Ephesians 5

New International Reader's Version

5 ¹ You are the children that God dearly loves. So follow his example. ² Lead a life of love, just as Christ did. He loved us. He gave himself up for us. He was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

³ There should not be even a hint of sexual sin among you. Don’t do anything impure. And do not always want more and more. These are not the things God’s holy people should do. ⁴ There must not be any bad language or foolish talk or dirty jokes. They are out of place. Instead, you should give thanks. ⁵ Here is what you can be sure of. Those who give themselves over to sexual sins are lost. So are people whose lives are impure. The same is true of those who always want more and more. People who do these things might as well worship statues of gods. No one who does them will receive a share in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Don’t let anyone fool you with worthless words. People who say things like that aren’t obeying God. He is angry with them. ⁷ So don’t go along with people like that.

⁸ At one time you were in the dark. But now you are in the light because of what the Lord has done. Live like children of the light. ⁹ The light produces what is completely good, right and true. ¹⁰ Find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the acts of darkness. They don’t produce anything good. Show what they are really like. ¹² It is shameful even to talk about what people who don’t obey do in secret. ¹³ But everything the light shines on can be seen. And everything that the light shines on becomes a light. ¹⁴ That is why it is said,

¹⁵ So be very careful how you live. Do not live like people who aren’t wise. Live like people who are wise. ¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity. The days are evil. ¹⁷ So don’t be foolish. Instead, understand what the Lord wants. ¹⁸ Don’t fill yourself up with wine. Getting drunk will lead to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord. ²⁰ Always give thanks to God the Father for everything. Give thanks to him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Teachings for Christian Families

²¹ Follow the lead of one another because of your respect for Christ.

²² Wives, follow the lead of your own husbands as you follow the Lord. ²³ The husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. The church is Christ’s body. He is its Savior. ²⁴ The church follows the lead of Christ. In the same way, wives should follow the lead of their husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives. Love them just as Christ loved the church. He gave himself up for her. ²⁶ He did it to make her holy. He made her clean by washing her with water and the word. ²⁷ He did it to bring her to himself as a brightly shining church. He wants a church that has no stain or wrinkle or any other flaw. He wants a church that is holy and without blame. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands should love their wives. They should love them as they love their own bodies. Any man who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body. Instead, they feed and care for their body. And this is what Christ does for the church. ³⁰ We are parts of his body. ³¹ Scripture says, “That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two will become one.” (Genesis 2:24) ³² That is a deep mystery. But I’m talking about Christ and the church. ³³ A husband also must love his wife. He must love her just as he loves himself. And a wife must respect her husband.