Ephesians 6

¹ Children, be obedient to your parents in the Lord-that is your duty.

² The commandment that has a promise attached to it is: Honour your father and mother,

³ and the promise is: and you will prosper and have a long life in the land.[*a]

⁴ And parents, never drive your children to resentment but in bringing them up correct them and guide them as the Lord does.

⁵ Slaves, be obedient to the men who are called your masters in this world, with deep respect and sincere loyalty, as you are obedient to Christ:

⁶ not only when you are under their eye, as if you had only to please men, but because you are slaves of Christ and wholeheartedly do the will of God.

⁷ Work hard and willingly, but do it for the sake of the Lord and not for the sake of men.

⁸ You can be sure that everyone, whether a slave or a free man, will be properly rewarded by the Lord for whatever work he has done well.

⁹ And those of you who are employers, treat your slaves in the same spirit; do without threats, remembering that they and you have the same Master in heaven and he is not impressed by one person more than by another.

¹⁰ Finally, grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of his power.

¹¹ Put God’s armour on so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics.

¹² For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness in this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens.

¹³ That is why you must rely on God’s armour, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground.

¹⁴ So stand your ground, with truth buckled round your waist, and integrity for a breastplate,[*b]

¹⁵ wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace[*c]

¹⁶ and always carrying the shield of faith so that you can use it to put out the burning arrows of the evil one.

¹⁷ And then you must accept salvation from God to be your helmet and receive the word of God from the Spirit to use as a sword.

¹⁸ Pray all the time, asking for what you need, praying in the Spirit on every possible occasion. Never get tired of staying awake to pray for all the saints;

¹⁹ and pray for me to be given an opportunity to open my mouth and speak without fear and give out the mystery of the gospel

²⁰ of which I am an ambassador in chains; pray that in proclaiming it I may speak as boldly as I ought to.

²¹ I should like you to know, as well, what is happening to me and what I am doing; my dear brother Tychicus, my loyal helper in the Lord, will tell you everything.

²² I am sending him to you precisely for this purpose, to give you news about us and reassure you.

²³ May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ grant peace, love and faith to all the brothers.

²⁴ May grace and eternal life be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.