The Armor of God — Ephesians 6 KJV
The full King James text of Ephesians 6:10-18, ready to read or print, followed by commentary on all six pieces of the armour and the whole of Ephesians 6.
Ephesians 6:10-18, King James Version
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
King James Version — public domain. biblegarden.net/armor-of-god
The Six Pieces of the Armor
Paul names six items in four verses, and the order is a soldier’s: belt, breastplate, boots, shield, helmet, sword — the sequence in which the kit actually goes on. Five of the six protect; only the last one strikes.
having your loins girt about with truth
To gird the loins was to gather a long robe up into the belt so a man could run or fight without tripping over his own clothing — the first move before any exertion (“he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab,” 1 Kings 18:46; “Gird up now thy loins like a man,” Job 38:3). It is named first because the rest of the kit hangs on it. Isaiah had already said of the coming king that “righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins” (Isaiah 11:5), and Peter turns the picture inward: “gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Peter 1:13).
having on the breastplate of righteousness
The breastplate covers the heart and the lungs — the part of a soldier where a wound is fatal. Paul did not invent the image: Isaiah 59:17 describes God himself putting “on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head.” The armour the Christian is told to wear is armour God wore first.
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
Footing decides whether a soldier can hold his ground, which is exactly what this passage asks of him four times over. The strange part is what the boots are made of: peace, worn into a fight. The line reaches back to Isaiah 52:7 — “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace.”
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
The only piece carried rather than worn, and the only one described by what it stops. The Greek word behind the KJV's “shield” here (thureos) is built on the word for a door and names the tall body-shield a soldier could shelter behind completely, not a small round buckler. Paul's “Above all” puts it in front of everything else on the list.
And take the helmet of salvation
The verb changes here. The first three pieces are things the soldier already has on; the last two are things he must take — handed to him rather than made by him, which is the point when the piece in question is salvation. It is the second item lifted straight from Isaiah 59:17, where the helmet is God's own.
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
The only weapon in the list, and the only piece Paul stops to define. It belongs to the Spirit rather than to the soldier's own cleverness, and its use is demonstrated in Matthew 4, where every answer Jesus gives in the wilderness opens with “It is written.” Hebrews 4:12 describes the same blade: the word of God is “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.”
What the Armor Is For
Before a single piece is named, four verses explain why any of it is needed. The strength is borrowed — “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” — and it is the same power the letter has already described raising Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20). What is issued is “the whole armour,” not a selection from it.
Verse 12 then names the opponent, and rules out the obvious candidate: “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” The person across the table is not the enemy the kit is for. Notice too what the passage never asks for. Four times in four verses the verb is the same — stand, withstand, having done all to stand, stand therefore — and the list contains no armour for the back. The aim is to still be there when the evil day is over.
Why the Passage Ends in Prayer
The list of armour stops at the sword, but the sentence does not. Verse 18 carries straight on — “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” — which makes prayer not a seventh piece to put on but the manner in which the other six are taken up. It is also the first place the passage looks past the reader: the praying is “for all saints,” and the next request is Paul’s own, made from prison as “an ambassador in bonds” (Ephesians 6:20).
Ephesians 6 in Full (KJV)
The armour arrives at the end of a chapter about ordinary households — children and parents, servants and masters. All 24 verses of Ephesians 6 in the King James Version:
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
5Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
9And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
22Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.
23Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Related Verses on Spiritual Armor
Five passages that sit closest to Ephesians 6 — where the armour comes from, and where the rest of Scripture takes it.
Where the breastplate and the helmet come from: Isaiah sees God arming himself, centuries before Paul hands the same pieces to the church.
Isaiah 59:17Paul's shorter version of the image, with the pieces reassigned — the breastplate is faith and love, and the helmet is the hope of salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:8The same command in one line — “put on the armour of light” — with night and day standing in for the two kingdoms of Ephesians 6.
Romans 13:12Why the fight is not won with ordinary tools: the weapons of this warfare are not carnal, and their power is borrowed from God.
2 Corinthians 10:4The promise attached to standing firm — the devil whose wiles Ephesians 6 warns about is a devil who flees when resisted.
James 4:7A verse a day
Verse of the Day (KJV)
One King James verse each day, with a short note on the passage it comes from and a link straight to the full chapter. It changes at midnight.
Read today’s verse →Recommended reading
KJV study & journaling Bibles
Everything on this page is free to read. If you want Ephesians in print, these are the two King James editions worth knowing about — one with study notes, one with room to write.
KJV Study Bible
Thomas Nelson, Holman and other editions
The King James text with study notes, book introductions, and maps — useful for the letter behind the passage and the Old Testament verses Paul is drawing the armour from.
KJV Journaling Bible
Wide-margin and notetaking editions
Ruled margins beside the King James text — room to work through Ephesians 6 piece by piece, or to keep a prayer list beside verse 18.
As an Amazon Associate this site earns from qualifying purchases. Links are sponsored. Compare the best KJV study & journaling Bibles →
Keep Exploring
Read the letter the passage closes in the Book of Ephesians, gather more scripture on the strength verse 10 asks for in our Bible verses about strength collection, or start the day with the verse of the day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the six pieces of the armor of God?
Ephesians 6:14-17 names six: the belt of truth (“having your loins girt about with truth”), the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace (“your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace”), the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, “which is the word of God.” Five are defensive; the sword is the only weapon. Verse 18 adds prayer — “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” — which is not a seventh piece but the way the other six are worn.
Where is the armor of God in the Bible?
The passage is Ephesians 6:10-18, at the close of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. The command begins in verse 10 (“be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might”), the pieces are listed in verses 14-17, and the paragraph ends in verse 18 with prayer. Shorter versions of the same image appear in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 and Romans 13:12, and the breastplate and helmet are taken from Isaiah 59:17, where God wears them himself.
Is it “armor” or “armour” in the KJV?
The King James Version spells it “armour” — “Put on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11) and “take unto you the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:13) — because that was the standard British spelling in 1611 and remains so today. “Armor” is the American spelling used in most modern American editions. The two refer to exactly the same passage; only the spelling differs.
What does “we wrestle not against flesh and blood” mean?
Ephesians 6:12 identifies the enemy the armour is for: “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” The point is that the real opposition is not the person in front of you. The same vocabulary of “principalities and powers” appears earlier in the letter at Ephesians 3:10, and the phrase the KJV renders “in high places” here is the one it translates “in heavenly places” at Ephesians 1:3, 1:20, 2:6, and 3:10 — the same realm, named four times as the place of blessing before it is named once as the place of the fight.
Is prayer the seventh piece of the armor of God?
No — prayer is not listed as a piece. The list of armour ends with the sword in verse 17, but Paul's sentence does not stop there: verse 18 continues “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Prayer is the manner in which the armour is taken up rather than another item to put on. Paul then asks for it himself in verses 19-20, writing as “an ambassador in bonds.”
What does it mean to “stand” in Ephesians 6?
Standing is the whole objective of the passage, and Paul says it four times in four verses: “that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (6:11), “that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (6:13), and “Stand therefore” (6:14). The goal is holding ground rather than gaining it. Nothing in the list is armour for the back, and nothing is issued for a retreat — the soldier is dressed to still be there when the evil day is over.