Bible Strands
Ephesians 5:16
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Ephesian church within a passage (5:15–17) contrasting wise and foolish conduct, urging them to understand the Lord's will rather than drift.
The words — kairon (καιρόν) is not general duration but the specific, closing window of opportunity; the verb exagorazomenoi (ἐξαγοραζόμενοι) is marketplace language for buying something back, as one redeems a slave.
The thread — Colossians 4:5 repeats the identical phrase "redeeming the time" in a parallel exhortation; Amos 5:13 echoes "the days are evil" as a reason for silence rather than action.
Why it lands — The verse demands that a reader treat the present moment as a finite, recoverable asset in a hostile environment, and act before the window closes.
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
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Cross-references
- Colossians 4:5 Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
- Amos 5:13 Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.
- John 12:35 Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
- Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
- Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.
- Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- Romans 13:11 And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
- Psalms 37:19 In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
- 1 Corinthians 7:26 Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is.