¹⁸ And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; ^(A)I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ^19 (B)Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and ^(C)brought them to ^[a]Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

²¹ And the Lord God caused a ^(D)deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. ²² Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He ^[b]made into a woman, ^(E)and He ^(F)brought her to the man.

²³ And Adam said:

^24 (I)Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and ^(J)be^[e] joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

^25 (K)And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ^(L)ashamed.

Marriage—Christ and the Church^(A)

²² Wives, ^(B)submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For ^(C)the husband is head of the wife, as also ^(D)Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands ^(E)in everything.

^25 (F)Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and ^(G)gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might ^[a]sanctify and cleanse her ^(H)with the washing of water ^(I)by the word, ^27 (J)that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, ^(K)not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. ³⁰ For ^(L)we are members of His body, ^[b]of His flesh and of His bones. ^31 (M)“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the ^(N)two shall become one flesh.” ³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. ³³ Nevertheless ^(O)let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she ^(P)respects her husband.

Children and Parents^(Q)

6 Children, ^(R)obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ^2 (S)“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.”

² Then I, ^[a]John, saw ^(A)the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared ^(B)as a bride adorned for her husband.

^2 (A)The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him.

³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴ They said, ^(B)“Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”

⁵ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this ^[a]precept. ⁶ But from the beginning of the creation, God ^(C)‘made them male and female.’ ^7 (D)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

¹⁰ In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. ¹¹ So He said to them, ^(E)“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. ¹² And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children^(F)

^13 (G)Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for ^(H)of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(I)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will ^(J)by no means enter it.” ¹⁶ And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.