Ephesians 5:29

Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

▾

KJV

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

ASV

for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church;

YLT

for no one ever his own flesh did hate, but doth nourish and cherish it, as also the Lord--the assembly,

DBT

For no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as also the Christ the assembly:

⋯

Commentary voices

loading…

Voices5

On this verse

How much honour is given to the flesh in the name of the church! "No man," says the apostle, "ever yet hated his own flesh" (except, of course, Marcion alone), "but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord doth the Church." But you are the only man that hates his flesh, for you rob it of its resurrection.

Tertullian· Against Marcion Book V, 220patristic

Related commentary

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh,....

John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)reformed

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh - This is urged as an argument why a man should love his wife and show kindness to her. As no man disregards the happiness of his own body, or himself, so he should show equal care to promote the happiness of his wife. A sentiment similar to this is found in the classic writers. Thus, Curtius (lib. vii.) says, Corporibus nostris quoe utique non odimus - We do not hate those things that pertain to our own bodies. So Seneca (Epis.

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

For--Supply, and we all love ourselves: "For no man," &c. his own flesh-- (Eph 5:31, end). nourisheth--Greek, "nourisheth it up," namely, to maturity.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed

Even as the Lord the church: that is, as the Lord nourishes and cherishes the church, which he furnishes with all things that he sees needful or good for her, with whatever conduces to her everlasting happiness and welfare. The apostle adds, For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones,

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

Voices on this verse

loading…

Rabbinic commentary

How the Hebraic tradition has read this verse — and Marcus Brown’s own reading of it.

Cross-references

12 linked verses

The verses this one reaches12

Colossians 2:23
Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Ephesians 5:31
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Ezekiel 34:14–15
I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
Ecclesiastes 4:5
The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
Proverbs 11:17
A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.
John 6:50–58
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die.
Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
Colossians 2:19
He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.
Romans 1:31
They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.
Ezekiel 34:27
The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.

Cross-references

loading…

The quotation web

loading…

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ephesians 5:31
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
leads to
- Genesis 2:24
  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
- Matthew 19:5
  and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
- Mark 10:7–8
  ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
- 1 Corinthians 6:16
  Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
Through
Proverbs 11:17
A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.
leads to
- Matthew 5:7
  Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
- Matthew 25:34–40
  Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Through
Ecclesiastes 4:5
The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
leads to
- Isaiah 9:20
  They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own…
- Proverbs 6:10–11
  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

loading…

Continue: Ephesians 5 →