ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Ephesians 6

type: passage created: 2026-05-06 updated: 2026-05-06 book: Ephesians chapter: 6 verses: "" translation_default: ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT tags: [scripture] citation_count: 1 enriched: false

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Ephesians 6

Book: Ephesians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2. Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), 3. that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord. 5. Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6. not in the way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7. with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men: 8. knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth, the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free. 9. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, and forbear threatening: knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him. 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 11. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world - rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13. Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. 14. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15. and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16. withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18. with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, 19. And on my behalf, that utterance may be given unto me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20. for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 21. But that ye also may know my affairs, how I do, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: 22. whom I have sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye may know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts. 23. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible." (Ephesians 6:1-24, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise: 3. “that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.” 4. You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 5. Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ; 6. not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7. with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men; 8. knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is bound or free. 9. You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him. 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13. Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. 14. Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15. and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace; 16. above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18. with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints: 19. on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News, 20. for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 21. But that you also may know my affairs, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make known to you all things; 22. whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts. 23. Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love. Amen." (Ephesians 6:1-24, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3. That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 5. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6. Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7. With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8. Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. 9. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him. forbearing: or, moderating your: some read, both your and their Master 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. flesh: Gr. blood and flesh spiritual: or, wicked spirits high: or, heavenly 13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. having: or, having overcome all 14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20. For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. in bonds: or, in a chain therein: or, thereof 21. But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: 22. Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. 23. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. in sincerity: or, with incorruption To the Ephesians written from Rome, by Tychicus." (Ephesians 6:1-24, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. The children! obey your parents in the Lord, for this is righteous; 2. honour thy father and mother, 3. which is the first command with a promise, 'That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live a long time upon the land.' 4. And the fathers! provoke not your children, but nourish them in the instruction and admonition of the Lord. 5. The servants! obey the masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to the Christ; 6. not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but as servants of the Christ, doing the will of God out of soul, 7. with good-will serving, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8. having known that whatever good thing each one may do, this he shall receive from the Lord, whether servant or freeman. 9. And the masters! the same things do ye unto them, letting threatening alone, having known that also your Master is in the heavens, and acceptance of persons is not with him. 10. As to the rest, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; 11. put on the whole armour of God, for your being able to stand against the wiles of the devil, 12. because we have not the wrestling with blood and flesh, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, with the spiritual things of the evil in the heavenly places; 13. because of this take ye up the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to resist in the day of the evil, and all things having done, to stand. 14. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about in truth, and having put on the breastplate of the righteousness, 15. and having the feet shod in the preparation of the good-news of the peace; 16. above all, having taken up the shield of the faith, in which ye shall be able all the fiery darts of the evil one to quench, 17. and the helmet of the salvation receive, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the saying of God, 18. through all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit, and in regard to this same, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, 19. and in behalf of me, that to me may be given a word in the opening of my mouth, in freedom, to make known the secret of the good news, 20. for which I am an ambassador in a chain, that in it I may speak freely, as it behoveth me to speak. 21. And that ye may know, ye also, the things concerning me, what I do, all things make known to you shall Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful ministrant in the Lord, 22. whom I did send unto you for this very thing, that ye might know the things concerning us, and that he might comfort your hearts. 23. Peace to the brethren, and love, with faith, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ! 24. The grace with all those loving our Lord Jesus Christ, undecayingly! Amen." (Ephesians 6:1-24, 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

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.