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Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025
the Week of Proper 17 / Ordinary 22
the Week of Proper 17 / Ordinary 22
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Read the Bible
THE MESSAGE
Colossians 3:18
Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.
Jump to:Bible Study Tools • Parallel Bible Verse • Bible Contextual Overview • Bible Cross-References • Gill's Bible Notes • Clarke's Bible Notes • Barnes' Bible Notes
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BakerEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
Christian Standard Bible®
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
King James Version (1611)
Wiues, submit your selues vnto your owne husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
Wiues, submit your selues vnto your owne husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
King James Version
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
English Standard Version
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
New American Standard Bible
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
New Century Version
Wives, yield to the authority of your husbands, because this is the right thing to do in the Lord.
Wives, yield to the authority of your husbands, because this is the right thing to do in the Lord.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Legacy Standard Bible
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Berean Standard Bible
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Contemporary English Version
A wife must put her husband first. This is her duty as a follower of the Lord.
A wife must put her husband first. This is her duty as a follower of the Lord.
Complete Jewish Bible
Wives, subject yourselves to your husbands, as is appropriate in the Lord.
Wives, subject yourselves to your husbands, as is appropriate in the Lord.
Darby Translation
Wives, be subject to [your] husbands, as is fitting in [the] Lord.
Wives, be subject to [your] husbands, as is fitting in [the] Lord.
Easy-to-Read Version
Wives, be willing to serve your husbands. This is the right thing to do in following the Lord.
Wives, be willing to serve your husbands. This is the right thing to do in following the Lord.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Wiues, submit your selues vnto your husbands, as it is comely in the Lord.
Wiues, submit your selues vnto your husbands, as it is comely in the Lord.
George Lamsa Translation
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is appropriate in Christ.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is appropriate in Christ.
Good News Translation
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, for that is what you should do as Christians.
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, for that is what you should do as Christians.
Lexham English Bible
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Literal Translation
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Amplified Bible
Wives, be subject to your husbands [out of respect for their position as protector, and their accountability to God], as is proper and fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your husbands [out of respect for their position as protector, and their accountability to God], as is proper and fitting in the Lord.
American Standard Version
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Bible in Basic English
Wives, be under the authority of your husbands, as is right in the Lord.
Wives, be under the authority of your husbands, as is right in the Lord.
Hebrew Names Version
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
International Standard Version
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.Ephesians 5:3,22; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:1;">[xr]
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.Ephesians 5:3,22; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:1;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
WIVES, be subject to your husbands, as it is right in the Meshiha.
WIVES, be subject to your husbands, as it is right in the Meshiha.
Murdock Translation
Wives, be ye subject to your husbands, as is right in the Messiah.
Wives, be ye subject to your husbands, as is right in the Messiah.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Wiues, submit your selues vnto your owne husbandes, as it is comely in the Lorde.
Wiues, submit your selues vnto your owne husbandes, as it is comely in the Lorde.
English Revised Version
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
World English Bible
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands (as is fit) in the Lord.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands (as is fit) in the Lord.
Weymouth's New Testament
Married women, be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Married women, be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Wymmen, be ye sugetis to youre hosebondis, as it bihoueth in the Lord.
Wymmen, be ye sugetis to youre hosebondis, as it bihoueth in the Lord.
Update Bible Version
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Webster's Bible Translation
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
New English Translation
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
New King James Version
Ephesians 5:21-6:9">[xr] Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Ephesians 5:21-6:9">[xr] Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
New Living Translation
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.
New Life Bible
Wives, obey your husbands. This is what the Lord wants you to do.
Wives, obey your husbands. This is what the Lord wants you to do.
New Revised Standard
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Ye wives! be submitting yourselves unto your husbands, as is becoming in the Lord;
Ye wives! be submitting yourselves unto your husbands, as is becoming in the Lord;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as it behoveth in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as it behoveth in the Lord.
Revised Standard Version
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Wyves submit youre selves vnto youre awne husbandes as it is comly in the Lorde.
Wyves submit youre selves vnto youre awne husbandes as it is comly in the Lorde.
Young's Literal Translation
The wives! be subject to your own husbands, as is fit in the Lord;
The wives! be subject to your own husbands, as is fit in the Lord;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ye wyues, submytte youre selues vnto youre hussbandes, as it is comly in the LORDE.
Ye wyues, submytte youre selues vnto youre hussbandes, as it is comly in the LORDE.
Mace New Testament (1729)
Dames, be submissive to your husbands, as becomes christians.
Dames, be submissive to your husbands, as becomes christians.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Ladies, show respect for your husbands and submit to him out of your love for the Lord.
Ladies, show respect for your husbands and submit to him out of your love for the Lord.
Contextual Overview
18 Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master. 19 Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of them. 20 Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end. 21 Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits. 22Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
submit: Genesis 3:16, Esther 1:20, 1 Corinthians 11:3, 1 Corinthians 14:34, Ephesians 5:22-24, Ephesians 5:33, 1 Timothy 2:12, Titus 2:4, Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:1-6
as: Acts 5:29, Ephesians 5:3, Ephesians 6:1
Reciprocal: Ruth 1:8 - the dead 1 Timothy 2:11 - General
Cross-References
Genesis 3:14
God told the serpent: "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel."
God told the serpent: "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel."
Job 1:21
Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I'll return to the womb of the earth. God gives, God takes. God's name be ever blessed.
Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I'll return to the womb of the earth. God gives, God takes. God's name be ever blessed.
Psalms 90:3
So don't return us to mud, saying, "Back to where you came from!" Patience! You've got all the time in the world—whether a thousand years or a day, it's all the same to you. Are we no more to you than a wispy dream, no more than a blade of grass That springs up gloriously with the rising sun and is cut down without a second thought? Your anger is far and away too much for us; we're at the end of our rope. You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed since we were children is entered in your books. All we can remember is that frown on your face. Is that all we're ever going to get? We live for seventy years or so (with luck we might make it to eighty), And what do we have to show for it? Trouble. Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard. Who can make sense of such rage, such anger against the very ones who fear you?
So don't return us to mud, saying, "Back to where you came from!" Patience! You've got all the time in the world—whether a thousand years or a day, it's all the same to you. Are we no more to you than a wispy dream, no more than a blade of grass That springs up gloriously with the rising sun and is cut down without a second thought? Your anger is far and away too much for us; we're at the end of our rope. You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed since we were children is entered in your books. All we can remember is that frown on your face. Is that all we're ever going to get? We live for seventy years or so (with luck we might make it to eighty), And what do we have to show for it? Trouble. Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard. Who can make sense of such rage, such anger against the very ones who fear you?
Proverbs 22:5
The perverse travel a dangerous road, potholed and mud-slick; if you know what's good for you, stay clear of it.
The perverse travel a dangerous road, potholed and mud-slick; if you know what's good for you, stay clear of it.
Isaiah 7:23
But that's not the end of it. This country that used to be covered with fine vineyards—thousands of them, worth millions!—will revert to a weed patch. Weeds and thornbushes everywhere! Good for nothing except, perhaps, hunting rabbits. Cattle and sheep will forage as best they can in the fields of weeds—but there won't be a trace of all those fertile and well-tended gardens and fields.
But that's not the end of it. This country that used to be covered with fine vineyards—thousands of them, worth millions!—will revert to a weed patch. Weeds and thornbushes everywhere! Good for nothing except, perhaps, hunting rabbits. Cattle and sheep will forage as best they can in the fields of weeds—but there won't be a trace of all those fertile and well-tended gardens and fields.
Jeremiah 4:3
Here's another Message from God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow your unplowed fields, but then don't plant weeds in the soil! Yes, circumcise your lives for God's sake. Plow your unplowed hearts, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Prevent fire—the fire of my anger— for once it starts it can't be put out. Your wicked ways are fuel for the fire.
Here's another Message from God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow your unplowed fields, but then don't plant weeds in the soil! Yes, circumcise your lives for God's sake. Plow your unplowed hearts, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Prevent fire—the fire of my anger— for once it starts it can't be put out. Your wicked ways are fuel for the fire.
Matthew 13:7
A Harvest Story At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories. "What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?" He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again: Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing. The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them. "But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance. "Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road. "The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. "The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it. "The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams." He told another story. "God's kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too. "The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn't it? Where did these thistles come from?' "He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.' "The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?' "He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you'll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I'll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.'" Another story. "God's kingdom is like a pine nut that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge pine tree, and eagles build nests in it." Another story. "God's kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread—and waits while the dough rises." All Jesus did that day was tell stories—a long storytelling afternoon. His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy: I will open my mouth and tell stories; I will bring out into the open things hidden since the world's first day. Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, "Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field." So he explained. "The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels. "The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father. "Are you listening to this? Really listening? "God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. "Or, God's kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it. "Or, God's kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That's how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won't do any good." Jesus asked, "Are you starting to get a handle on all this?" They answered, "Yes." He said, "Then you see how every student well-trained in God's kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it." When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise, get such ability?" But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "We've known him since he was a kid; he's the carpenter's son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?" They got their noses all out of joint. But Jesus said, "A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family." He didn't do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.
A Harvest Story At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories. "What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?" He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again: Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing. The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them. "But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance. "Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road. "The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. "The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it. "The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams." He told another story. "God's kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too. "The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn't it? Where did these thistles come from?' "He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.' "The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?' "He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you'll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I'll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.'" Another story. "God's kingdom is like a pine nut that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge pine tree, and eagles build nests in it." Another story. "God's kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread—and waits while the dough rises." All Jesus did that day was tell stories—a long storytelling afternoon. His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy: I will open my mouth and tell stories; I will bring out into the open things hidden since the world's first day. Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, "Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field." So he explained. "The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels. "The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father. "Are you listening to this? Really listening? "God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. "Or, God's kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it. "Or, God's kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That's how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won't do any good." Jesus asked, "Are you starting to get a handle on all this?" They answered, "Yes." He said, "Then you see how every student well-trained in God's kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it." When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise, get such ability?" But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "We've known him since he was a kid; he's the carpenter's son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?" They got their noses all out of joint. But Jesus said, "A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family." He didn't do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.
Romans 14:2
For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,.... The apostle proceeds from those duties which related to them as church members one towards another, for their mutual good and edification, and the glory of God, to such as concerned them in their own houses and families, as in a natural relation to each other; as husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants; showing hereby, that the Gospel does not at all break in upon, but establishes the duties of common and civil life. Concerning the duty wives to their husbands, here exhorted to, :-. The reason urging to a regard to it is,
as it is fit in the Lord; that is, Christ, as the Syriac version reads it. Subjection of wives to their own husbands is "fit" and proper in its own nature, by reason of the original creation of man, and of the woman from him: man was made first, and then the woman; and the woman was made out of the man, out of one of his ribs; and so, though not to be trampled under his feet, but to be by his side, and an help meet to him, yet not to be head, or to rule over him. Moreover, the woman was made for the man, and not the man for the woman; add to this, that the woman was in the transgression, and the means of the fall of man, which gave a fresh reason for, and made the obligation to subjection to him the stronger: and it is also a "decent" and becoming thing for wives to be subject to their husbands; for as it is giving honour to them, it is a real ornament to themselves, and is one of those good works which women professing godliness should adorn themselves with; and makes more comely and beautiful than broidered hair; gold, pearls, or costly array, yea, than their natural favour and beauty: it is what is fitting "in the Lord": it is what he requires, not only what the law of God requires, see 1 Corinthians 14:34 and which was enjoined originally, see Genesis 3:16 and was charged as a duty under the legal dispensation; but is what is commanded by Christ under the Gospel dispensation, and is to be observed by all those that are "in" him, that profess to be new creatures, converted persons, that so the word of God be not blasphemed, and the enemy have no occasion to reproach, see Titus 2:5 though this phrase may also be considered as a restriction and limitation of this subjection; that though it reaches to all things, yet only to such as are agreeable to the will of the Lord, and not contrary to the Gospel of Christ; for in these they are not to be subject to them, but to Christ the Lord; but in all other things they are, even as the church is subject to Christ: and when this is the case, such subjection is regarded by Christ as if it was done to himself; and indeed his honour and glory should be the governing view in it; see Ephesians 5:22.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Wives, submit yourselves ... - Notes on the parallel passage in Ephesians 5:21-24.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. Wives, submit yourselves — Having done with general directions, the apostle comes to particular duties, which are commonly called relative; because they only belong to persons in certain situations; and are not incumbent on all. No woman has the duty of a wife to perform but she who is one, and no man has the duty of a husband to perform but he who is married.
The directions here to wives, husbands, children, parents, servants, and masters, are so exactly the same in substance with those in Ephesians 5:22-33(note); Ephesians 6:1-9 (note), that there is no need to repeat what has been said on those passages; and to the notes there the reader is requested to refer.
As it is fit in the Lord. — God commands it; and it is both proper and decent.
