World English Bible · Under Rome
Ephesians 5
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Be therefore imitators of , as beloved children. Walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an and a to for a sweet-smelling fragrance. But sexual immorality, and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be mentioned among you, as becomes ; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not appropriate, but rather giving of thanks. Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor person, nor covetous man (who is an idolater), has any in of Christ and . Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things comes on the children of . Therefore don't be partakers with them. For you were once , but are now in . Walk as children of , for the fruit of is in all goodness and and truth, proving what is well pleasing to . Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of , but rather even reprove them. For it is a even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things, when they are reproved, are by , for everything that reveals is . Therefore he says, "Awake, you who sleep, and arise from , and Christ will shine on you." Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as , redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, don't be foolish, but understand what the will of is. Don't be drunken with , in which is dissipation, but be filled with , speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and making melody in to ; giving thanks always concerning all things in the name of our to , even ; subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to . For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of , being himself the of the body. But as is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved and gave himself up for her, that he might her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be and . Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. For no man ever hated his own , but nourishes and cherishes it, even as also does , because we are members of his body, of his and bones. "For this cause a man will leave his and mother and will be joined to his wife. Then the two will become one ." This is great, but I speak concerning Christ and . Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
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The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.