in ordinary experience, that no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it. Thalpō means to warm, used of a bird brooding over its young. The argument moves from the natural to the ecclesial and back, treating the union as real enough that neglect of the wife is self-neglect.

The mystery. To mystērion touto mega estin, egō de legō eis Christon kai eis tēn ekklēsian. Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 at verse 31 and then says the mystery he has in view is Christ and the church. The strong reading is that marriage was designed from the beginning as a signifier of a union not yet disclosed, so the human institution is the shadow and the divine union is the substance. That inverts the usual assumption that theology is being illustrated by marriage, and it is the reason this passage anchors the classical Christian account of what marriage is for.

A note on translation history. The Latin rendering of mystērion as sacramentum is part of the background to the Western treatment of marriage as a sacrament. The Greek term itself means a disclosed secret rather than a rite, and that distinction is worth stating plainly in any exchange where the verse is used.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

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.