Colossians 3:19 (YLT)

Passage

the husbands! love your wives, and be not bitter with them;

Nearby Context

Colossians 3:17 and all, whatever ye may do in word or in work, <FI>do<Fi> all things in the name of the Lord Jesus--giving thanks to the God and Father, through him.

Colossians 3:18 The wives! be subject to your own husbands, as is fit in the Lord;

Colossians 3:19 the husbands! love your wives, and be not bitter with them;

Colossians 3:20 the children! obey the parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord;

Colossians 3:21 the fathers! vex not your children, lest they be discouraged.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "husbands", "love", "wives", and "bitter". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "husbands" and "love", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "The wives be subject to your own..." into verse 20's "the children obey the parents in all...", so "husbands" and "love" belong inside that flow. In Colossians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

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