hypotassō (G5293)

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G5293 hypotassō (hoo-po-TAHS-so) — to submit, to arrange oneself under. In Eph 5:21 all believers submit to one another. 

Word: ὑποτάσσω; in Ephesians 5:21, ὑποτασσόμενοι (hypotassomenoi) · verb · Strong's G5293

In brief

Hypotassō means to place oneself under, to defer or yield. In Ephesians 5:21, Paul tells all believers to submit to one another. Verse 22, "Wives, to your husbands," has no verb of its own in the oldest Greek text. It borrows "submit" from verse 21. Many Bibles insert a heading between the two verses, which hides the fact that the instruction to wives is one example of the mutual submission Paul has just commanded.

Where it appears

  • Ephesians 5:21–22 — "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ; wives, to your own husbands as to the Lord." One sentence in Greek.
  • Ephesians 5:24 — the church submits to Christ.
  • Colossians 3:18 — wives, submit to your husbands.
  • 1 Peter 3:1, 5 — "in the same way, wives, submit…" The phrase points back to Christ's example at the end of chapter 2. The chapter break hides the link.
  • Titus 2:5 — younger women submit to their husbands, "so that the word of God may not be reviled."
  • 1 Corinthians 16:16 — submit to the household of Stephanas and to every fellow worker. Submission among believers is not only for wives.

What the text shows

  • The missing verb: the oldest manuscripts of Ephesians 5:22 have no verb; later manuscripts add one. The papyrus P46 and Codex Vaticanus omit it. Most modern Greek editions follow the shorter reading.
  • The participle: verse 21's "submitting" is part of a long sentence that begins with "be filled with the Spirit" in verse 18. Mutual submission is one of the marks of a Spirit-filled community.

How translations render it

Every translation supplies a verb in 5:22; English needs one. The difference is where the break falls.

Translation Break between 5:21 and 5:22?
ESV Heading "Wives and Husbands" between 21 and 22
NIV (2011) Heading placed before 21, keeping 21 and 22 together
KJV No headings in the original 1611 text; modern printings vary
NRSVue Heading placed before 21
CEB No headings or chapter break

Why it matters

With a heading between verses 21 and 22, readers see "submit to one another" as the end of one section and "Wives, submit" as the start of a new rule about marriage. In Paul's Greek, the instruction to wives can only be read through verse 21. The instruction to husbands that follows is to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (5:25).

See for yourself

  1. Read Ephesians 5:18–22 as one sentence, ignoring any heading in your Bible. Who submits to whom?
  2. Read 1 Peter 2:21–3:1 without the chapter break. What does "in the same way" refer back to?

Related words

kephalē (G2776, head) · anēr (G435) · gynē (G1135)

Sources