Ephesians 5:26

Ephesians 5:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
• New International Version (NIV)to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
• English Standard Version (ESV)that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
• New King James Version (NKJV)that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

Context of Ephesians 5:26

24As the church serves Christ as its master, so wives should serve their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church. He even agreed to die on its behalf. He did that to make us completely clean, as the people of God. It was like he washed us with water, as he brought God's message to us. 27Christ himself did this to bring us to himself as a beautiful group of his people. His church would belong to him completely. It would be pure, without anything bad to spoil it. 28So husbands should love their wives, just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife shows that he loves himself.

Ephesians 5:26 word by word

ἵνα αὐτὴν ἁγιάσῃ καθαρίσας τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν ῥήματι,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• heαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• might sanctifyἁγιάζωhagiazō · to sanctifyG37
• and cleanse itκαθαρίζωkatharizō · to cleanG2511
• with the washingὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• with the washingλουτρόνloutron · washingG3067
• of waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
• byἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the wordῥῆμαrhēma · declarationG4487

Cross-references for Ephesians 5:26

• John 17:17Help them to belong completely to you, as they follow the truth. Your message is the truth.
• Acts 26:18You will help them to understand what is really true. They are like people who live in the dark. Teach them what is true about me. Then they will be like people who live in the light. Now Satan has power over them. Lead them from there into God's kingdom. Then God will forgive them for the wrong things that they have done. Because they believe in me, God will accept them as his own people.” ’
• 1 Corinthians 6:11At one time, some of you were people like that. But God has now made you clean and pure, so that you belong to him. You have become right with God. Our God has done this with the power of his Spirit because you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Hebrews 9:14But the blood of Christ's sacrifice will do much more than that! Christ offered himself to God, in the power of his Spirit, who lives for ever. That sacrifice was completely good. There was no wrong thing in Christ. He offered his own blood to make us completely clean inside ourselves. We no longer have to do things that lead to death. Instead, we can serve the God who lives for ever.
• Hebrews 10:10Jesus Christ was ready to do what God wanted. He offered his own body to God once, for all time. Because of Christ's sacrifice, God has made us clean so that we belong to him.
• 1 Peter 1:2God, the Father, already decided that you should be his people. God's Spirit has made you special people who would obey Jesus Christ. God chose you so that Jesus Christ's blood would make you really clean. I pray that God will help you and give you peace in your minds more and more.
• Jude 1:1This letter is from me, Jude. I am Jesus Christ's servant and I am James's brother. I am writing to you people that God, the Father, loves. God has chosen you to be his own people. He is keeping you safe until the time when Jesus Christ returns.
• Ezekiel 16:9Then I washed your body with water. I washed away the blood and I put sweet oil on your body.
• Ezekiel 36:25You will become pure, as if I splash you with clean water. I will remove all the things that make you unclean. I will take away the idols that you worship.
• Zechariah 13:1‘On that day, water will start to pour from a fountain for King David's descendants and Jerusalem's people. It will make them clean from their sins and the dirty things that they have done.’
• John 3:5Jesus explained, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born by water and by God's Spirit, he cannot come into the kingdom of God.
• Acts 22:16So now you do not need to wait any longer. Stand up and I will baptize you. Believe in the Lord Jesus so that God will forgive you for your sins.”
• Hebrews 10:22So we should come near to God and we should not be afraid. But we must be honest and we must continue to trust him. He has made us clean from the dirt of our sins. Our thoughts no longer give us trouble about our sins. We have become clean. It is like he has washed our bodies with clean water.
• 1 Peter 3:21That shows how God now saves you. It is like a picture of baptism. The water of baptism does not wash dirt from a person's body. Instead, it shows that a person has decided to obey God. He is choosing to do what is right. That saves you, because Jesus Christ became alive again after his death.
• 1 John 5:6Jesus Christ is the man that God sent into the world. John baptized Jesus in water. When Jesus died, his blood poured out. God showed that Jesus is his Son with the water and with the blood. It was not only with the water of Jesus' baptism. It was also with the blood of his death. God's Holy Spirit also shows us that Jesus is God's Son. The Holy Spirit always says what is true.
• John 15:8If you make plenty of fruit, that will give honour to my Father. You will show that you are truly my disciples.

Commentaries on Ephesians 5:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it - The Church is represented as the spouse of Christ, as the woman is the spouse of the man; and, to prepare this Church for himself, he washes, cleanses, and sanctifies it. There is certainly an allusion here to the ancient method of purifying women, who were appointed to be consorts to kings; twelve months, it appears, were in some instances spent in this purification: Six months with oil of myrrh, and six months…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26That he might sanctify - The great object of the Redeemer was to purify and save the church. The meaning here is, that a husband is to manifest similar love toward his wife, and a similar desire that she should be prepared to “walk before him in white”. And cleanse it with the washing of water - In all this there is an allusion doubtless to the various methods of purifying and cleansing those who were about to be married, and who were to be united to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-33Verses 22-33 The duty of wives is, submission to their husbands in the Lord, which includes honouring and obeying them, from a principle of love to them. The duty of husbands is to love their wives. The love of Christ to the church is an example, which is sincere, pure, and constant, notwithstanding her failures. Christ gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify it in this world, and glorify it in the next, that he might bestow on all his members…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26by the washing with water through the word: The church has been purified by the message of good news. God has forgiven the sins of his people through Christ's sacrificial death (John 15:3; compare Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. sanctify--that is, consecrate her to God. Compare Joh 17:19, meaning, "I devote Myself as a holy sacrifice, that My disciples also may be devoted or consecrated as holy in (through) the truth" [Neander] (He 2:11; 10:10; 13:12 see on He 10:10). and cleanse--rather, as Greek, "cleansing," without the "and." with the washing of water--rather as Greek, "with," or "by the laver of the water," namely, the baptismal water. So it ought to be translated in Tit…Read the comment

Topics related to Ephesians 5:26

• Ablution
• Baptism
• Church
• Husband
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Sanctification
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Types
• Washing
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Arise
• Awake
• Dear
• Ephesians, Epistle to
• Fellowship
• Flesh
• Fruit
• Light
• Marriage
• Melody

Commentaries on Ephesians 5

• 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