Ephesians 6
International Children’s Bible
Children and Parents
6 Children, obey your parents the way the Lord wants. This is the right thing to do. 2 The command says, “Honor your father and mother.”[a] This is the first command that has a promise with it. 3 The promise is: “Then everything will be well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”[b]
4 Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your masters here on earth with fear and respect. And do that with a heart that is true, just as you obey Christ. 6 You must do more than obey your masters to please them only while they are watching you. You must obey them as you are obeying Christ. With all your heart you must do what God wants. 7 Do your work, and be happy to do it. Work as if you were serving the Lord, not as if you were serving only men. 8 Remember that the Lord will give a reward to everyone, slave or free, for doing good.
9 Masters, in the same way, be good to your slaves. Do not say things to scare them. You know that the One who is your Master and their Master is in heaven. And that Master treats everyone alike.
Wear the Full Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s evil tricks. 12 Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world. 13 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. 14 So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist. And on your chest wear the protection of right living. 15 And on your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. 16 And also use the shield of faith. With that you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. 17 Accept God’s salvation to be your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all God’s people.
19 Also pray for me. Pray that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret truth of the Good News without fear. 20 I have the work of speaking that Good News. I am doing that now, here in prison. Pray that when I preach the Good News I will speak without fear, as I should.
Final Greetings
21 I am sending to you Tychicus, our brother whom we love. He is a faithful servant of the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening with me. Then you will know how I am and what I am doing. 22 That is why I am sending him. I want you to know how we are. I am sending him to encourage you.
23 Peace and love with faith to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 God’s grace to all of you who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love that never ends.
Footnotes
- 6:2 “Honor . . . mother.” Quotation from Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16.
- 6:3 “Then . . . earth.” Quotation from Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16.
Ephesians 6
New King James Version
Children and Parents(A)
6 Children, (B)obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 (C)“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
4 And (D)you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but (E)bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Bondservants and Masters
5 (F)Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, (G)with fear and trembling, (H)in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 (I)not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 (J)knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that [a]your own (K)Master also is in heaven, and (L)there is no partiality with Him.
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 (M)Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against (N)principalities, against powers, against (O)the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 (P)Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand (Q)in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, (R)having girded your waist with truth, (S)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 (T)and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking (U)the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And (V)take the helmet of salvation, and (W)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 (X)praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, (Y)being watchful to this end with all perseverance and (Z)supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, (AA)that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which (AB)I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
A Gracious Greeting
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, (AC)Tychicus, a beloved brother and (AD)faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 (AE)whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may (AF)comfort your hearts.
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 6:9 NU He who is both their Master and yours is
- Ephesians 6:11 schemings
- Ephesians 6:12 NU this darkness,
Ephesians 6
English Standard Version
Children and Parents
6 (A)Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 (B)“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, (C)but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Bondservants and Masters
5 (D)Bondservants,[a] obey your earthly masters[b] with fear and trembling, (E)with a sincere heart, (F)as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as (G)people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 (H)knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, (I)whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, (J)and stop your threatening, knowing that (K)he who is both their Master[c] and yours is in heaven, and that (L)there is no partiality with him.
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, (M)be strong in the Lord and in (N)the strength of his might. 11 (O)Put on (P)the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against (Q)the schemes of the devil. 12 For (R)we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against (S)the rulers, against the authorities, against (T)the cosmic powers over (U)this present darkness, against (V)the spiritual forces of evil (W)in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore (X)take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in (Y)the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, (Z)having fastened on the belt of truth, and (AA)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, (AB)as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up (AC)the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all (AD)the flaming darts of (AE)the evil one; 17 and take (AF)the helmet of salvation, and (AG)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying (AH)at all times (AI)in the Spirit, (AJ)with all prayer and supplication. To that end, (AK)keep alert with all perseverance, making (AL)supplication for all the saints, 19 and (AM)also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth (AN)boldly to proclaim (AO)the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I (AP)am an ambassador (AQ)in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Final Greetings
21 (AR)So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, (AS)Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may (AT)encourage your hearts.
23 (AU)Peace be to the brothers,[d] and (AV)love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who (AW)love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 6:5 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 6; likewise for bondservant in verse 8
- Ephesians 6:5 Or your masters according to the flesh
- Ephesians 6:9 Greek Lord
- Ephesians 6:23 Or brothers and sisters
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
