¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; ^(A)I will make him a helper fit for^[a] him.” ^19 (B)Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed^[b] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and ^(C)brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam^[c] there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a ^(D)deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made^[d] into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said,

^24 (G)Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

^25 (A)Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and ^(B)gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by ^(C)the washing of water ^(D)with the word, ²⁷ so ^(E)that he might present the church to himself in splendor, ^(F)without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.^{[a] 28} In the same way ^(G)husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because ^(H)we are members of his body. ^31 (I)“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^(J)the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, ^(K)let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she ^(L)respects her husband.