Colossians 3:19

Husbands Cp. Eph 5:25-33; 1 Peter 3:7.

love A word deepened and hallowed indefinitely by the Gospel, in reference to matrimonial truth and tenderness. See our note on Ephesians 5:25.

be not bitter with the wretched irritability of a supposed absolute superiority and authority. "The husband's primacy is not for dominion but for guidance, with sweetness, wisdom and peace" (Quesnel). To be "bitter," in the sense of angry, is a phrase of O.T. Greek. See the LXX. in e.g. Jeremiah 44:(Heb. 37)15 (where A. V. reads "they were wroth"); Habakkuk 1:6. Cp. Ephesians 4:31.