Ephesians 5:32

Ephesians 5:32 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
• New International Version (NIV)This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
• New King James Version (NKJV)This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
• New Living Translation (NLT)This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.

Context of Ephesians 5:32

30because we are members of his body. 31"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 5:32 word by word

τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• mysteryὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• mysteryμυστήριονmustērion · mysteryG3466
• butδέde · thenG1161
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• speakλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• concerningεἰςeis · towardG1519
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the churchἐκκλησίαekklēsia · assemblyG1577

Cross-references for Ephesians 5:32

• Ephesians 6:19and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,
• Colossians 2:2that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ,
• 1 Timothy 3:8Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.
• Psalms 45:9daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
• Isaiah 54:5For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.
• Isaiah 62:4You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.
• John 3:29The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
• 2 Corinthians 11:2For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
• Revelation 19:7Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;
• Revelation 21:2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Commentaries on Ephesians 5:32

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 32This is a great mystery - · This mystery is great. Sacramentum hoc magnum est; this sacrament is great. - Vulgate. And on the evidence of this version the Church of Rome has made matrimony a sacrament, which, as they use it, is no meaning of the original. By mystery, here, we may understand a natural thing by which some spiritual matter is signified, which signification the Spirit of God alone can give. So, here, the creation and union of Adam and Eve…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 32This is a great mystery - The Latin Vulgate translates this, “sacramentum hoc magnum est” - “this is a great sacrament” - and this is the proof, I suppose, and the only proof adduced by the papists that marriage is a “sacrament.” But the original here conveys no such idea. The word “mystery” - ́ mustērion- means something which is concealed, hidden, before unknown; something into which one must be “initiated” or instructed before he can understand it. It…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. 32This mystery is profound: Both the unity of husband and wife and the unity of Christ and the church are a great mystery(see study note on 1:8–10).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3232. Rather, "This mystery is a great one." This profound truth, beyond man's power of discovering, but now revealed, namely, of the spiritual union of Christ and the Church, represented by the marriage union, is a great one, of deep import. See on Ep 5:30. So "mystery" is used of a divine truth not to be discovered save by revelation of God (Ro 11:25; 1Co 15:51). The Vulgate wrongly translates, "This is a great sacrament," which is made the plea by the…Read the comment

Topics related to Ephesians 5:32

• Church
• Fellowship
• Husband
• Marriage
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Arise
• Awake
• Dear
• Ephesians, Epistle to
• Fellowship
• Flesh
• Fruit
• Light

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