NRSV Ephesians 5 Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6
5:1
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,
5:2
and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
5:3
But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints.
5:4
Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving.
5:5
Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient.
5:7
Therefore do not be associated with them.
5:8
For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light--
5:9
for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.
5:10
Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.
5:11
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
5:12
For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly;
5:13
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
5:14
for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
5:15
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,
5:16
making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
5:17
So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
5:18
Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,
5:19
as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,
5:20
giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5:21
Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
5:22
Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord.
5:23
For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior.
5:24
Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.
5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
5:26
in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word,
5:27
so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind-- yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish.
5:28
In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
5:29
For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church,
5:30
because we are members of his body.
5:31
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
5:32
This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church.
5:33
Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.