to love (in a social or moral sense) · verb — present active imperative, 3rd person singular
one
ἕνα,hena
G1520
one · adjective — accusative singular masculine
you
ὑμεῖςhymeîs
G5210
you (as subjective of verb)
particular
ἕκαστοςhekastos
G1538
each or every · adjective — nominative singular masculine
so
οὕτωςhoutōs
G3779
in this way (referring to what precedes or follows) · adverb
love
ἀγαπάωagapáō
G25
to love (in a social or moral sense)
his
ἑαυτοῦhe'autou
G1438
him- (her- · reflexive pronoun
wife
γυναῖκαgunaika
G1135
a woman · noun — accusative singular feminine
as
ὡςhōs
G5613
which how · particle
himself
ἑαυτόν,he'auton
G1438
him- (her- · reflexive pronoun
and
δὲde
G1161
but · conjunction
wife
γυνὴgunē
G1135
a woman · noun — nominative singular feminine
that
ἵναina
G2443
compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
reverence
φοβῆταιphobētai
G5399
to frighten · verb — present middle or passive deponent subjunctive, 3rd person singular
husband
ἄνδρα.¶andra
G435
a man (properly as an individual male) · noun — accusative singular masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Peter 3:2-7 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
Esther 1:20 And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to…
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Ephesians 5:28-29 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto…
1 Kings 1:31 Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ephesians 5:21–end
Here the apostle begins his exhortation to the discharge of relative duties. As a general foundation for these duties, he lays down that rule Eph 5:21. There is a mutual submission that Christians owe one to another, condescending to bear one another's burdens: not advancing themselves above others, nor domineering over one another and giving laws to one another. Paul was an example of this truly Christian temper, for he became all things to all men. We must be of a yielding and of a submissive spirit, and ready to all the duties of the respective places and stations that God has allotted to us in the world. In the fear of God, that is, so far as is consistent with the fear of God, for his s…
Nevertheless--not to pursue further the mystical meaning of marriage. Translate, as Greek, "Do ye also (as Christ does) severally each one so love," &c. The words, "severally each one," refer to them in their individual capacity, contrasted with the previous collective view of the members of the Church as the bride of Christ.
Next: Ephesians Chapter 6
Adam Clarke on Ephesians 5:33
Nevertheless - Πλην· Moreover, or therefore, on the consideration of God's design in the institution of marriage, let every one of you love his wife as himself, because she is both naturally and by a Divine ordinance a part of himself.
That she reverence her husband - Let the wife ever consider the husband as her head, and this he is, not only by nature, but also by the ordinance of God. These are very important matters, and on them the apostle lays great stress. See the following observations.
There is one subject in the preceding verse on which I could not enlarge sufficiently in the notes, and which I have reserved for this place; viz. what the apostle says concerning the mystery of marri…
Nevertheless, let everyone of you in particular,.... The apostle returns to his former subject, and recapitulates the mutual duties of husband and wife, after he had enforced them from the instance and example of Christ, and his church; and would have every married person in particular take the directions and instructions given, to themselves: as that the husband
so love his wife even as himself; since they two are one flesh:
and the wife see that she reverence her husband; since he leaves father and mother for her, and is the head of her; See Gill on Ephesians 5:22.
The Church Fathers
Already he has given instructions generally to men concerning their wives and to women concerning their husbands. He now applies the same principles specifically to the Ephesians.… He has added the connecting word however. This shows that even as Christ and the church are one body, so are husband and wife one flesh. The husband's maxim is to love his wife as if she were his own flesh.
"Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she fear her husband." For indeed, in very deed, a mystery it is, yea, a great mystery, that a man should leave him that gave him being, him that begat him, and that brought him up, and her that travailed with him and had sorrow, those that have bestowed upon him so many and great benefits, those with whom he has been in familiar intercourse, and be joined to one who was never even seen by him and who has nothing in common with him, and should honor her before all others. A mystery it is indeed. And yet are parents not distressed when these events take place, but rather, when they do not take place; and are delighted when their wealth is spent and lavished upon it. However not for the husband's sake alone it is thus said, but for the wife's sake also, that "he cherish her as his own flesh, as Christ also the Church," and, "that the wife fear her husband." He is no longer setting down the duties of love only, but what? "That she fear her husband." The wife is a second authority; let not her then demand equality, for she is under the head; nor let him despise her as being in subjection, for she is the body; and if the head despise the body, it will itself also perish. But let him bring in love on his part as a counterpoise to obedience on her part. For example, let the hands and the feet, and all the rest of the members be given up for service to the head, but let the head provide for the body, seeing it contains every sense in itself. Nothing can be better than this union. And yet how can there ever be love, one may say, where there is fear? It will exist there, I say, preeminently. For she that fears and reverences, loves also; and she that loves, fears and reverences him as being the head, and loves him as being a member, since the head itself is a member of the body at large. Hence he places the one in subjection, and the other in authority, that there may be peace; for where there is equal authority there can never be peace; neither where a house is a democracy, nor where all are rulers; but the ruling power must of necessity be one. And this is universally the case with matters referring to the body, inasmuch as when men are spiritual, there will be peace. There were "five thousand souls," and not one of them said, "that aught of the things which he…
Dictionary and topics
Marriage — Was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt.…
Wife — The ordinance of marriage was sanctioned in Paradise (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6). Monogamy was the original law under which man lived, but polygamy early commenced (Gen. 4:19), and continued to prevail…
Husband · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Husbands · Duty of, to wives: To love them — Duty of, to wives: To love them
Wife · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Wives · Duties of, to their husbands: To reverence them — Duties of, to their husbands: To reverence them
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Ephesians 5:28–end
Ephesians 5:28-33
28. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies: he that loveth his wife loveth himself.
28. Ita viri debent diligere suas uxores, tanquam sua corpora. Qui diligit uxorem suam, se ipsum diligit.
29. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
29. Nemo enim unquam carnem suam odio habuit, sed nutrit et fovet eam; quemadmodum et Christus Ecclesiam.
30. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
30. Quia membra sumus corporis ejus, ex ejus carne et ex ejus ossibus.
31. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be o…