Ephesians 6:2

“Honor your father and your mother —which is the first commandment with a promise—”
Ephesians 6:2 · direct translation from the Greek

Study it in the app

Paul repeats the commandment and also speaks to fathersParents and Children

With the Greek beneath

Honorτίμαyour fatherτὸν πατέρα σουandκαὶyour motherτὴν μητέρα—whichἥτιςisἐστὶνthe firstπρώτηcommandmentἐντολὴwithἐνa promise—ἐπαγγελίᾳ

Quotation · Exodus 20:12

Go to Exodus 20:12

Paul quotes the commandment and its promise. “So that it may go well with you” is in the form of Deuteronomy 5:16, not in Exodus 20:12.

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη ἐν ἐπαγγελίᾳ ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται καὶ ἔσῃ μακροχρόνιος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

Hebrew (Masoretic text): כַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִכוּן יָמֶיךָ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ

Septuagint (Exodus 20:12 in the Septuagint numbering): Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα, ἴνα εὖ σοι γένηται, καὶ ἵνα μακροχρόνιος γένῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἧς κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 7 consecutive words: “τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Quotation · Deuteronomy 5:16

Go to Deuteronomy 5:16

Deuteronomy 5:16 has both promises that Paul quotes: “so that it may go well with you” and a long life on the land.

See the original texts

Hebrew (Masoretic text): כַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיכֻן יָמֶיךָ וּלְמַעַן יִיטַב לָךְ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ

Septuagint (Deuteronomy 5:16 in the Septuagint numbering): Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, ὃν τρόπον ἐνετείλατο κύριος ὁ θεός σου, ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται, καὶ ἵνα μακροχρόνιοι ἦτε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἧς Κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 7 consecutive words: “τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Ephesians 6:2, word by word

Honorτίμαtima

honor

To give someone respect and esteem.

Where else “tima” appears

your fatherπατέραpatera

parents

A family's father; sometimes father and mother.

Where else “patera” appears

your motherμητέραmētera

mother

The woman who gives birth to a child and raises it.

Where else “mētera” appears

isἐστὶνestin

To be: says who or what something is.

Where else “estin” appears

the firstπρώτηprōtē

first

The one who comes before all others, in time or in order.

Where else “prōtē” appears

commandmentἐντολὴentolē

commandment

What God or Jesus orders to be done, with his authority, to be carried out.

Where else “entolē” appears

a promise—ἐπαγγελίᾳepangeliai

promise

Promise.

Where else “epangeliai” appears

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Quotation · Exodus 20:12

Paul quotes the commandment and its promise. “So that it may go well with you” is in the form of Deuteronomy 5:16, not in Exodus 20:12.

See them side by side

Ephesians 6:2

²Honor your father and your mother —which is the first commandment with a promise—

Exodus 20:12

¹²Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long on the land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you.

Quotation · Deuteronomy 5:16

Deuteronomy 5:16 has both promises that Paul quotes: “so that it may go well with you” and a long life on the land.

See them side by side

Ephesians 6:2

²Honor your father and your mother —which is the first commandment with a promise—

Deuteronomy 5:16

¹⁶Honor your father and your mother, as YHWH your Elohim has commanded you, so that your days may be long and so that it may go well with you on the land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you.

The context

1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

2 · This verse (above)

3so that it may go well with you and you may live long on the earth.

Read all of Ephesians 6

To study Ephesians 6 in a group

1. What it says
What instructions does Paul give to children and to parents (v. 1-4)?
2. What it means
Paul describes God's armor piece by piece (v. 13-17). Why do you think he uses this image, and what does each piece stand for?
3. How I live it
Paul asks for prayer at all times and for all the saints (v. 18). Whom will you pray for today, and at what moment of the day?

How to use it