Bible Strands
Colossians 3:19
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses husbands in the Colossian congregation, sandwiched between duties for wives (v. 18) and children (v. 20), as part of a household-ethics block.
The words — πικραίνεσθε (pikrainesthe) is a rare imperative, literally "be bitter" or "be irritating," from a root meaning bitterness of taste; it names a specific disposition rather than a single act.
The thread — Ephesians 5:25 issues the same "love your wives" command with Christ as the standard; 1 Peter 3:7 adds the duty of consideration and honor; Genesis 2:23 grounds the union in shared flesh.
Why it lands — The verse pairs a positive command with a concrete prohibition: love is the direction, but "do not be harsh" is the testable behavior, naming bitterness as the failure mode Paul expects to find.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
- Genesis 2:23 And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”
- Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become discouraged.
- Ephesians 5:28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
- Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
- Ephesians 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
- Proverbs 5:18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
- Ecclesiastes 9:9 Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
- Malachi 2:14 Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.