18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; ⁿI will make him a helper fit for¹ him.”

20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam¹ there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a ^qdeep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made² into a woman and brought her to the man.

Men and Vows

1 Moses spoke to ^fthe heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the Lord has commanded. 2 ^gIf a man vows a vow to the Lord, or ^hswears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. ⁱHe shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

Women and Vows

3 “If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her.

6 “If she marries a husband, while under her ^jvows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her ^jvow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. ^kAnd the Lord will forgive her. 9 (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) 10 And if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and ^lthe Lord will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself,¹ her husband may establish,² or her husband may make void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then ^mhe shall bear her iniquity.”

16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father’s house.

8 For ^lman was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but ^mwoman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.¹ 11 Nevertheless, ⁿin the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And ^oall things are from God.

Wives and Husbands

22 ^zWives, ^asubmit to your own husbands, ^bas to the Lord. 23 For ^cthe husband is the head of the wife even as ^dChrist is the head of the church, his body, and is ^ehimself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit ^fin everything to their husbands.

11 ^bHere there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,¹ free; but Christ is ^call, and in all.

Rules for Christian Households

18 ^uWives, submit to your husbands, as ^vis fitting in the Lord.

Wives and Husbands

1 Likewise, wives, ^kbe subject to your own husbands, so that ^leven if some do not obey the word, ^mthey may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your ⁿrespectful and pure conduct. 3 ^oDo not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be ^pthe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^qcalling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and ^rdo not fear anything that is frightening.

7 Likewise, ^shusbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker ^tvessel, since they are heirs with you¹ of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake

8 Finally, all of you, ^uhave unity of mind, sympathy, ^vbrotherly love, ^wa tender heart, and ^xa humble mind. 9 ^yDo not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, ^zbless, for ^ato this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For

13 Now ^cwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 ^dBut even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. ^eHave no fear of them, ^fnor be troubled, 15 but ^gin your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, ^halways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and ⁱrespect, 16 ^jhaving a good conscience, so that, ^kwhen you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For ^lit is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

18 For Christ also ^msuffered^{2 n}once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, ^othat he might bring us to God, being put to death ^pin the flesh but made alive ^qin the spirit, 19 in which³ he went and ^qproclaimed⁴ to the spirits in prison, 20 because⁵ they formerly did not obey, ^rwhen God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, ^swhile the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, ^teight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, ^unow saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but ^vas an appeal to God for a good conscience, ^wthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and ^xis at the right hand of God, ^ywith angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

28 ^yThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave¹ nor free, ^zthere is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.