Gloria Copeland — Husbands and Fathers
Proverbs 5:18-19
KJV—Let thy fountain be blessed: and
rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her
be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let
her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and
be thou ravished always with her love.
NIV—May your fountain be blessed, and
may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her
breasts satisfy you always, may you ever
be captivated by her love.
Amp—Let your fountain—of human life—
be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity],
and rejoice with the wife of your youth.
Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant
doe [tender, gentle, attractive]; let her
bosom satisfy you at all times; and always
be transported with delight in her love.
Proverbs 16:7
KJV—When a man’s ways please the
Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at
peace with him.
NIV—When a man’s ways are pleasing to
the Lord, he makes even his enemies live
at peace with him.
Proverbs 18:22
KJV—Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good
thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.
NIV—He who finds a wife finds what is
good and receives favor from the Lord.
Amp—He who finds a [true] wife finds a
good thing, and obtains favor of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:3
NKJV—Let the husband render to his
wife the affection due her, and likewise
also the wife to her husband.
Amp—The husband should give to his
wife her conjugal rights—goodwill, kindness
and what is due her as his wife; and
likewise the wife to her husband.
Ephesians 5:25-33
KJV—Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church, and gave
himself for it; that he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the
word, that he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing; but that it should
be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their
own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. For no man ever yet hated his own
flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even
as the Lord the church: For we are members
of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his
father and mother, and shall be joined unto
his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning
Christ and the church. Nevertheless let
every one of you in particular so love his
wife even as himself; and the wife see that
she reverence her husband.
NIV—Husbands, love your wives, just as
Christ loved the church and gave himself up
for her to make her holy, cleansing her by
the washing with water through the word,
and to present her to himself as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any
other blemish, but holy and blameless.
In this same way, husbands ought to
love their wives as their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one
ever hated his own body, but he feeds and
cares for it, just as Christ does the church—
for we are members of his body.
“For this reason a man will leave his
father and mother and be united to his
wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
This is a profound mystery—but I am talking
about Christ and the church. However,
each one of you also must love his wife
as he loves himself, and the wife must respect
her husband.
Amp—Husbands, love your wives, as Christ
loved the church and gave Himself up for
her, so that He might sanctify her, having
cleansed her by the washing of water with
the Word, that He might present the church
to Himself in glorious splendor, without
spot or wrinkle or any such things—that she
might be holy and faultless.
Even so husbands should love their
wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies.
He who loves his own wife loves himself. For
no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes
and carefully protects and cherishes
it, as Christ does the church, because we are
members (parts) of His body.
For this reason a man shall leave his
father and his mother and shall be joined
to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh. This mystery is very great, but
I speak concerning [the relation of] Christ
and the church. However, let each man of
you (without exception) love his wife as
[being in a sense] his very own self; and
let the wife see that she respects and reverences
her husband—that she notices
him, regards him, honors him, prefers
him, venerates and esteems
him; and that she defers to him, praises him,
and loves and admires him exceedingly.
