Colossians 3:20

Colossians 3:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

Context of Colossians 3:20

18Wives, 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. 19Husbands, love your wives [with an affectionate, sympathetic, selfless love that always seeks the best for them] and do not be embittered or resentful toward them [because of the responsibilities of marriage]. Children, obey your parents [as God’s representatives] in all things, for this [attitude of respect and obedience] is well-pleasing to the Lord [and will bring you God’s promised blessings]. 21Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or exasperate your children [with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by favoritism or indifference; treat them tenderly with lovingkindness], so they will not lose heart and become discouraged or unmotivated [with their spirits broken]. 22Servants, in everything obey those who are your masters on earth, not only with external service, as those who merely please people, but with sincerity of heart because of your fear of the Lord.

Colossians 3:20 word by word

Τὰ τέκνα, ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν κατὰ πάντα· τοῦτο γὰρ εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν ἐν κυρίῳ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Childrenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• obeyὑπακούωhupakouō · to obeyG5219
• parentsγονεύςgoneus · parentG1118
• inκατάkata · according toG2596
• all thingsπᾶςpas · allG3956
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• well pleasingεὐάρεστοςeuarestos · well-pleasingG2101
• unto the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962

Cross-references for Colossians 3:20

• Genesis 28:7and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram.
• Exodus 20:12“Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.
• Leviticus 19:3Each of you shall respect his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.
• Deuteronomy 21:18“If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or of his mother, and when they reprimand and discipline him, he will not listen to them,
• Deuteronomy 27:16‘Cursed is he who dishonors (treats with contempt) his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
• Proverbs 6:20My son, be guided by your father’s [God-given] commandment (instruction) And do not reject the teaching of your mother;
• Proverbs 20:20Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp [of life] will be extinguished in time of darkness.
• Proverbs 30:11There is a generation (class of people) that curses its father And does not bless its mother.
• Ezekiel 22:7In you they have treated father and mother lightly. They have oppressed the stranger among you; and in your presence they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.
• Malachi 1:6“ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear and respect due Me?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. But you say, ‘How and in what way have we despised Your name?’
• Matthew 15:4For God said [through Moses], ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of or insults or treats improperly father or mother is to be put to death.’
• Matthew 19:19Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself” [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].
• Ephesians 6:1Children, obey your parents in the Lord [that is, accept their guidance and discipline as His representatives], for this is right [for obedience teaches wisdom and self-discipline].
• Colossians 3:22Servants, in everything obey those who are your masters on earth, not only with external service, as those who merely please people, but with sincerity of heart because of your fear of the Lord.
• Ephesians 5:24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives should be subject to their husbands in everything [respecting both their position as protector and their responsibility to God as head of the house].
• Colossians 1:10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts];

Commentaries on Colossians 3:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Children, obey - in all things - That is, in the Lord - in every thing that your parents command you, which is not contrary to the will or word of God.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Children, obey your parents … - Notes, Ephesians 6:1-4.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 The epistles most taken up in displaying the glory of the Divine grace, and magnifying the Lord Jesus, are the most particular in pressing the duties of the Christian life. We must never separate the privileges and duties of the gospel. Submission is the duty of wives. But it is submission, not to a severe lord or stern tyrant, but to her own husband, who is engaged to affectionate duty. And husbands must love their wives with tender and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-25This series of teachings is called a household code. Paul instructs wives (3:18), husbands (3:19), children (3:20), fathers (3:21), slaves (3:22–25), and masters (4:1). Similar codes are found in Greco-Roman writings and other parts of the New Testament (see Ephesians 5:22–6:9; 1 Peter 2:18–3:7).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. (Ep 6:1.) unto the Lord--The oldest manuscripts read, "IN the Lord," that is, this is acceptable to God when it is done in the Lord, namely, from the principle of faith, and as disciples in union with the Lord.Read the comment

Topics related to Colossians 3:20

• Children

In the dictionaries

• Admonish
• Bond
• Charity
• Covetousness
• Discourage
• Ephesians, Epistle to
• Fit
• Lord
• Member
• Mortify

Commentaries on Colossians 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings