Colossians 3 says, “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” Elsewhere in the Epistles, it says essentially the same thing. This article (linked below) takes issue with translating that Greek verb (ὑποτάσσω/hypotassō) as “submit,” recommending instead “Wives, order yourselves toward your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord,” or “take your place in relation to your husbands…”

While the author concedes that the traditional rendering “submit” is a “lexically defensively” translation choice, he asserts that theological considerations make his version the better translation: “[Submit] teaches English readers that the New Testament baptizes hierarchy as such, when the texts themselves are doing something far more interesting: calling free people, in Christ, to order their lives toward each another and toward their neighbors—voluntarily, mutually, and always under the prior claim of the Lord whose own self-giving sets the pattern.”

I’m sympathetic to the theological and pastoral reasoning expressed here. These verses can be abused or misunderstood. I think this may be a good way to preach it — but not to translate it that way in a formal Bible edition! Pastoral considerations can change, and they vary from place to place. I have a different pastoral concern: that if we accept this new translation, we are teaching men not to be leaders, at a time when secular and Christian men alike (especially the younger generations), increasingly feel like they don’t have a place or a role anymore in the family, workplace, or society.

Family formation has slowed significantly, men are graduating from colleges less than women, their relative earning power and household wealth have plummeted compared to previous generations, dating has dropped off a cliff, etc. Many men already feel extremely disempowered in the current environment. They don’t learn either to obey authority (about which they are cynical) or to exercise authority. We need to teach men responsibility, initiative, and leadership. We can’t do that if we tell them they are not actually leaders in their marriages.

I respect the author of this article for attempting a better translation of difficult Scripture passages. But I think the article also reflects a very American (and very Protestant) aversion to hierarchies and authority. We are witnessing a breakdown of institutions and a crisis of authority across the board; American no longer trust religious institutions, scientific institutions, government institutions, etc.

The *traditional* family institution must be upheld.