Limitless Word
Therefore don’t be partakers with them.
Ephesians 5:7 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
  • BSB Therefore do not be partakers with them.
  • NKJV Therefore do not be partakers with them.
  • NASB Therefore do not become partners with them;
  • NLT Don’t participate in the things these people do.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Therefore believers should not share in the sins of the disobedient. We must not become partners in others' ungodly conduct.

Overview

Drawing the conclusion from verse 6, Paul warns the church not to be 'partakers' with those under God's wrath. While Christians live among unbelievers, they must not join in their immoral practices. Separation here is moral, not social withdrawal, preserving the distinct holiness of God's people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Rev 18:4I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues,
  • 1 Tim 5:22Lay hands hastily on no one, neither be a participant in other men’s sins. Keep yourself pure.
  • Eph 5:11Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.
  • Num 16:26He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”
  • Prov 1:10–17My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
  • Ps 50:18When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have participated with adulterers.
  • Prov 13:20One who walks with wise men grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
  • Prov 9:6Leave your simple ways, and live. Walk in the way of understanding.”
  • Eph 3:6that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ephesians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ephesians 5:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EphesiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.

How Ephesians 5:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.