^aChildren, obey your parents in the Lord that is, accept their guidance and discipline as His representatives, for this is right for obedience teaches wisdom and self-discipline. 2 ^aHONOR esteem, value as precious YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER and be respectful to them—this is the first commandment with a promise— 3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY HAVE A LONG LIFE ON THE EARTH. Ex 20:12

4 ^aFathers, do not provoke your children to anger do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favoritism or indifference to any of them, but ^bbring them up tenderly, with lovingkindness in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

5 ^1aSlaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with ^brespect for authority, and with a sincere heart seeking to please them, ^cas service to Christ— 6 ^anot in the way of eye-service working only when someone is watching you and only to ^bplease men, but as ^cslaves of Christ, ^ddoing the will of God from your heart; 7 rendering service with goodwill, ^aas to the Lord, and not only to men, 8 ^aknowing that ^bwhatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, ^cwhether he is slave or free.

9 You masters, do the same showing goodwill toward them, and ^agive up threatening and abusive words, knowing that He who is ^bboth their true Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is ^cno partiality with Him regardless of one’s earthly status.

10 In conclusion, ^abe strong in the Lord draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him and in ^bthe power of His boundless might. 11 ^aPut on the full armor of God for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier, so that you may be able to successfully stand up against all the ^bschemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. 12 For our ^astruggle is not against ^bflesh and blood contending only with physical opponents, but ^cagainst the rulers, against the powers, against the ^dworld forces of this present ^edarkness, against the ^fspiritual forces of wickedness in ^gthe heavenly (supernatural) places. 13 Therefore, put on ^athe complete armor of God, so that you will be able to successfully ^bresist and stand your ground in ^cthe evil day of danger, and having done everything that the crisis demands, to stand firm in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious. 14 So stand firm and hold your ground, ^aHAVING ¹TIGHTENED THE WIDE BAND OF TRUTH (personal integrity, moral courage) AROUND YOUR WAIST and HAVING ^bPUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (an upright heart) , Is 11:5 15 and having ^1astrapped on YOUR FEET THE GOSPEL OF PEACE IN PREPARATION to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news. Is 52:7 16 Above all, lift up the protective ^1ashield of faith with which you can extinguish all the ^bflaming arrows of ^cthe evil one. 17 And take ^aTHE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the ^bsword of the Spirit, which is ^cthe Word of God. Is 59:17

18 With all ^aprayer and petition ^bpray with specific requests at all times on every occasion and in every season ^cin the Spirit, and with this in view, ^dstay alert with all ^eperseverance and ^fpetition interceding in prayer for all ¹God’s people. 19 And ^apray for me, that words may be given to me ^bwhen I open my mouth, to proclaim ^cboldly ^dthe mystery of the good news of salvation, 20 for which I am an ^aambassador ^bin chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak ^cboldly and courageously, ^das I should.

21 ^aNow, so that you may know how I am and what I am doing, ^bTychicus, ^cthe beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything. 22 ^aI have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are, and that he may ^bcomfort and encourage and strengthen your hearts.

23 ^aPeace be to the ¹brothers and sisters, and ^blove joined with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying and incorruptible love.

^aChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 ^aHONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG IN THE LAND.

4 ^aFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but ^bbring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

5 ^aSlaves, be obedient to those who are your ¹masters according to the flesh, with ^bfear and trembling, in the ²integrity of your heart, ^cas to Christ; 6 ^anot ¹by way of eyeservice, as ^bmen-pleasers, but as ^cslaves of Christ, ^ddoing the will of God from the ²heart, 7 serving with good will ^aas to the Lord, and not to men, 8 ^aknowing that ^bwhatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, ^cwhether slave or free.

9 And masters, do the same things to them, ^agiving up threatening, knowing that ^bboth their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is ^cno partiality with Him.

10 Finally, ^abe strong in the Lord and in ^bthe might of His strength. 11 ^aPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the ^bschemes of the devil. 12 For our ^astruggle is not against ^1bflesh and blood, but ^cagainst the rulers, against the authorities, against the ^dworld forces of this ^edarkness, against the ^fspiritual forces of wickedness in ^gthe heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up ^athe full armor of God, so that you will be able to ^bresist in ^cthe evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, ^aHAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING ^bPUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having ^ashod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE. 16 ¹In addition to all, having taken up the ^ashield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the ^bflaming arrows of ^cthe evil one, 17 also receive ^aTHE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the ^bsword of the Spirit, which is ^cthe word of God,

18 ^apraying at all times ¹with all ^bprayer and petition ^cin the Spirit, and to this end, ^dbeing on the alert with all ^eperseverance and ^fpetition for all the saints, 19 as well as ^aon my behalf, that ¹words may be given to me ^bin the opening of my mouth, to make known with ^cboldness ^dthe mystery of the gospel— 20 for which I am an ^aambassador ^bin ¹chains—so that ²in proclaiming it I may speak ^cboldly, ^das I ought to speak.

21 ^aBut that you also may know about all my affairs, ¹how I am doing, ^bTychicus, ^cthe beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you. 22 ^1aI have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know ²our circumstances, and that he may ^bencourage your hearts.

23 ^aPeace be to the brothers, and ^blove with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ ¹with incorruptible love.