Ephesians 5:3

Plain English Version

So don’t sleep with somebody that is not your own wife or husband, as if you are married to them. And don’t be greedy, wanting lots of money and things. You are God’s own people, so don’t even think about doing bad things like that. That’s not the way for God’s people to live.

Cross References

Luke 12:15

Then he said to the people, “Think carefully about this. Don’t be greedy. Don’t try to get more things than you need. You can’t get real life from the things you own, even if you are rich.”

Luke 16:14

Some of the Pharisee mob were there. They were strong for the Jewish law. And they loved money a lot too, so when they heard Jesus teach those things, they laughed at him.

Acts 15:20

We have to write them a letter, to tell them not to worry about getting that young man operation. But we’ll tell them to follow just these rules, – If somebody reckons that a statue is a god, and if they give food to that statue to show respect to it, don’t eat any of that food. – And don’t sleep with somebody that you are not married to, as if they are your wife or husband. – And if somebody holds an animal’s neck really tight to kill it, don’t eat its meat. – And don’t eat the blood of animals.

Acts 20:33

Listen, you mob know me. You saw the way that I lived when I was with you. I showed you the right way for a Christian to live. I never wanted to get anyone’s money or good clothes. I always worked to get the money that I needed, and to get money for my friends too.

Romans 1:29

They are very bad, and they are greedy, they want lots of money and things. And they are really horrible. They want to take things that belong to other people. They murder people, they argue, they cheat other people, and they do mean things to people. They gossip,

1 Corinthians 10:8

And some of them slept with a person that was not their own wife or husband, and they did what married people do together. So God killed 23,000 of them in one day. This story tells us that we can only sleep with our own wife or husband, not with anybody else.

1 Corinthians 5:1

Now listen. I have to talk straight to you about this. Some people have told me there is something bad going on in your church family. One of you has his father’s wife as his girlfriend, and he is sleeping with her as if they are married. Look, even people that don’t know God don’t do that.

1 Corinthians 6:13

Some of you say, “God made our bellies for food, and he made food to fill our bellies.” So you think that you can do what you want with your bodies, and it doesn’t matter. You think you can sleep with somebody that is not your wife or husband, as if you are married to them. But you are wrong. Don’t forget that, in the end, God will finish up your bellies, and he will finish up the food too. You see, God made your bodies for you to live his way. You can’t sleep with anyone you want to. You have to use your bodies the way God wants you to use them.

1 Corinthians 6:18

So never sleep with anyone that is not your own wife or husband and do what married people do together. Get away from that sort of bad thing. You see, other bad things that you do are outside of your own body. But if you sleep with a person you are not married to, you hurt your own body.

Ephesians 5:12

Those people do bad things when nobody can see them. Those things are so bad that if we talk about them, we feel shame.

Ephesians 5:5

Listen, this is true. If you do those bad and dirty things, you will never get the good things that God gives to his people. It’s like this, if you think in a dirty way, you can’t be in God’s family, you can’t be with Jesus Christ. And if you sleep with somebody that is not your wife or husband, as if you are married to them, you can’t be in God’s family. And if you are greedy, wanting lots of money and things, you can’t be in God’s family. You see, greedy people really respect money and things more than they respect God.

Philippians 1:27

Listen, you heard the good news about Jesus Christ, and you trusted him, so keep on living the way he wants you to live, no matter what happens. Maybe I will come and visit you again, but maybe not. Maybe I will only hear what people tell me about you. Anyway, I want to find out that you are staying strong for Jesus, and that God’s spirit is joining you all together, so that you are all agreeing with each other and working together to tell people about Jesus.

Colossians 3:5

So now you have to stop doing bad things. If that bad part inside you wants you to do something bad, don’t do it. It’s like you have to kill that old bad part inside you. Don’t listen to it. Don’t sleep with anyone that is not your wife or your husband, as if you are married to them. And don’t think bad, dirty thoughts. Don’t think about doing bad things. Don’t be greedy, wanting lots of money and things. Greedy people respect money and things more than they respect God.

1 Thessalonians 4:3

This is what God wants. He wants you to be properly good and to keep away from everything that is wrong. If somebody is not your own wife or husband, don’t sleep with them as if you are married to them.

1 Thessalonians 4:7

God picked us to be his people, but he didn’t pick us to be people that do bad and dirty things, like sleeping with somebody else’s wife or husband. He picked us to be people that keep away from everything that is bad.

1 Timothy 2:10

This is more important. They have to do good things for other people, so that everyone will see that they are women that really know God.

1 Timothy 3:3

He can’t be a drunken man, or a man that gets into fights. – He has to be a quiet man that is not hard on people. – He can’t be a man that loves money. –

1 Timothy 6:10

If you love money a lot, you will do all sorts of bad things to get it. Some people went wrong like that. They wanted a lot of money, so they stopped believing in Jesus, and they got themselves into lots of trouble, and now they are really sad.

2 Timothy 3:2

Most people will only love themselves, and they will love money. They will think that they are smart, and they will tell everyone they are smart. They will say bad things about other people. They will never do what their parents tell them to do. They will never thank anyone for anything. They will not respect things that belong to God.

Titus 1:11

Those people teach things that are wrong. They trick whole families. And they only do that to get money from people. So you have to stop them.

Titus 1:7

Church leaders are in charge of God’s work on earth, so they have to be really good people, and then nobody will say anything bad about them. Whenever you pick people to be church leaders, – Don’t pick people that think they are better than everyone else. – Don’t pick people that get angry too easily. – Don’t pick people that drink a lot of grog. – Don’t pick people that get into fights. – Don’t pick greedy people, that want lots of money and things.

Titus 2:3

You also have to teach the older women to do the things that make God happy. Tell them not to say bad things about people, and not to drink a lot of grog, but they have to teach people good things.

1 Peter 5:2

You church leaders have to look after God’s people. God gave you the job to look after them, so you have to do it properly, like a man with sheep looks after them properly. God wants you leaders to be happy while you do that job. Don’t just do it because you think you have to, or because you want money. Do it because you want to help God’s people.

2 Peter 2:10

Yes, God will really punish people that do dirty things. They think about wrong ways to get their bodies to feel good, then they do those bad things. They reckon they don’t have to listen to any boss, not even God. So God will properly punish those bad people, even more than he will punish other bad people. Those lying teachers think they are better than everyone else, and they think they can do anything they want to. They even rubbish strong spirits.

2 Peter 2:14

They are always looking for a woman to sleep with, like a man sleeps with his wife. They do bad things, and they keep looking for more bad things to do. If somebody doesn’t strongly trust Christ, those people will trick that person and get them to go wrong. They are really greedy, wanting lots of money and things. They are the sort of people that God says he will properly punish.

2 Peter 2:3

Those lying teachers only want your money. So they will tell you tricky lies to get you to give them money. A long time ago, God said that he will punish them, and he is ready to do that. One day, he will properly finish up those liars.

1 Samuel 8:3

But they were not like their father. They were greedy. They thought only about money. Bad men used to give them money in a quiet way, and then they used to let those bad men go free.