So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

EPHESIANS 5:28KJV
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Ephesians 5:28 (KJV)

What does Ephesians 5:28 mean?

Ephesians 5:28 says that husbands should love their wives in the same way they love their own bodies, making the point that loving one’s wife is actually loving oneself. The verse highlights a deep unity in marriage, where care for a spouse is seen as care for oneself.

Paul is writing this letter to Christians in Ephesus, giving practical instructions for how believers should live. In this part of the letter, Paul is specifically addressing husbands, urging them to treat their wives with the same concern and attention they naturally give to themselves. The verse builds on the earlier comparison of marriage to the relationship between Christ and the church, emphasizing selfless, nurturing love.

The Greek behind Ephesians 5:28

  • ἀγαπάω (agapaō, "love"): This Greek word for "love" means a self-giving, committed kind of love, not just affection or attraction. Paul uses it to describe the quality of love husbands should show, which is active and sacrificial.
  • ἑαυτοῦ (heautou, "his own"/"himself"): This word stresses the idea of personal identity and unity. By using it repeatedly, Paul underscores that in marriage, caring for one's spouse is inseparable from caring for oneself.
  • σῶμα (sōma, "body"): The word for "body" here points to the physical, everyday reality of self-care, making the command very practical and down-to-earth. Paul is not speaking in abstract terms but about real, tangible actions.

Why Ephesians 5:28 matters

  • Ephesians 5:28 clears up the idea that love in marriage is only about feelings or romance; it shows that love is also about practical care and unity.
  • The verse emphasizes the deep connection between husband and wife, echoing the earlier teaching that the two become "one flesh" (from Genesis), so that what affects one affects the other.
  • This teaching fits into Paul’s larger message in Ephesians 5, where he calls all Christians to live out love and mutual respect in their relationships, using marriage as a vivid example.

Where else these words appear

“ought” Greek G3784 · used in 35 verses

  • Matthew 18:28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
  • John 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

“love” Greek G25 · used in 109 verses

  • Matthew 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
  • John 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
  • 2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

“bodies” Greek G4983 · used in 122 verses

  • Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
  • Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.