Ephesians 6:4 (DBY)

Passage

And [ye] fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in [the] discipline and admonition of [the] Lord.

Nearby Context

Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with a promise,

Ephesians 6:3 that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest be long-lived on the earth.

Ephesians 6:4 And [ye] fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in [the] discipline and admonition of [the] Lord.

Ephesians 6:5 Bondmen, obey masters according to flesh, with fear and trembling, in simplicity of your heart as to the Christ;

Ephesians 6:6 not with eye-service as men-pleasers; but as bondmen of Christ, doing the will of God from [the] soul,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fathers", "provoke", "children", "anger", "bring", "discipline", "admonition", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fathers" and "provoke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "that it may be well with thee..." into verse 5's "Bondmen obey masters according to flesh with...", so "fathers" and "provoke" belong inside that flow. In Ephesians context, the local focus is grace, union with Christ, the church, and new creation.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "fathers" and "provoke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.