Lectionary Calendar
Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

Colossians 3:19

A husband must love his wife and not abuse her.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Husband;   Wife;   Thompson Chain Reference - Conjugal Love;   Family;   Home;   Love;   Social Duties;   The Topic Concordance - Love;   Marriage;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Husbands;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Husband;   Wife;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Divorce;   Family Life and Relations;   Marriage;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Wife;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Marriage;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Colossians;   Marriage;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Christian Life;   Commandment;   Liberty;   Marriage;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Husband;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Marriage;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Sanctification;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bitter;   Essenes, the;   Wrath (Anger);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Marriage;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them.
King James Version (1611)
Husbands, loue your wiues, and be not bitter against them.
King James Version
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
English Standard Version
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
New American Standard Bible
Husbands, love your wives and do not become bitter against them.
New Century Version
Husbands, love your wives and be gentle with them.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.
Legacy Standard Bible
Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.
Berean Standard Bible
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Complete Jewish Bible
Husbands, love your wives and don't treat them harshly.
Darby Translation
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Easy-to-Read Version
Husbands, love your wives, and be gentle to them.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Husbands, loue your wiues, and be not bitter vnto them.
George Lamsa Translation
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter toward them.
Good News Translation
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Lexham English Bible
Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.
Literal Translation
Husbands, love the wives and do not be bitter against them.
Amplified Bible
Husbands, love your wives [with an affectionate, sympathetic, selfless love that always seeks the best for them] and do not be embittered or resentful toward them [because of the responsibilities of marriage].
American Standard Version
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Bible in Basic English
Husbands, have love for your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Hebrew Names Version
Husbands, love your wives, and don't be bitter against them.
International Standard Version
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh withbitter toward">[fn] them.Ephesians 4:31; 1 Peter 3:7;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
Men, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Murdock Translation
Husbands, love ye your wives, and be not bitter towards them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Husbandes, loue your wyues, and be not bitter agaynst them:
English Revised Version
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
World English Bible
Husbands, love your wives, and don't be bitter against them.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Weymouth's New Testament
Married men, be affectionate to your wives, and do not treat them harshly.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Men, loue ye youre wyues, and nyle ye be bittere to hem.
Update Bible Version
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter against them.
Webster's Bible Translation
Husbands, love [your] wives, and be not bitter against them.
New English Translation
Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.
New King James Version
Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
New Living Translation
Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
New Life Bible
Husbands, love your wives. Do not hold hard feelings against them.
New Revised Standard
Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Ye husbands! be loving your wives, and be not embittered against them;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter towards them.
Revised Standard Version
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Husbandes love youre wyves and be not bitter vnto them.
Young's Literal Translation
the husbands! love your wives, and be not bitter with them;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ye hussbandes, loue youre wyues, and be not bytter vnto them.
Mace New Testament (1729)
husbands, love your wives, and do not exasperate them.
THE MESSAGE
Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of them.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Guys, love your wives and don't be mean to them. This is your way of submitting to them.

Contextual Overview

18 A wife must put her husband first. This is her duty as a follower of the Lord. 19 A husband must love his wife and not abuse her. 20 Children must always obey their parents. This pleases the Lord. 21 Parents, don't be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up. 22 Slaves, you must always obey your earthly masters. Try to please them at all times, and not just when you think they are watching. Honor the Lord and serve your masters with your whole heart. 23 Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master. 24 In fact, the Lord Christ is the one you are really serving, and you know that he will reward you. 25 But Christ has no favorites! He will punish evil people, just as they deserve.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

love: Genesis 2:23, Genesis 2:24, Genesis 24:67, Proverbs 5:18, Proverbs 5:19, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Malachi 2:14-16, Luke 14:26, Ephesians 5:25, Ephesians 5:28, Ephesians 5:29, Ephesians 5:33, 1 Peter 3:7

bitter: Colossians 3:21, Romans 3:14, Ephesians 4:31, James 3:14

Reciprocal: 1 Corinthians 7:33 - how

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
"It was the woman you put here with me," the man said. "She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it."
Genesis 3:13
The Lord God then asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The snake tricked me," she answered. "And I ate some of that fruit."
Genesis 3:16
Then the Lord said to the woman, "You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you."
Genesis 3:21
Then the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.
Genesis 3:22
The Lord said, "These people now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever."
Genesis 18:27
Abraham answered, "I am nothing more than the dust of the earth. Please forgive me, Lord , for daring to speak to you like this.
Genesis 23:4
"I live as a foreigner in your land, and I don't own any property where I can bury my wife. Please let me buy a piece of land."
Job 1:21
and said: "We bring nothing at birth; we take nothing with us at death. The Lord alone gives and takes. Praise the name of the Lord !"
Job 19:26
My flesh may be destroyed, yet from this body I will see God.
Job 21:26
But we all end up dead, beneath a blanket of worms.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Husbands, love your wives,.... :-.

and be not bitter against them; turning love into hatred of their persons; ruling with rigour, and in a tyrannical manner; behaving towards them in a morose, churlish, and ill natured way; giving them either bitter words, or blows, and denying them their affection, care, provision, protection, and assistance, but using them as servants, or worse. All which is barbarous, brutish, and unchristian, and utterly unbecoming the Gospel.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Husbands, love your wives ... - Notes, Ephesians 4:25-29.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 19. Be not bitter against them. — Wherever bitterness is, there love is wanting. And where love is wanting in the married life, there is hell upon earth.


 
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