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Ephesians

About this book
Chapter 5

1 Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children 2 and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. 4 Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting—all of which are out of character—but rather thanksgiving. 5 For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience.⁠ 7 Therefore do not be sharers with them, 8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live like children of light— 9 for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth— 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For the things they do in secret are shameful even to mention. 13 But all things being exposed by the light are made visible. 14 For everything made visible is light, and for this reason it says: “Awake, O sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!”⁠ 15 Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 taking advantage of every opportunity because the days are evil. 17 For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit,⁠ 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,⁠ 23 because the husband is the head of the wife⁠ as also Christ is the head of the church (he himself being the savior of the body). 24 But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, 27 so that he may present the church to himself as glorious—not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.⁠ 28 In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one has ever hated his own body, but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great—but⁠ I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 26:19 and Ephesians 5:14

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Ephesians reworks Isaiah’s language about waking and rising, combining ideas from Isaiah 26 and 60. Isaiah uses this imagery for Israel’s renewal after exile and Ephesians applies it to personal change in how people live, shaped by Jesus.

Passages

Isaiah 26:19

Hebrew Bible
17 As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver and strains and cries out because of her labor pains, so were we because of you, O Lord. 18 We were pregnant, we strained, we gave birth, as it were, to wind. We cannot produce deliverance on the earth; no people are born to populate the world. 19 Your dead will come back to life; your corpses will rise up. Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the dust!32 For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. 20 Go, my people! Enter your inner rooms! Close your doors behind you! Hide for a little while, until his angry judgment is over.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Ephesians 5:14

New Testament
11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For the things they do in secret are shameful even to mention. 13 But all things being exposed by the light are made visible. 14 For everything made visible is light, and for this reason it says: “Awake, O sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!” 15 Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 taking advantage of every opportunity because the days are evil.
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ephesians

References

"... Although this excerpt does include strong allusions to Isaiah 26:19 and 60:1-2, it does not cohere closely with either text ... Certainly, the first two lines of 5:14 have close linkage with Isaiah 26:19 ... The text in Isaiah 60:1-2 contributes conceptual parallels to the citation, with the notion of the 'Light of the Lord' rising and shining on his people who dwell in darkness. Isaiah 60:1 also begins with second person singular imperatives, including the verb 'arise' in the underlying Hebrew. It appears, therefore, that Paul's citation represents an amalgamation of at least these two Isaianic texts ..."
Jonathan M. Lunde and John A. Dunne, Paul's Creative and Contextual Use of Isaiah in Ephesians 5:14 (Journal of the Evangelical Society, 2012), 87–110.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 26:19 and Ephesians 5:14

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