Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Ephesians 5:33 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 33. 33Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The section closes by directly requiring each husband to love and each wife to respect, not by granting unchecked power.
Read It With
- Ephesians 5:22–33
Read Ephesians 5:22–33 as a complete section. Read verse 22 with the submission language of verse 21 and with verses 25–33, where husbands are repeatedly commanded to love through Christlike self-giving, nourishing, and cherishing.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Paul addresses existing household relationships under Christ's lordship and makes the husband's exercise of power answer to Christ's costly love, not self-advantage.
What Remains True
The marriage section closes with a direct call to self-giving love and respect rather than a license for unchecked power.
How It Can Shape Life
- Practice concrete care and respect without using either obligation as leverage to excuse coercion, fear, or harm.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ephesians 5:22–33 — Marriage Under Christ's Self-Giving LoveSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact KJV wording and immediate English context for Ephesians 5:22–33.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Ephesians 5; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and sentence relationships used to check the passage.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Eph.txt, Ephesians 5, verses within Ephesians 5:22–33.
Open the Ephesians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Ephesians with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants checked for this passage.
Exact location: NET Bible, Ephesians 5, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Ephesians 5:22–33.
Open NET Ephesians 5 ↗