Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART THIRTEEN

Patriarchal Bible Translations and the Poison of Complementarianism

As you have seen by this point, there are quite a few words in both Testaments of the Bible that are, at best, "softened down" when referring to women, but in many cases, when we see these same words in the Bible referring to men, we see the real word for what the Greek actually says.  At the end of this treatise I will provide a reference sheet of many of these instances and more.

For now, I want to point to something that I personally find insidious in many English Bible translations, and that is "Traditional Gender Terms."  When our oldest English Bibles were translated, English-speaking peoples and cultures were more patriarchal than now.  Thus instead of using English gender-neutral terms where the Hebrew and Greek do for people, those old translations would just say 'he, him, his.' When Hebrew and Greek words that mean 'humans, mortals, or people' came up, these old translations just translated those as 'man, men, and mankind.' 

Even centuries ago this caused a lot of confusion. Multiple major church denominations would have to hold meetings to explain to the masses that the Bible is written to women as well, and that he/man were used in a gender neutral sense.  This would address a problem where the men were tell the women that they shouldn't even read the Bible, because it "clearly" wasn't addressed to females.

Men seemed to think he/man used in a gender neutral sense wasn't a big deal, but it's always been an issue for many women, because we'd read those Bibles and scratch our heads, wondering when the English he/man was gender neutral, or when it was literally supposed to be he/man. 

When I got saved in 1995, I started reading a KJV Bible as directed by the person who lead me to Christ.  I immediately had issues with all the he/him/his, and man/men in there.  I knew that in some instances it had to be gender neutral, but how could I tell when those terms were gender neutral, or when certain passages were only referring to males?  I bought myself a thick Strong's Concordance, and had to painstakingly look those words up in the Hebrew and Greek for myself.

Here's a very basic example:

Matthew 4:4 NIV2011
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Women are taught, or figure out that "man" above is in the gender neutral sense, and is referring to humankind. And this is correct, because "man" above is from the Greek ἄνθρωπος - anth'-ro-pos, which literally means 'human being', or 'humankind.'  Patriarchal complementarian Christians will be quick to point out to women that they are indeed included here in "man," so not to worry.

What about when it comes to church offices?

1 Timothy 3:1-13 NIV2011

1 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.
2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.
5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.
10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
11 In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well.
13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

There are a lot of male pronouns in the above, and many translations go further and translate "whoever" from verse 1 as "if any man."  Shouldn't we naturally assume that all the male terms in the above are also gender neutral, as they are so often in these types of translations?  You'd think so, but the patriarchal complementarian will be quick to step in here and state that an overseer and possibly deacon are offices only for men. They'll say the male language in the above is correct.

Is that what God says?  If you take a look at the whole passage above in the Greek, what do you see?  It's more what you don't see.  You'll clearly see that there are no male pronouns or any male language in the above in the Greek.  Not one mention. That's right, in the Greek for the above, it is completely set in 100% gender neutral language.  Why would the Greek have been careful to present the above in gender neutral terms?  Because church leadership is open to any called Christian.  And as we've seen over and over and over again in this treatise, the Bible shows us many women who God called to pastor churches, teach the word of God, and preach His truth to all who will listen.

Now you may have noticed that for "deacons" above, most English translations stay more gender neutral, using "they," rather than "he," for example.  This is probably because of Phoebe.

Romans 16:1 NIV2011
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae.

Recall that overseers and elders are the same thing in the church.  Keeping that in mind, why didn't the translators use "they," instead of "he" for the "overseer?"

Titus 2:3 TPT
Likewise with the female elders,  lead them into lives free from gossip and drunkenness and to be teachers of beautiful things. 

Notice I switched to the TPT translation away from the NIV for this.  The NIV goes with many translations and wrongly translates the above as 'older females,' rather than being true to the Greek, which is "female elders."  A few translations that are honest with this verse are the TPT, the Darby, and the Tyndale.

There are currently only two translations in English that I know of, that honestly translate the above 1 Timothy 1:1-13 in gender neutral terms, in keeping with the Greek.  Those are the CEB and the CEV.

As you can now see, using translations that are translating gender neutral terms into English male terms brings confusion.  And because patriarchalism is so deep in some church denominations, some accidentally will teach from the pulpit that only men to go heaven, when they teach the book of Revelation.

Revelation 7:4 NIV2011
Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

These churches (usually in the very large denomination that begins with the letter B) will often teach that the above is symbolic of all Christians everywhere.  (That is the incorrect, by the way.)

They then eventually get to where the 144,000 are mentioned again, where in chapter 14, it says of the 144,000:

Revelation 14:4a NIV2011
These are those who did not defile themselves with women

Some of these churches then state "as you can see here, the 144,000 are men."

These male pastors of complementarian churches see no problem, and continue preaching along, not noticing that the women in the congregation are going pale.  Those churches just taught that only men go to heaven!  They teach that the 144,000 are symbolic of every single Christian, and then they teach that the 144,000 are only men.

They have both of those passages about the 144,000 grievously wrong.  See my Revelation Series to see what those passages really mean.

Bible Translations, and an Evil Root to Corrupt Them

In the year 1952 the RSV Bible was published.  It became (and still is) one of the best translations of the Bible in English.  It was very accurate at that time for what resources the translators had available to them.  In following other translations before the RSV, the RSV kept the male language when the Hebrew and Greek were gender neutral.

In 1989 the RSV was updated to the NRSV, which was even more accurate and faithful to the oldest Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and latest findings in Textual Criticism.  The NRSV did something that made women all over the country heave a sigh of relief. They decided to actually translate the gender neutral terms from the Hebrew and Greek into English gender neutral terms.  For example, the above Matthew 4:4 that we saw in the NIV said "man."  the NRSV corrects it to be closer to the Greek.

Matthew 4:4 NRSV
But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Women preachers and pastors were on the rise.  Little girls were reading the NRSV and realizing that God calls girls to pastor his churches just as much as he calls boys to.  

And then something nefarious happened, but first we need to back up a few years...

In 1987 some misogynists, patriarchalists, and complementarians, who called themselves "Christians" created something that sounded wholesome and godly. They created The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

The defining foundational act of the CBWM (Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) in 1987 was to draft the Danver's Statement.  This cultic and sexist statement reinterprets the Bible to say that women are to be under the authority of their husbands, and that women are not aloud to lead, teach, preach, or pastor churches.  

The SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) picked up this Danver's Statement, and ran with it.  Some SBC Seminaries include the Danver's Statement in their institutions.  Many Southern Baptist Churches adhere to this Danver's Statement to the point of including it in their own church Statements and Bylaws.

In fact, it has been reported that if pastors of Southern Baptist Churches don't sign to agree with the Danver's Statement and follow it in their churches, those churches would suddenly removed from the SBC's support.

After the instatement of the Danver's Statement in 1987 and into the early 1990's multiple women Pastors and women seminary professors were fired, for no other reason than that they were female.   

Now we fast-forward to 1989 when the NRSV came out, and faithfully translated the Bible in gender neutral terms where it's neutral in the Hebrew and Greek (except in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and a few obscure places, where they unfortunately retained the incorrect patriarchal mistranslation.)

The CBWM didn't like the NRSV, because more and more women were answering their call from God to preach and teach the Word.  Thus the patriarchist Wayne Grudem, a cofounder of the CBMW served as General Editor on the board for a patriarchal update to the 1952 RSV.   This version would eventually be published in 2001, and to this day is the most patriarchal, sexist bible translation known in English.  It is the ESV Bible.

In it, the Deacon Phoebe is demoted to "servant," Junia is demoted from being a prominent apostle to merely being known to the apostles, and Matthew 4:4 is reverted back to "Man does not live by bread alone."  These are just a few examples, as it goes much deeper, in both testaments.

We now fast-forward to 2026, and the annual SBC convention rolls back around, where they voted with 74% of the votes being that women are not allowed to pastor or preach, in alignment with the CBWM's cultic Danver's Statement. The decree was sent out that any Southern Baptist church that has women in leadership roles must locally remove those women from those leadership positions, or that church will be disfellowshipped from the SBC.

Since the instatement of the CBWM in 1987, followed by their heretical Danver's Statement, there has been a resurgence of modern bible translations being published that have reverted to translating gender neutral terms in both Testaments in the Bible back to he/him/his, and man/men/mankind.  Most modern Bible translations are reverting backwards and becoming inaccurate to what the Word of God really says!

Little girls are picking up these modern mistranslations, such as the ESV, and they are heart broken, because they come away thinking that since Eve ate the apple, girls can't go to heaven!  I'm not exaggerating.

One women shared a true story online when she visited a Baptist church with some family when a little girl was called to quote her memory verse.  It had "he" and "man" in it, where those are gender neutral terms in the Greek.  The woman noticed that the little girl looked upset as she dutifully said her memory verse.

The woman spoke to the little girl after services and found out why the little girl was so upset.  She thought her memory verse was teaching that only boys can go to heaven!

Now look at the current statistics being brought forth from polls being taken all over America.  For the first time in American history, most churches have a higher male attendance, and a lower female attendance.  The joke "church is only for women and children" is no longer viable, and no longer makes sense. It's becoming a sad truth that it seems "church is only for men."

Why?  What's goin on?!  Thanks to the bad seed started by the CBWM and their wicked teachings and their Danver's Statement, women are leaving American churches in droves.  Many who were surveyed as to why they left, stated that they were used as slave labor in the church.  They wanted to serve and help the body of Christ, but were only allowed to clean, cook, and babysit, and some of these women did this as a full time job with no pay.

Meanwhile, the men were put into leadership and teaching positions, and those who were put into full time hours received pay.  Women called to lead, teach, and preach were told by their church's pastoral team that they aren't allowed to do any of that, merely and only because of the fact that they are female.

Women are leaving the churches and starting their own groups with other Christian women to worship the Lord His Way, and to follow the callings that GOD has given them, in which for some that is leading, teaching, preaching, and pastoring.

Why the upsurgence of male attendance?  These particular churches are teaching that men are in charge of women.  The men are feeling empowered.  The women are feeling belittled, and thus are leaving.

When we factor in the statistical fact from multiple polls, we see the startling result that 75% of Christian men are addicted to pornography, with 68% of Christian male pastors being addicted to pornography.  Combine this with the statistic that currently 80% of the Christian churches in America are Complementarian, and there is a monster being created here.  We now have a lot of men who are addicted to porn, who claim Complementarian Christianity, which generally teaches male authority over females, and we have a massive upsurgence of church sex abuse of little girls and women in these "Christian" churches.

As these cases are being more and more brought to light, we see that the pastor or the pastoral teams are often blaming the victims and protecting the predators!  

Jesus said "by their fruits you shall know them."  What fruits are we seeing from the patriarchal bible translations, and the poison that's been pumped out of the CBWM?

We see women leaving churches, "Christian" men sexually abusing women and little girls, and now, Christian Nationalism.

Fusing Christian identity into our national identity is against The Separation of Church and State, and against the Word of God, where it is clear God wants each individual to make their own decision for Christ or not.  Christianity is an individual decision, not a national religion.  Further, American Christian Nationalism is patriarchal!  Many male Christian Nationalists are pushing for repealing the 19th Amendment, which would revoke the woman's right to vote.

I recently ended a friendship with someone, because they are 100% on board with Christian Nationalism and the repealing of the 19th amendment.  I don't need poisonous people like that in my life.

Back to the fruits of the CBWM, they are becoming a mecca for men who sexually abuse women, and/or are pedophiles.  Look at how many well-known men are being caught for allegedly doing this stuff, and look at their strong affiliation with the CBWM - such as Robert Morris, C. J. Mahaney, Paige Patterson (for allegedly covering up abuses), and Johnny Hunt.

Let's now take a look at some New Testament Scriptures front translations such as the ESV, NIV1984, and some KJV, and notice how confusing these would be to women and little girls (as the KJV was to me, when I first got saved!)...

--The Scriptures in black are patriarchal translations which change the Word of God, and the corrected verses which are accurate to the Greek are in purple.--

Romans 10:10

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  KJV

"For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation."  NRSVue

Revelation 22:17

"The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."  NIV 1984

"The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift."  NRSVue

John 14:6

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."  KJV

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.."  NRSVue

Matthew 7:21

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."  NIV 1984

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."  NRSVue

Acts 4:12

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” ESV

"There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."  NRSVue

John 3:36

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."  ESV

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life but must endure God’s wrath."  NRSVue

John 6:44

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." ESV

"No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day." NRSVue

Titus 2:11

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men."  NIV 1984

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all"  NRSVue

Mark 16:16

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." KJV

"The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned." NRSVue

Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." KJV

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -  not the result of works, so that no one may boast." NRSVue

Mark 10:26-27

"And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”  ESV

"They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”  NRSVue

1 John 5:12

"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." NIV 1984

"Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."  NRSVue

Matthew 24:13

"But he who stands firm to the end will be saved."  NIV 1984

"But the one who endures to the end will be saved." NRSVue

Matthew 16:25

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."  ESV

"For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it."  NRSVue

1 Corinthians 16:13

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong."  ESV

"Keep alert; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong."  NRSVue

There are a LOT more scriptures like the above, including also in the Old Testament.

We also see instances in many Bible translations, where it looks like only Christian brothers seem to be addressed, but in actuality, it's supposed to be to both Christian brothers and sisters.  This is from the Greek word adelphoi.  This word literally means "brothers" when referring to a blood family relation.  However, when referencing groups of people, adelphoi means both brothers and sisters.

Romans 10:1

"Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved."  ESV

"Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved."  NRSVue

 Romans 12:1

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." ESV

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship."  NRSVue

 1 Corinthians 12:1

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed."  ESV 

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant." NRSVue

Image a person not knowing much about Christianity, and reading the ESV.  When they read 1 Corinthians 12, which is a chapter that lists the various gifts the Holy Spirit gives to Christians, this person will think the Holy Spirit only gifts men/brothers.

While a lot of women notice the problems in the above Scriptures, it's still hard for a lot of men to grasp this, so let's flip this around for a moment.  Let's say we use "her" as female, or gender neutral, since 'her' has 'he' in it.  Then the ESV for Matthew 16:25 would say:

"For whoever would save her life will lose it, but whoever loses her life for my sake will find it."

And what if we used "women" meaning female, or gender neutral, since 'women' also contains 'men?'  Then the ESV for Acts 4:12 would say:

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among women by which we must be saved.”

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART TWELVE

What About the Household Codes?

While we've delved a bit into the dangers of cults developing from looking at the Scriptures with an eisegesis view, rather than with exegesis, we also get cults taking parts of passages from the Bible, and applying prescription to a passage that is merely giving a description.  Polygamous cults are famous for this, but as we saw in 1 Corinthians 7, each wife is to have own husband, and each husband his own wife.

While there were polygamists in the Old Testament of the Bible, it is nowhere a command.  It is merely a description of fallen people living their lives.  Yes, King David was a polygamist, but he was also a murderer, adulterer, and possible rapist.  Yes, King Solomon was a polygamist, but he also forsook worshipping YHWH God alone, and started worshipping the pagan gods of some of his wives.  This is what lead to the eventual breaking up of Israel.

The Bible no more prescribes polygamy anymore than it does rape, murder, adultery, and idolatry.  Recall much earlier in this treatise we say that men ruling over women was not a prescription from the Fall, but a description of one of the repercussions that would occur, right along with the ground growing thorns and thistles, etc.  

What about Household Codes?  Are they a prescription that Christian homes are to be under today, or a description of the early church?  As we are going to see, it was a description for the people at that time, in the Greco-Roman culture.

Aristotle came up with Household Codes, since each home was considered a hub as part of the community.  Aristotle introduced three core hierarchical groups as the backbone for his code: Master/Slave; Husband/Wife; and Father/Child.

Aristotle's household codes taught Master over the Slave, stating the sick belief that not all people are created equally, and thus some people are made to be ruled, and some people are made to be rulers.  He taught that masters must make sure they keep strict rule over their slaves.

For the second group addressed, Aristotle taught that while wives are not slaves, they are still under the rulership of their husbands (the paterfamilias/householder) and thus the husbands are to make sure their wives are obeying them.

As for the third group, Aristotle taught that children too need to obey the father, as he taught that the father is the supreme authority of the household.  The mother could only rule the children as much as the father allowed.

As you hopefully can clearly see, the Aristotle Household Codes were antithetical to what Jesus taught. For example:

Mark 10:42-45 CEB
Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all, for the Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”

The leader is a servant in the New Testament!  The Christian leader is to serve others, not lord it over people.  

Notice in the above passage in the CEB translation, it has Jesus calling Himself "the Human One," rather than the Son of Man.  I chose the CEB on purpose for the above to also show this to you.

Did you know that Jesus never once called Himself "the Son of Man?"  Most translations make you think He did, but that's NOT what it says in the Greek.  Every time most translations say that Jesus called Himself "the Son of Man," the Greek is υἱός ἄνθρωπος - hwee-os' anth'-ro-pos, which literally in English is Child of Humans, or Child of Humanity.  Often when the Bible calls someone a child of something, it can also be translated as the type of person they are, thus why the CEB translates hwee-os' anth'-ro-pos as The Human One.

People will argue that hwee-os' means "son," but that is incorrect. This word was often used in the Greek to address both genders, and was known as the word "children."  For example:

Galatians 3:26 KJV
For ye are all the children (hwee-os') of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

So remember that every time your Bible says "Son of Man," it's really "Child of Humanity."

Back to the Household Codes...

As we see over and over in the New Testament, Christians are equal in Christ, and are to serve one another, not dominate one another.  New Christians in the Greco-Roman culture had a problem with the Aristotle Household Codes, because these codes went against Christianity.  Therefore, Paul altered the Household Codes for the Christian households at that time and in that culture.

The Ephesians Household Code

Ephesians 5:22 NRSVue
Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord

Whoops, the above word "subject" is not in the Greek.  Here's a better translation:

Ephesians 5:22 TLV
wives to your own husbands as to the Lord.

Now we ask - "okay, wives what to their husbands?"  This is a case of several times in the New Testament where a previous verb was being referenced.  In this case, the previous verb being referenced is in the previous verse.

Ephesians 5:21 NRSVue
being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

The what in verse 22 is saying that wives are to submit to their husband, as husbands are to submit to their wives.  This is made more clear in the NLT Bible:

21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 For wives, this means..
25 For husbands, this means...

What do we see here that is flipping the Aristotle Code upside down?  The Aristotle code addressed how husbands are to rule over their wives, and doesn't even address the wife.  Paul's revised household code for the new churches in the Greco-Roman culture addressed both husband and wife, but specifically addressed the wife first, but not after stating that all Christians are to submit to one another, including in marriage.

Paul doesn't spend much time tell the wife how she is to submit to her husband, because in that culture, women were already doing so.  He spends most of the Ephesians 5 Household Code explaining to husbands how they are to submit to their wives.

Ephesians 5:25 NRSVue
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

Sound familiar?  

Mark 10:45 CEB
for the Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.

The household code wraps up with giving simple instructions on how the wife is to submit to her husband, and how the husband is to submit to his wife:

Ephesians 5:33 NRSVue
Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.

Why love from the husband, and respect from the wife?  In that culture at that time, husbands didn't necessarily love their wives, and possibly not even liked them.  The "wives," were often teenaged girls being married off to much older, adult men.  Wives were considered property and were often treated as such.  The husbands are being told to love their wives as they love themselves.  This makes sense, because remember that Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:5 both say "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."  Thus Paul quotes this in verse 31.

Ephesians 5:31 NRSVue
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Verse 33 says that the wife is to respect her husband.  Why respect?  Would you respect a grownup who took you, a teenager, as his property and you didn't get a say? Thus, in that Greco-Roman culture, regardless how the marriage may have occurred before they both became Christians, now that they are Christians, they are to submit to each other (verse 21) and the husband is to love his wife, and the wife is to respect her husband.

Notice in Ephesians 5:21-33 we have the word "submit" or similar, and the word "head."  Recall that we looked at the Greek behind "submit" in an earlier Scripture, and it actually means to support, append to, or be devoted to.  Thus, the mutual submission between wife and husband is mutual support, not mutual subordination.

And as for "head," recall that we saw that symbolic head during the time of Paul meant "source," NOT "authority."  Symbolic head didn't take on the meaning of sometimes being authority until about 300 years after Paul.

Thus, patriarchalists who abuse the below Scripture have no foot to stand on:

Ephesians 5:23-24 NRSVue
for the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Recall that symbolic "head" means "source," and that "subject" is more accurate as "support, appended to, devoted to."  So let's fix this so we see it more clearly:

Ephesians 5:23-24
for Adam was the source of Eve, just as Christ is the source of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Just as the church is devoted to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Do you see the parallel between the above, and 1 Corinthians 11:3?

1 Corinthians 11:3 TPT 2017
But I want you to understand that Christ is the source of every human alive, and Adam was the source of Eve, and God is the source of the Messiah.

Ephesians 5:23+ is referring back to the same source language that 1 Corinthians 11 was.  Eve came out of Adam, just as the church grew out of Christ - CHRISTians.  As Christ and Church will eventually be married and go to the Wedding feast of the Lamb, so the earthly wife and husband are married, and are to demonstrate devotion and support in their marriage, as Christians do to Christ.

Recall that the Household Code in Ephesians 5 is not a prescription that we are to follow today, as if you read the whole code, it also goes into addressing slaves and masters.  The households back in that time were different than the modern households in our current culture.

We generally live in our home, eat and sleep and rest there, but most of us go outside of our home for errands, appointments, to socialize, to work, for fun activities, etc.  Not so much with the homes at the time of Paul.  Each home was like a hub of the community.  The householder, usually the paterfamilias - man, would be in charge of his wife, his children, any other relatives living there, and of the slaves.  Slaves were normal.

The Christian household codes then go on to instruct the masters to treat their slaves very well:

Ephesians 6:9 NLT
Masters ... remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.

Christians couldn't just immediately overturn slavery.  It took time. The first step was treating the slaves as fellow imagers of God, and treating them respectfully.  Eventually, thanks largely to Christians, the cultural slavery was overturn.  

If you read through the whole household code here in Ephesians chapters 5 and 6, notice that it's not just the man being addressed, like it was in the Aristotle codes.  Each party is addressed, but it addresses the wife before the husband, the children before the parents, and the slaves before masters.  That's respect, and a thumbing of the nose to the patriarchal Aristotle Household Code.

If you are insisting on living under the descriptive household codes in the Bible, then get some slaves, or you aren't following the codes.

The Colossians Household Code

Recall that Ephesians 5:21 set the stage for mutual "submission" - support/devotion.  We also have a mutuality statement before the household code that Paul gives in Colossians.

Colossians 3:15-16a NRSVue
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom

Like in Ephesians we were reminded that the church is the Body of Christ, we get reminded in the above that we are all "one body."  We are not an unequal body of half of it (the males) being dominant over the other half of it (the females).  We are all ONE BODY - equally.  Thus the above passage goes on to say "teach and admonish one another."  Not 'men teach and admonished women,' and not 'teach and admonish one another, except the women to the men.'  No.  All Christians make up the body, and the body is balanced.  "Teach and admonish one another."

The Colossians household code is short, because it's basically just a summary of the longer one given in Ephesians 5.  Again, recall that "submit/subject" is better translated as "support/devoted to."

Colossians 3:18-19 TPT
Let every wife be supportive and tenderly devoted to her husband, for this is a beautiful illustration of our devotion to Christ. Let every husband be filled with cherishing love for his wife and never be insensitive toward her.

The Peter Household Code

There are only three household codes in the Bible.  We have the main one in Ephesians 5, written by Paul, and then the one in Colossians which is a summary of the one in Ephesians.  The first two household codes are written by Paul.  

The third household code is written by Peter.  His direction was not to also correct Aristotle, but to be in agreement with Paul's code and tweak it to address a specific situation that many Christian women found themselves in in that time and culture.

In order for Peter to go in this direction, he addressed slaves and masters before wife and husband:

1 Peter 2:20-21 NRSVue
If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do good and suffer for it, this is a commendable thing before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

You see, some slaves were becoming Christians, but their masters were not Christian.  Remember that in the standard household back in that culture, the household was expected to follow the same religion of the householder.  Slaves were becoming Christians and thus no longer partaking in the householder's pagan religions.  For that reason, Christian slaves were enduring more hardship and abuse from their unbelieving masters.  In 1 Peter 2, Peter encourages these slaves to keep doing good, and endure the suffering, remembering the suffering Christ endured for them.

It is under this topic that Peter then moves on to addressing wives and husbands.  

1 Peter 3:1-2 NRSVue
Wives, in the same way, be subject to your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct, when they see the purity and respect of your conduct.

Wives were also expected to follow the same religion of their husbands in that culture at that time.  There were some wives who were becoming Christians, but their husbands were still pagan.  This was shaky and dangerous ground for the wife.  She could no longer participate in the husband's religious rituals, and he may not have been interested in learning about Christianity.  Thus Paul recommends the wife show her unbelieving husband who Christ is through her actions and the way she lives.

Notice I underlined "in the same way."  This connects back to the type of "subject/submit" in this verse being the same type the believing slave is to have towards the unbelieving master.  Be willing to accept suffering for being a Christian, even if at the hands of your own husband.

WARNING:  This was a description for within the culture in those times, and not today.  In those days, a woman usually had no way to have food or shelter except through a man, be it her father or a husband.  Women who didn't have a man supporting them often had to resort to prostitution so that they wouldn't starve to death.  Thus it was advised that wives stayed with their husbands if they had no monetary support without them, because it was better to be with a horrible man than literally starving to death on the streets.

Moving on, you may be wondering where the mutuality is in this household code.  It's in verse 7:

1 Peter 3:7 NRSVue
Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life together, paying honor to the woman—though the weaker vessel, they are joint heirs of the gracious gift of life—so that nothing may hinder your prayers.

In the same way as what?  If the husband became a Christian, then this is what he is supposed to do.  But there's more.  "In the same way" is still carrying over "submission/subjection" from the wife and the slaves.  Thus some translations carry the verb over, just like how most translations do so in Ephesians 5:22.  

1 Peter 3:7 CEB
Husbands, likewise, submit by living with your wife in ways that honor her, knowing that she is the weaker partner. Honor her all the more, as she is also a coheir of the gracious care of life. Do this so that your prayers won’t be hindered.

Recall that "submit" in all three cases - slaves, wife, husband, is better translated as support, or synonymous words.

As for "weaker partner," that's a given.  In the households at that time and culture, the husband usually got a lot more fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.  The wife was usually at home, and the tasks she'd do (often for the business they likely ran out of their household) were more intricate, smaller tasks that didn't require as much use of large muscle groups.

Now let's look at a few things Peter instructed the wives at that time and in that culture to do, as part of his household code:

1 Peter 3:3-6 NIV2011
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

A lot of people use the beginning of the above passage to say that the Bible teaches that women are to dress modestly, but we see that is not the case.  Like in 1 Timothy 2, and Proverbs 31, this is saying that women are to focus on their inner person, not their outer person.  The Proverbs 31 Woman clothed herself with Strength, for example.

There is literally not one place in the Bible that addresses women and tells them to wear modest clothes, just like there are no Scriptures that tell men to dress modestly.  There are, however, Scriptures that address men who lust after women:

Matthew 5:27-28 NRSVue
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Tearing out the eye is hyperbole to drive home a point, not a command to literally do so.  

Our above 1 Peter passage goes on to say "They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord."  Recall that "submitted" is better translated as "devoted/supported."

Thus we see it better translated as "They supported their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord."

"Obeyed" from the Greek here is ὑπακούω - hoop-ak-oo'-o, which can mean to heed, listen to someone, or to give an answer.  We see hoop-ak-oo'-o used in the context of giving an answer in Acts 12.

Acts 12:13 NIV 2011
Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer (hoop-ak-oo'-o) the door.

Rhoda didn't come to "obey" the door, she answered it.

If you look all over Genesis, you are not going to see a specific instance where Sarah called Abraham "lord," and "obeyed" him.  However, you do see her laughingly calling him her "lord," and giving an answer in her laughter.  

Before looking at this, note that "lord" is not referring to Lord.  "lord" could also be equally translated as "sir."  It was a title of respect, not one of subservience or authority.

1 Peter 3:6 is referring to Genesis 18:12.

Genesis 18:12 Darby
And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old, shall I have pleasure, and my lord old?

Sarah was laughing at hearing that at the age of 90+, her post-menopausal body was going to birth a baby, and then she laughed more, because her 100+ aged husband (who she respectfully called lord in a joking manner) was too old to do the deed to inseminate her.

So now we see the example of Sarah was of her inner person.  Yes, she jokingly called Abraham her "lord" while pointing out that he was unable to rise to the occasion of inseminating her, but she wasn't belittling him, everything she said and laughed about was 100% true, and it was after that that she decided to step out in faith and believe God, in the face of pure impossibility.  That's her inner person, and that's who women were being called to emulate. 

This is why Sarah is in the Faith Hall of Fame:

Hebrews 11:11 NIV2011
And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.

This is why the end of 1 Peter 3:6 says "You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."  Women are called to emulate the faith of Sarah.

If you want to talk about obedience, Abraham obeyed Sarah.

Genesis 16:2 NRSVue
and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART ELEVEN

Are Christian Women Supposed to Wear Head Coverings?

Have you noticed that when reading writings by Paul in the Bible, there are several places where it looks like he says one thing, and then right afterward, he seems to say the opposite?  We saw this with 1 Corinthians 14.  In verses 34 and 35 it looked like Paul was saying that women are not allowed to speak in tongues or prophesy in church, but then the verses after that are Paul saying that the command from the Lord is said to all in the church to: "strive to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues."

When we looked at this portion of Scripture earlier, we discovered that this is a diatribe.  An easy way to recognize a diatribe in the Scriptures is when a letter says one thing, and then after it, it seems to say the opposite.  

We see a clear diatribe in the first two verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 7:

1 Corinthians 7:1-2 NRSVue
Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

Paul quoted something that the Corinthians previously wrote to him - "It is good for a man not to touch a woman."  He then refutes that quote by responding "because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband."

Why did Paul say each should have their own spouse?  Immediately we see this rules out polygamy being permissible in the Scriptures, but we also get a glimpse into Paul's correcting Corinthian culture here as well.  In the Corinthian culture at that time, wives were the property of husbands, and husbands were allowed to go out and cheat on their wives, but the wives were expected to be faithful.  We see here that Paul is saying the wife belongs to the husband, but the husband also belongs to the wife.  Thus neither are allowed to cheat, and should thus honor one another.

There are multiple diatribes in Paul's letters, but especially in 1 Corinthians.  What's likely the longest diatribe in the Bible is in 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

1 Corinthians 11:3-12 NIV2011
3 But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.  "4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man."  10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 

*I added the quotation marks in red

Before we get into the diatribe, which will reveal what the Christian woman's real head covering is, let's first go over verse 3.  This verse is the foundation verse for a heretical infographic that has regularly made its rounds online for years.  It's a picture of an umbrella, with Christ as the biggest umbrella at the top, the husband with the next biggest umbrella under Christ, and the wife with the tiny umbrella under the husband's bigger umbrella, and "children" and "managers of the home" under the wife's tiny umbrella.

This infographic is a cult's representation of 1 Corinthians 11:3, but not truly demonstrating at all what 1 Corinthians 11:3 actually says.  This is a classic case of a cult applying eisegesis to the Scriptures to gain power over certain people, rather than the proper exegesis, which always reveals the truth.  In the eisegesis view, the cult see's a hierarchy, where they interpret the symbolic use of the word "head" as the modern symbolic use in English, which is authority.  For example, one may be the head of their department at work.  There are two problems with this view:

1) This creates a known heresy to most denominations, knowns as Arianism, or Subordinationism.  Under this old teaching, it states that since 1 Corinthians 11:3 says "the head of Christ is God," thus members in the Trinity must not have equal authority, Christ is under the umbrella of the authority of God.  This heresy began with the man Arius in the 4th century, when he began claiming that Christ is merely a created being under the 'headship of God.'  Most Christian churches have been in agreement since 325 AD that Arianism is a heresy  and incorrect.

2) Symbolic "head" in the New Testament does not mean authority, like it does in modern English. Symbolic head at the time of Paul, in the old Koine Greek meant "source, origin, beginning of."  This is clearly recorded in the Lidell Scott Jones dictionary:

Symbolic κεφαλή - kef-al-ay' - origin, source of a river, source, starting-point

In fact, if you look this up in the Lidell Scott Jones dictionary for yourself, notice that "authority," "leader," or anything synonymous to that is nowhere in the definition! Take a look for yourself HERE.

This is more known to scholars and translators than a lot of churches like to admit.  For example, the NLT Bible gives a translator's note for 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3, where it gives an alternate translation as "Or to know: The source of every man is Christ, the source of woman is man, and the source of Christ is God."

In fact, the 2017 TPT Bible translated this verse fabulously:

1 Corinthians 11:3 TPT 2017
But I want you to understand that Christ is the source of every human alive, and Adam was the source of Eve, and God is the source of the Messiah.

Notice that the TPT says Christ is the source of every human, and not "man," like many translations say.  That's because the Greek word aner which is the word here, can refer to men, or all humans, depending on context.  The context is here clearly referring to Adam, right after creation.  Recall that before Eve was taken out of Adam, Adam was both genders.  Remember that "Adam" is from the Hebrew word for "human," and does not refer to a gender.

Notice also that the above scripture passage in the TPT says "Adam was the source of Eve," instead of the NIV2011's "the head of the woman is man."  Take note that we went from plurality to singularity.  The Scriptures teach that God created through Christ, and thus verse 3 here is telling us that Christ is the Source of all humans (plural), and then it says the man is the source of... (singular).  

Remember Adam in Hebrew is אָדָם - aw-dam', and aw-dam' is Hebrew for "human being."  Thus the above TPT's "and Adam was the source of Eve" fits, as this is referring to the first human, of which the second human was taken/removed out of half of the first human. Recall the Hebrew conveys that Eve was not take from a rib, nor was she a piece of a side, she was HALF of the first human.  She was one side of the first human, and Adam was the other side.

The last part of verse 3 in the TPT says "God is the source of the Messiah."  Verse 3 is in order of cration, so let's look at the order:

1) First, all humans appeared, via Christ being their Source.

2) Second, the first human, Adam, was the source of the second human, Eve.  (The Corinthians will refer to Adam as "the man," or "man," later in this chapter.)

3) Later, Christ was born of the Virgin Mary in human form.  Christ Incarnate's Source is God the Father.

Recall that the Bible often uses synonymous words to match other important words.  We saw this, for example, when we looked at 1 Timothy chapter 2.  We saw "calm" and "self-controlled" as synonyms.  

We have a Greek synonym to "source" from verse 3, later in this chapter.

1 Corinthians 11:12 TPT
For just as woman was taken from the side of man, in the same way man is taken from the womb of woman. God, as the source of all things, designed it this way.

1 Corinthians 11:12 NIV2011
For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

"Came from" above is from the Greek ἐκ - ek - which is defined by the LSJ Koine Greek Dictionary, under the "Of Origin" section is - "out of."

As you see, ek here is being used synonymously with kef-al-ay' - source from verse 3.  Both mean where something or someone came from in this chapter.  Verses 8 and 9 from the Corinthian's argument also carry this synonymous source language:

1 Corinthians 11:8-9 NIV2011
8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

Now that we've established that verse 3 of 1 Corinthians 11 is describing source, and not authority, we are ready to move on to what is likely the longest diatribe in the Bible.

Consider that Paul is quoting from a letter the Corinthians sent to him in verses 4-9.  Let's review what they say:

1 Corinthians 11:4-9 NIV2011
"4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man."  

*I added the quotation marks in red

The Corinthians were trying to mix culture with church, and create a cultural and worldly propriety in the church.  There were certain cultural rules there, which decided what was and wasn't modest for a woman regarding her hair and also her social standing.  The Corinthians were trying to make this cultural preference a rule that had to be followed in their church. 

The Corinthians thought that women who didn't wear head coverings in their church were dishonoring themselves.  They also pointed out that Adam was created in the image of God, but failed to remember that so was Eve - ("male and female God created them, in the image of God" - from Genesis 1:27).  The Corinthians thought that since Eve came out of Adam, men were the glory of God, but that women were just the glory of men, since the first woman came out of the half of the first man.  And they wrapped up their argument saying that woman was created for man.

Now let's see Paul's refutation:

1 Corinthians 11:10-12 NIV2011
10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 

Paul gets right to the point of what the woman's head covering is, and it's in verse 10 - the Christian woman's head covering is having authority "over her own head!"  Paul is saying it's up to each woman if she wants to follow the cultural custom of covering or not covering.  It's her head, and women have authority over their own heads!  He goes further and gives an example as a reason for woman's authority, where he says in the end of verse 10 that it's "because of the angels."

Paul didn't explain what he meant by this, and that's because he didn't have to.  He just mentioned angels and a form of authority just a little earlier in this letter to the Corinthians. 

1 Corinthians 6:3 NIV2011
Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

Christian women, along with Christian men will be judging angels!  If women have the authority to judge angels, then surely they have authority over their own head to chose to cover their heads or not. 

Make sure you pay close attention to what I'm about to say: The woman's covering is her having authority over herself.  A pastor is not her covering, neither is a husband, a father, or any other person.  Her covering is her having authority to cover herself!  The Corinthians already knew that men had this authority over themselves, and now Paul is letting them know that women have authority over themselves as well.

Now look at verse 11.  This is Paul's response to the Corinthians stating that in verse 9 that woman was created for man.  Paul corrects them here in verse 11 and says "woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman."

Then verse 12 is our "headship" key verse.  Verse 12 is Paul's response to the Corinthians stating that man is the glory of God, as God made Adam before Eve but woman came from man, so she is just the glory of man.  

The reason I call verse 12 the "headship" key verse, is because people run to verse 3, and use symbolic head under the modern use as 'authority,' instead of the use it was at the time of Paul in the Koine Greek, which was 'source.'  People will say man is the head of woman, and that men have headship over women.  The Corinthians were trying this too, but not the way the modern patriarchalists do it.  The Corinthians were reasoning that since Adam came from God, and Eve came from Adam, men are superior over women.  They thought that order of appearance meant order of authority.  Now let's see Paul's refutation and correction of this:

Verse 12
as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God

Paul is reminding them that if they want to say that Eve came from the first "man," and that that gives men authority over women, then we have a problem here, because every man since after Adam has come from a woman.  Think about.  Our planet is populated by women and their children.  If source equals automatic authority, then women should be in charge of all men everywhere, for every single man came out of a woman's body, since after Adam.

Then Paul gets to the point - "But everything comes from God."  Women and men have the same Source!  It's God!  When people teach the false doctrine of "headship," they are teaching the heresy that men are the head of women, but we see that "head" here symbolically means source, and verse 12 says that GOD is the head/source ("comes from") of both men and women. For any human to claim spiritual headship over any other human is blasphemous, because God is the source/head of all of us. We are all on equal footing, having come from the same Source.  Jesus emphasizes this multiple times. For example:

"I am the Vine, you are the branches" - Jesus tells this to Christians in John 15:5. Jesus is the Vine, and all Christians branch out from Him. He is the Source.  Headship Theology is blasphemous. The head of women is Christ.  The head of men is Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NRSVue
He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Christians, WE are the Body of Christ, and Christ is the head/source of the body!  Look at the list in the above verse 11 - "pastors and teachers."  There is no gender stipulation.  This is open to both women and men, as WE are the Body of Christ, and Christ is our Head.  Period.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART TEN

 Does the Bible Say Woman are Supposed to be Homemakers?

Key verses many "Biblical Womanhood" Complementarians run to which they say states women are to be homemakers are in 1 Timothy 5.

1 Timothy 5:14-15 LSB
Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no opportunity for reviling, for some have already turned aside after Satan.

Some people point to the above verses in the above translation, or translations similar to it, and say that this teaches that if women aren't homemakers - those who "keep house," then they have "turned aside after Satan."

As by this point you can surely guess, "keep house" is not what it says in the Greek.  Because of this, some translations will state this a bit differently.

1 Timothy 5:14-15 NRSVue
So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us.  For some have already turned away to follow Satan.

Notice the above translation, like several others, instead says "manage their households."  "Manage" here is still too soft for what the Greek says.  Thus, a few Bible translations will be more bold, and translate this word more accurately from the Greek, such as the below:

1 Timothy 5:14-15 LSV
I intend, therefore, younger ones to marry, to bear children, to be mistress of the house, to give no occasion to the opposer of reviling; for some already turned aside after Satan

So, for this word in question, is the wife to keep house, manage the house, or be mistress of the house?  The Greek word behind this is οἰκοδεσποτέω - oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o which literally means Master of the House.  The Greek oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o had a common Latin term at that time, which was "Paterfamilias."  

The Paterfamilias was literally "The Man of the House."  Recall we've come across this term already in this treatise.  Remember that the Christian paterfamilias was the pastor of his house church, and ruler of his household, but sometimes we come across a female ruler of a household - materfamilias - in the Bible, such as Chloe, Nympha, Kyria, Lydia, and probably also the mother of John Mark, and these would be women pastors of their household churches, and women rulers in their homes.

Oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o directly translates to the Latin Paterfamilias!  Thus Latin translations of this, including the Latin Vulgate, will say "materfamilias" in verse 14, since the context shows it's referring to a female.

What is going on here?!  Most English translations translate oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o which literally means "master of the house" in 1 Timothy 5:14 to:

'manage their homes' - NIV, NKJV, NASB2020, NRSVue.  A manager is under a boss, but an oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o is the boss!

'keep house' / 'take care of their homes' - LSB, NLT, NASB1995, NLT. An oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o is the Master/Ruler of the house, not the housekeeper. Thus the oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o is in charge of the household servants, as well as all other occupants in their home.  

The Master is not 'the Manager', nor is the Master 'The Help.'  The Master is the Ruler - the One in Charge!

Let's see this verse from 1 Timothy 5 honestly translated from the Greek.

1 Timothy 5:14
So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and be the rulers of their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us.

Friends, the Bible doesn't say women are to be 'keepers at home,' it says we are RULE our homes.  Let that sink in for a moment.

While oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o in its verb form is only in the Bible once - in our verse in question, it is in its noun form multiple times.  When referring to men, it gets translated as "ruler," "master," "householder," etc.  Imagine if we translated this word when referring to men as one who 'keeps house,' like so many Bibles do with this word when referring to women.

Here is one of the places where we see this word referring to a male householder:

Matthew 20:1 KJV
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

Let's do to this man what so many Bible translations have done to the woman in 1 Timothy 5:14.  Let's mistranslate him into a keeper of the home...

Matthew 20:1
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a keeper of the home, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

This man has now been reduced to a supervisor, or a servant of high rank, but it not longer shows him as the householder - the master/ruler.  Yet we know the Greek word here is indeed householder/master/ruler, just as it is for 1 Timothy 5:14.

Let's look again at the proper translation of 1 Timothy 5:14:

So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and be the rulers of their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us.

A matriarchal society can use this verse to wrongly state that the Bible is saying that women are to be the rulers of the household, and that men must be submissive to women.  Sound familiar?  That's the wrong patriarchal view of 1 Timothy 2:12, isn't it.

Yet when we read all of the Scriptures, we also see instances where it refers to men being householders or masters/rulers of their households.  So the question arises: who, therefore, is supposed to be in charge of the household?  The answer is given in one simple word in the below:

Romans 16:3-5a NRSVue
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but also all the churches of the gentiles. Greet also the church in their house.

It's a biarchy!  Remember God's will straight from creation:

Genesis 1:26a NRSVue
Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion

Some people will then turn to Titus 2:5 to state that women should be 'keepers of their homes,' / homemakers:

Titus 2:5 KJV
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Let's break this down:

"keepers at home" is οἰκουργός - oy-koo-ros', which means managing a household, and refers to what we see in the Old Testament with The Woman of Strength:

Proverbs 31:15 NRSVue
She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her female servants.

The Woman of Strength manages the household servants.  Recall that in both cultures in those times, the common household was composed of parents, children, other family members, servants and/or slaves, and often  businesses were run out of the homes.

The woman of Titus 2:5 isn't a 'keeper at home' or a housekeeper, she is a manager of the people in her household.  We see this more clearly in better Bible translations, such as the below:

Titus 2:5 NRSVue
to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited.

As for where the KJV for this verse says "obedient to their own husbands," and where the above NRSVue says "submissive to their husbands," the word obedient/submissive is "translated" from the Greek word ὑποτάσσω - hoop-ot-as'-so, which means to support, append to, or be devoted to. 

Titus 2:5 TPT
and to be self-controlled and pure, taking care of their household and being devoted to their husbands. By doing these things the word of God will not be discredited.

What have we learned here?  We've learned there is not one Scripture in the Bible that says women are to be homemakers.  Homemaking is a choice, and not a command.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART NINE

Romans 16:1-2 vs. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:12

Recall that the proper translation of Romans 16:1-2 as seen in the CEV, LSV, and TPT shows us that the misogynistic, patriarchal, eisegesis views of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:12 are absolutely wrong.  Let's quickly review.

Romans 16:1-2 TPT
1 Now let me introduce to you our dear and beloved sister in the faith, Phoebe, a shining minister of the church in Cenchrea. 
2 I am sending her with this letter and ask that you shower her with your hospitality when she arrives.  Embrace her with honor, as is fitting for one who belongs to the Lord and is set apart for him. So provide her whatever she may need, for she's been a great leader and champion for many - I know, for she's been that even for me!

In verse 1, we see that Phoebe was the minister of the church in Cenchrea.  Cenchrea was a port of Corinth, thus Phoebe was the minister of a chruch in Corinth.  Therefore 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 (which was in Corinth) cannot be saying that women aren't allowed to speak in church, because Paul had given accolades to a women minister of a church in Corinth.

In verse 2, we see that Phoebe was also a leader, and not just of women and children, but clearly of men as well, because the end of the verse says that Phoebe was also a leader of Paul the Apostle himself.  So we see that 1 Timothy 2:12 therefore must not be saying that women aren't allowed to teach men or have authority over them, because Paul gave accolades to the woman Phoebe as a leader of him. And as per verse 1, recall she was also the minister of a church.

The 1 Timothy 5 and Acts 19 Connection

Why did Paul want Timothy to spend time with the church in Ephesus? The answer is given in 1 Timothy, where Paul writes to Timothy in both First and Second Timothy on how to handle a specific problem.

1 Timothy 1:3 NRSVue
I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different teachings

From this one verse we learn that 1 and 2 Timothy are written to the church in Ephesus, where Timothy was left by Paul to stop false teachings - "instruct certain people not to teach different things."

If you do an honest reading through both 1 and 2 Timothy, you find that that is indeed the main theme running through both books: Stopping false teachers in the Ephesian church.

Some of these false teachers are mentioned by name, such as Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus.  Some of the false teachers are mentioned as groups, such as those who taught myths as facts, and misinformation about the Torah, etc, and some of the false teachers were married women teaching Artemis worship, such as we saw when we delved into 1 Timothy 2, and some of the false teachers were widowed women proselytizing for Artemis, such in the below:

1 Timothy 5:13 NRSVue
Besides that, they learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house, and they are not merely idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say.

Oh wait, you don't see it in the English, do you?  It's clear in the Greek.  First of all, the above word "gossips" is translated from the Greek word φλύαρος - floo'-ar-os - which means "nonsense."  These widowed women in this chapter were NOT going house to house gossiping, they were stating something as fact which is actually nonsense.  And what is the nonsense that they were proselytizing from house to house?  The above English translation says that they were "busybodies."  Yet if we look in the Greek, the word there is περίεργος - per-ee'-er-gos.  Per-ee'-er-gos is only in the Bible two times, so if it means "busybodies," then we'll see that word or a synonymous one in the other place where this Greek word is.  The other place where per-ee'-er-gos appears in the Bible is the below:

Acts 19:19 NRSVue
A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins.

I don't see "busybodies" or anything close to that in the above.  Do you?  If we look in our interlinear Bibles, we see that here per-ee'-er-gos was correctly translated as "magic."  Magic and busybodies are in no way synonymous. 

If you read more in Acts chapter 19, you'll see that verse 19 is occurring in Ephesus (where 1 and 2 Timothy are written to) and that Acts 19:19 is part of a revival where a bunch of Artemis worshippers turned to Jesus and got saved, so they burned their witchcraft Artemis books.  These people practiced Artemis magic - per-ee'-er-gos.  When we plug in the correct translations of floo'-ar-os and per-ee'-er-gos in 1 Timothy 5:13, we get the following:

"Besides that, they learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house, and they are not merely idle but also speaking nonsense and magic, saying what they should not say."

The only two places in the Bible where we have the Greek word per-ee'-er-gos is Acts 19:19 and 1 Timothy 5:13.  Both places are in Ephesus, where Artemis magic was huge at that time, especially for women.

Remember that 1 and 2 Timothy are about correcting or ousting the false teachers from the Ephesus church.  While both books mention groups and some men doing some false teachings, we see it also mentions some married women trying to bring Artemis worship into the church which would corrupt their husbands in 1 Timothy 2:12, and in 1 Timothy 5:13 we have some widowed women going house to house teaching Artemis magic.

Now we see a connection between 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Timothy 5:13.  These were two groups of women trying to bring Artemis magic to Christians.  These were some of the false teachers Timothy was sent to correct or stop.

Artemis worship still exists today, and still has many of the same rituals.  In our modern world, it usually now goes by the name of Wicca.  While there are male priests and attendants in Wicca, it is still considered quite a female religion, with more adherents being women, and the high priestesses often being revered in each coven. They believe in feminine power and the female goddess in line with their view of the Divine Feminine.

What else do we see with flawed English translations of 1 Timothy 5:13?  It looks like it's saying that bored women were going house to house to gossip and stick their noses in other people's business.   But when we look in the Greek, we find out that these women were not doing that.  They were going house to house teaching Artemis magic.  These were some of the people giving wrong (different) teachings that Timothy was to correct:

1 Timothy 1:3 NRSVue
I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different teachings

Some of those "certain people" were the women from 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Timothy 5:13.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART EIGHT

Women and 1 Timothy 2

1 Timothy 2:8-9a KJV
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel

"In like manner also," translated "likewise" in many other translations literally means - 'just what I told the previous people group, I also mean for this other people group.'  Thus "In like manner also" is saying that just as the men are to "pray every where, lifting up holy hands," so are the women.  Right after this "in like manner also" phrase, many Bible translations suddenly go off topic and randomly discuss how women are to dress 'modestly.'  What does women 'dressing modestly' have to do with their prayers and the topic in verse 8?

Guess what?  The Greek for this does not say women are to 'dress modest.'  Because of this, some Bible translations won't say 'modest,' like the below...

1 Timothy 2:8-9a NRSVue
I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument,  also that the women should dress themselves in moderate clothing

While "moderate clothing" is better, it still does not convey what the Greek is actually saying.  

The word that the KJV translated as "modest" is the Greek word κόσμιος - kos'-mee-os.  The Koine Greek kos'-mee-os literally means 'orderly, well-behaved.'  It doesn't have to do with physical clothing, it has to do with behavior. This is why the KJV translated this exact same Greek word as "of good behaviour" in 1 Timothy 3:2, when describing the qualities of a church leader.  

The next word in question in our above 1 Timothy 2:8-9a KJV passage is the word "apparel."  This is from the Greek word καταστολή - kat-as-tol-ay', which is a noun and means "dignity, restraint," not clothing!  In the noun form this word is in the bible only once, but it appears twice in the New Testament in its verb form, of which the KJV translates it as "had appeased" in Acts 19:35 and "quiet" in Acts 19:36. 

Thus, "modest apparel" in the above 1 Timothy 2:9 passage is incorrect.  From the Greek it is "well-behaved and with dignity."  The church leader is also called to this Greek - "well-behaved" in 1 Timothy 3:2.  Therefore, if we are being honest with the Greek, then this part of 1 Timothy 2:9 should say:

Likewise, that women arrange (κοσμέω) themselves with (ἐν) good behavior (κόσμιος) and dignity (καταστολή).

Thus 1 Timothy 2:8-9a actually says from Greek to English:
I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.  Likewise, that women arrange themselves with good behavior and dignity.

In other words, men are to pray without wrath and doubting, and women are to pray with good behavior (also used to describe the church leader in 1 Timothy 3) and with dignity.

Men without wrath - as men were considered to be fight-ready, and women with dignity - because women were usually not treated with dignity in that culture, but nonetheless a woman of God has dignity, regardless of how she is treated.  Further recall that 1 and 2 Timothy were in Ephesus, so the women are also to "arrange themselves in good behavior."  Thus they are to be calm, and not pray to God in the frantic way they would to Artemis in certain rituals before they got saved.

People who run to 1 Timothy 2:8-9 to state how women should dress modestly are running to something that is actually not talking about her physical outfit, so much as it's referring to her dressing her personality with good character traits, rather than putting her focus on wearing expensive clothes of that time (thus the rest of verse 9).  Notice, however, that these verses do not stipulate that she is to dress modestly.  That's in most English Bible translations, but not in the Greek or thus the originals. 

Men use this wrongly translated section to accuse women of tempting them.  Now we see the Bible doesn't say that women are to dress "modestly" here.  However, the Bible over and over says that both men and women are to exercise self-control.

Moving further along in 1 Timothy chapter 2, we next come across the following...

1 Timothy 2:11-12 ESV
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

Have you ever looked at these two verses in the Greek?  When looking in the Greek, we are expecting we will find the word παύω - pow'-o - "to cease or refrain," or a similar word in regards to women being quiet (or silent in the KJV).  We see pow'-o used like this several times in the Bible, for example:

1 Peter 3:10 KJV
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile

"Let him refrain" above is pow'-o.

However, when we look at 1 Timothy 2:11-12, both places where the ESV says "quiet," and where the KJV says "silent," it's not the Greek pow'-o.  Instead it is ἡσυχία - hay-soo-khee'-ah, which is a Greek noun that means "calm, peaceful."  It does not mean cessation of verbal speech, and is not used that way anywhere else in the Bible.  In this same 1 Timothy 2 chapter, we have the adjective form of this very same word, and it is translated as "peaceful:"

1 Timothy 2:2 ESV
for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful (hay-soo'-khee-os) and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

The above word quiet is not hay-soo-khee'-ah / hay-soo'-khee-os, but rather is an entirely different word - ay'-rem-os.  However notice that the above word "peaceful" is our word hay-soo'-khee-os.

Thus we already see a problem with the ESV (and many other versions) translation.  If we correct the ESV on this, then we have:

1 Timothy 2:11-12
Let a woman learn calmly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain calm.

Why did Paul say the woman is to be calm?  Recall this is in Ephesus, and Ephesus had one of the ancient seven wonders of the world - the Artemis Temple, where the priests were primarily women and eunuchs (considered men made into women).  These women were becoming Christians and for the first time, going to church. They tried to behave in church as they did during certain rituals in the Artemis temple which was anything but peaceful and calm.

Women in that time and culture were not allowed to learn, so they had no experience in sitting calmly, submitting to the teacher and listening to learn. They had to be taught how to learn - "learn calmly with all submissiveness."  The "submissiveness" is better translated as "with subjection."  They were to learn calmly and subject themselves to the teacher or preacher they were supposed to be learning from, as anyone who learns from another should.

What's radical for that culture at that time is that the above says "Let a woman learn."  LET, because in that culture women were not educated or allowed to learn.  "Let them learn too!"  Is what Paul was saying.  This made Paul a radical feminist for that time and culture.

As we continue looking at these two verses in the Greek, we fully expect to find the Greek word ἐξουσία - ex-oo-see'-ah, which was the common Koine Greek word for "authority."  After all, most English Bible translations have the word "authority" in 1 Timothy 2:12, so we fully expect to see that word in the Greek.

Take a look.  It's not there.

That's right. The word authority is not in the Greek for 1 Timothy 2:12!  Let that sink in for a minute...  First we see that 1 Timothy 2:11-12 doesn't say the woman is to be silent/quiet in the Greek, but merely says she is to be calm, and the Greek word for "authority" isn't even in 1 Timothy 2:12.

Ex-oo-see'-ah is the common Koine Greek word for "authority" and is in the New Testament over 100 times. 

The word that most English translations are translating as "authority" in 1 Timothy 2:12 is αὐθεντέω - ow-then-teh'-o, which means "murder."

Ow-then-teh'-o is in the New Testament only once, thus Paul chose this rare word for 1 Timothy 2:12.  If Paul meant "authority," he would have used ex-oo-see'-ah as he did many times in the New Testament.  Instead he used a word that means "murder."

While ow-then-teh'-o is only in the canonical Scriptures one time, it does also appear in the deuterocanon/apocrypha.  We see this word in Wisdom 12:6:

Wisdom 12:6 NRSVue
these parents who murder helpless lives, you willed to destroy by the hands of our ancestors

"Murder" above is ow-then-teh'-o.  The above is about parents who were sacrificing their own children to idols.  Imagine if they translated ow-then-teh'-o as "authority" here.  It would then say:

these parents who had authority over helpless lives, you willed to destroy by the hands of our ancestors

The above now says that God wills to destroy any parents who have authority over their own children.  See how ridiculous that is?  Translators knew ow-then-teh'-o means murder in Wisdom 12:6 but somehow forgot that when it comes to 1 Timothy 2:12.

Because of "quiet" actually being "calm," and the word "authority" actually being nowhere in 1 Timothy 2:11-12, there are Bible translations that translate these verses differently than the KJV, ESV, CSB, NLT, NASB, etc.  There are Bible translations that aim to be more accurate.  Thus they translate 1 Timothy 2:12 as:

___________________________________________________________________________________

I don’t allow a wife to teach or to control her husband. Instead, she should be a quiet listener. CEB

Moreover, in the area of teaching, I am not allowing a woman to instigate conflict toward a man. Instead, she is to remain calm.  ISV 2.0

I don’t advocate that the newly converted women be the teachers in the church, assuming authority over the men, but to live in peace. TPT

I'm not saying that women should teach men, or try to dictate to them; rather, that they should be left undisturbed.  N.T. Wright Translation  

I do not permit a woman to teach that she is the originator of man, rather she is not to cause a disturbance.  REV 2020

___________________________________________________________________________________

Thus we see that various translations struggle with how to translate ow-then-teh'-o, but we see them properly translating hay-soo-khee'-ah as "calm/peace/undisturbed" as it is translated elsewhere in the Bible.

Notice the CEB says "wife" and "husband."  This is more accurate, as the Greek word for woman is the same word for wife, and the Greek word for husband is the same word for man.  Thus, to determine when the Greek is referring to a married individual or just their gender, you have to use context.  The context here changes from men and women in the plural in verses 8-10 to singular man and singular woman in verses 11 and 12.  We went from all Christian men and women to a specific man and a specific woman, indicating a contextual change from gender to marriage - a wife and a husband.

As for "teaching" in these verses, ow-then-teh'-o is describing the type of teaching. Thus verse 12 is saying that the wife is not to bring a teaching to her husband that leads to his spiritual murder.

How 1 Timothy 2:11-12 Should be Translated if we are Being Honest with the Greek:
Let a wife learn in calmness with full subjection [to the teacher]. I do not permit a wife to teach unto [spiritual] murder a husband. Rather, she is to be calm.

When read this way, the rest of 1 Timothy chapter 2 makes sense.

Verse 13 NRSVue
For Adam was formed first, then Eve

This recalls us to the Garden of Eden where God told Adam not to eat of the forbidden tree. Adam was told this before Eve came to be.  Eve thus was later told by Adam.  

Verse 14 NRSVue
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Adam had the command directly from God, not Eve.  Satan, the beautiful shining winged serpent angelic creature at that time, came to Eve and convinced her that she must have misunderstood Adam, or that Adam must have misunderstood God.  With Adam watching all of this and not saying a word, Eve eats the forbidden fruit.  She then teaches Adam about what she thinks are its good qualities and extends the forbidden fruit to Adam.  He eats it upon her ow-then-teh'-o teaching, disregarding the teaching he has previously gotten directly from God, so he dies spiritually.

The Artemis women priests and worshippers in Ephesus at the time of 1 Timothy 2:12 were trying to teach their newly converted Christian husbands about Artemis worship, which was an ow-then-teh'-o teaching that could lead to their spiritual murder.  This is why Paul used the word ow-then-teh'-o!  It's supposed to connect us to what happened between Eve and Adam with the forbidden fruit.

Verse 15 NRSVue
Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

The wife will be saved through childbearing, provided that they - both husband and wife, continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.  Self-control here is from the Greek σωφροσύνη - so-fros-oo'-nay, which is a Greek synonym to hay-soo-khee'-ah - "she is to be calm" from the end of verse 12.

Thus, both husband and wife are to remain in the faith and be calm/self-controlled.

How is the wife "saved through childbearing?" Eve did ow-then-teh'-o to the first Adam.  Notice the New Testament tells us Eve was deceived, but it attributes the Fall to Adam, even though he ate after Eve. Why is the Fall attributed to Adam?  Because Adam was not deceived. Adam knowingly disobeyed a command he had gotten directly from the mouth of God.

Through Eve the first Adam fell, because he heeded her false teaching.  The New Testament calls Jesus the Last Adam.  This is one of the reasons Jesus was born male.  The Last Adam abolished the Law of Sin and Death that began with the first Adam, thus saving the woman through childbearing, as the Last Adam was born of the Virgin Mary.  Through Eve's ow-then-teh'-o teaching the first Adam was spiritually murdered.  Through the woman - the Virgin Mary, the Last Adam was born, who conquered Sin and Death.

1 Corinthians 15:45 NRSVue
Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Romans 5:15 NRSVue
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.

Romans 5:18 NRSVue
Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.

Romans 8:1-2 NRSVue
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.