Efesus 1:10-11

1:10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up ¹  all things in Christ – the things in heaven ²  and the things on earth. ³  1:11 In Christ ⁴  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ⁵  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

Efesus 1:23

1:23 Now the church is ⁶  his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. ⁷ 

Efesus 2:3

2:3 among whom ⁸  all of us ⁹  also ¹⁰  formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath ¹¹  even as the rest… ¹² 

Efesus 2:11

New Life Corporately

2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body ¹³  by human hands –

Efesus 2:14

2:14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one ¹⁴  and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility,

Efesus 3:6

3:6 namely, that through the gospel ¹⁵  the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members ¹⁶  of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.

Efesus 3:9

3:9 and to enlighten ¹⁷  everyone about God’s secret plan ¹⁸  – a secret that has been hidden for ages ¹⁹  in God ²⁰  who has created all things.

Efesus 3:14

Prayer for Strengthened Love

3:14 For this reason ²¹  I kneel ²²  before the Father, ²³ 

Efesus 4:9-10

4:9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended ²⁴  to the lower regions, ²⁵  namely, the earth? ²⁶  4:10 He, the very one ²⁷  who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

Efesus 4:15

4:15 But practicing the truth in love, ²⁸  we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head.

Efesus 4:17

Live in Holiness

4:17 So I say this, and insist ²⁹  in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility ³⁰  of their thinking. ³¹ 

Efesus 5:12-13

5:12 For the things they do ³²  in secret are shameful even to mention. 5:13 But all things being exposed by the light are made evident.

Efesus 5:28

5:28 In the same way ³³  husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Efesus 6:1

6:1 Children, ³⁴  obey your parents in the Lord ³⁵  for this is right.

Efesus 6:4

6:4 Fathers, ³⁶  do not provoke your children to anger, ³⁷  but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Efesus 6:9

6:9 Masters, ³⁸  treat your slaves ³⁹  the same way, ⁴⁰  giving up the use of threats, ⁴¹  because you know that both you and they have the same master in heaven, ⁴²  and there is no favoritism with him.

Efesus 6:12

6:12 For our struggle ⁴³  is not against flesh and blood, ⁴⁴  but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, ⁴⁵  against the spiritual forces ⁴⁶  of evil in the heavens. ⁴⁷ 

Efesus 6:16

6:16 and in all of this, ⁴⁸  by taking up the shield ⁴⁹  of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Efesus 6:21-22

Farewell Comments

6:21 Tychicus, my ⁵⁰  dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, ⁵¹  how I am doing. 6:22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances ⁵²  and that he may encourage your hearts.

[1:10]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of the infinitive ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι (anakefalaiwsasqai) in v. 10 is difficult to determine since it was used relatively infrequently in Greek literature and only twice in the NT (here and Rom 13:9). While there have been several suggestions, three deserve mention: (1) “To sum up.” In Rom 13:9, using the same term, the author there says that the law may be “summarized in one command, to love your neighbor as yourself.” The idea then in Eph 1:10 would be that all things in heaven and on earth can be summed up and made sense out of in relation to Christ. (2) “To renew.” If this is the nuance of the verb then all things in heaven and earth, after their plunge into sin and ruin, are renewed by the coming of Christ and his redemption. (3) “To head up.” In this translation the idea is that Christ, in the fullness of the times, has been exalted so as to be appointed as the ruler (i.e., “head”) over all things in heaven and earth (including the church). That this is perhaps the best understanding of the verb is evidenced by the repeated theme of Christ’s exaltation and reign in Ephesians and by the connection to the κεφαλή- (kefalh-) language of 1:22 (cf. Schlier, TDNT 3:682; L&N 63.8; M. Barth, Ephesians [AB 34], 1:89-92; contra A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 32-33).

[1:10]  ² tn Grk “the heavens.”

[1:10]  ³ sn And the things on earth. Verse 10 ends with “in him.” The redundancy keeps the focus on Christ at the expense of good Greek style. Verse 11 repeats the reference with a relative pronoun (“in whom”) – again, at the expense of good Greek style. Although the syntax is awkward, the theology is rich. This is not the first time that a NT writer was so overcome with awe for his Lord that he seems to have lost control of his pen. Indeed, it happened frequently enough that some have labeled their christologically motivated solecisms an “apostolic disease.”

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “we were appointed by lot.” The notion of the verb κληρόω (klhrow) in the OT was to “appoint a portion by lot” (the more frequent cognate verb κληρονομέω [klhronomew] meant “obtain a portion by lot”). In the passive, as here, the idea is that “we were appointed [as a portion] by lot” (BDAG 548 s.v. κληρόω 1). The words “God’s own” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this sense of the verb. An alternative interpretation is that believers receive a portion as an inheritance: “In Christ we too have been appointed a portion of the inheritance.” See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 226-27, for discussion on this interpretive issue.

[1:11]  sn God’s own possession. Although God is not mentioned explicitly in the Greek text, it is clear from the context that he has chosen believers for himself. Just as with the nation Israel, the church is God’s chosen portion or possession (cf. Deut 32:8-9).

[1:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “which is.” The antecedent of “which” is easily lost in English, though in Greek it is quite clear. In the translation “church” is repeated to clarify the referent.

[1:23]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “who is filled entirely.”

[1:23]  sn The idea of all in all is either related to the universe (hence, he fills the whole universe entirely) or the church universal (hence, Christ fills the church entirely with his presence and power).

[2:3]  ⁸ sn Among whom. The relative pronoun phrase that begins v. 3 is identical, except for gender, to the one that begins v. 2 (ἐν αἵς [en Jais], ἐν οἵς [en Jois]). By the structure, the author is building an argument for our hopeless condition: We lived in sin and we lived among sinful people. Our doom looked to be sealed as well in v. 2: Both the external environment (kingdom of the air) and our internal motivation and attitude (the spirit that is now energizing) were under the devil’s thumb (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “we all.”

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “even.”

[2:3]  ¹¹ sn Children of wrath is a Semitic idiom which may mean either “people characterized by wrath” or “people destined for wrath.”

[2:3]  ¹² sn Eph 2:1-3. The translation of vv. 1-3 is very literal, even to the point of retaining the awkward syntax of the original. See note on the word dead in 2:1.

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[2:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “who made the both one.”

[3:6]  ¹⁵ sn The phrase through the gospel is placed last in the sentence in Greek for emphasis. It has been moved forward for clarity.

[3:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and fellow members.”

[3:9]  ¹⁷ tn There is a possible causative nuance in the Greek verb, but this is difficult to convey in the translation.

[3:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “what is the plan of the divine secret.” Earlier the author had used οἰκονομία (oikonomia; here “plan”) to refer to his own “stewardship” (v. 2). But now he is speaking about the content of this secret, not his own activity in relation to it.

[3:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “for eternity,” or perhaps “from the Aeons.” Cf. 2:2, 7.

[3:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “by God.” It is possible that ἐν (en) plus the dative here indicates agency, that is, that God has performed the action of hiding the secret. However, this usage of the preposition ἐν is quite rare in the NT, and even though here it does follow a perfect passive verb as in the Classical idiom, it is more likely that a different nuance is intended.

[3:14]  ²¹ sn For this reason resumes the point begun in v. 1, after a long parenthesis.

[3:14]  ²² tn Grk “I bend my knees.”

[3:14]  ²³ tc Most Western and Byzantine witnesses, along with a few others (א² D F G Ψ 0278 1881 Ï lat sy), have “of our Lord Jesus Christ” after “Father,” but such an edifying phrase cannot explain the rise of the reading that lacks it, especially when the shorter reading is attested by early and important witnesses such as Ì⁴⁶ א* A B C P 6 33 81 365 1175 1739 co Or Hier.

[4:9]  ²⁴ tc The majority of mss (א² B C³ Ψ Ï) read πρῶτον (prwton, “first”) here in conjunction with this verb: “he first descended.” The shorter reading, which lacks πρῶτον, should be considered original on the basis of both external and internal evidence: It has strong external support from the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (Ì⁴⁶ א* A C* D F G I^vid 082 6 33 81 1739 1881 pc); internally, the inclusion of πρῶτον is most likely an addition to clarify the sense of the passage.

[4:9]  ²⁵ tc The Western texttype (D* F G it) lacks the plural noun μέρη (merh, “regions”); the shorter reading cannot be dismissed out of hand since it is also supported by Ì⁴⁶ (which often has strong affinities, however, with the Western text). The inclusion of the word has strong external support from important, early mss as well as the majority of Byzantine cursives (א A B C D² I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï). Certain scribes may have deleted the word, thinking it superfluous; in addition, if the shorter reading were original one would expect to see at least a little variation in clarifying additions to the text. For these reasons the inclusion of μέρη should be regarded as original.

[4:9]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to the lower parts of the earth.” This phrase has been variously interpreted: (1) The traditional view understands it as a reference to the underworld (hell), where Jesus is thought to have descended in the three days between his death and resurrection. In this case, “of the earth” would be a partitive genitive. (2) A second option is to translate the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition: “to the lower parts, namely, the earth” (as in the present translation). Many recent scholars hold this view and argue that it is a reference to the incarnation. (3) A third option, which also sees the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition, is that the descent in the passage occurs after the ascent rather than before it, and refers to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Acts 4:11-16). Support for this latter view is found in the intertestamental and rabbinic use of Ps 68:18 (quoted in v. 8), which is consistently and solely interpreted as a reference to Moses’ ascent of Mt. Sinai to “capture” the words of the law. The probability, therefore, is that the comments here in v. 9 reflect a polemic against the interpretation of Ps 68:18 in certain circles as a reference to Moses. See W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ (AGJU 32), 46-54; 171-204.

[4:10]  ²⁷ tn The Greek text lays specific emphasis on “He” through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos). This is reflected in the English translation through the use of “the very one.”

[4:15]  ²⁸ tn The meaning of the participle ἀληθεύοντες (alhqeuonte"; from the verb ἀληθεύω [alhqeuw]) is debated. In classical times the verb could mean “to speak the truth,” or “to be true, to prove true.” In the LXX it appears five times (Gen 20:16; 42:16; Prov 21:3; Isa 44:26; Sir 34:4) and translates four different Hebrew words; there it is an ethical term used of proving or being true, not with the idea of speaking the truth. In the NT the only other place the verb appears is in Gal 4:16 where it means “to speak the truth.” However, in Ephesians the concept of “being truthful” is the best sense of the word. In contrast to the preceding verse, where there are three prepositional phrases to denote falsehood and deceit, the present word speaks of being real or truthful in both conduct and speech. Their deceit was not only in their words but also in their conduct. In other words, the believers’ conduct should be transparent, revealing the real state of affairs, as opposed to hiding or suppressing the truth through cunning and deceit. See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 564-65, and R. Bultmann, TDNT 1:251.

[4:17]  ²⁹ tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.

[4:17]  ³⁰ tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.

[4:17]  ³¹ tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”

[5:12]  ³² tn The participle τὰ…γινόμενα (ta…ginomena) usually refers to “things happening” or “things which are,” but with the following genitive phrase ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν (Jup’ autwn), which indicates agency, the idea seems to be “things being done.” This passive construction was translated as an active one to simplify the English style.

[5:28]  ³³ tn Grk “So also.”

[6:1]  ³⁴ tn The use of the article τά (ta) with τέκνα (tekna) functions in a generic way to distinguish this group from husbands, wives, fathers and slaves and is left, therefore, untranslated. The generic article is used with γύναῖκες (gunaikes) in 5:22, ἄνδρες (andres) in 5:25, δοῦλοι (douloi) in 6:5, and κύριοι (kurioi) in 6:9.

[6:1]  ³⁵ tc B D* F G as well as a few versional and patristic representatives lack “in the Lord” (ἐν κυρίῳ, en kuriw), while the phrase is well represented in Ì⁴⁶ א A D¹ I^vid Ψ 0278 0285 33 1739 1881 Ï sy co. Scribes may have thought that the phrase could be regarded a qualifier on the kind of parents a child should obey (viz., only Christian parents), and would thus be tempted to delete the phrase to counter such an interpretation. It is unlikely that the phrase would have been added, since the form used to express such sentiment in this Haustafel is ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ/Χριστῷ (Jw" tw kuriw/Cristw, “as to the Lord/Christ”; see 5:22; 6:5). Even though the witnesses for the omission are impressive, it is more likely that the phrase was deleted than added by scribal activity.

[6:4]  ³⁶ tn Or perhaps “Parents” (so TEV, CEV). The plural οἱ πατέρες (Joi patere", “fathers”) can be used to refer to both the male and female parent (BDAG 786 s.v. πατήρ 1.b).

[6:4]  ³⁷ tn Or “do not make your children angry.” BDAG 780 s.v. παροργίζω states “make angry.” The Greek verb in Col 3:21 is a different one with a slightly different nuance.

[6:9]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:9]  ³⁹ tn Though the Greek text only has αὐτούς (autous, “them”), the antecedent is the slaves of the masters. Therefore, it was translated this way to make it explicit in English.

[6:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “do the same things to them.”

[6:9]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “giving up the threat.”

[6:9]  ⁴² tn Grk “because of both they and you, the Lord is, in heaven…”

[6:12]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”

[6:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “blood and flesh.”

[6:12]  ⁴⁵ tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss.

[6:12]  sn The phrase world-rulers of this darkness does not refer to human rulers but the evil spirits that rule over the world. The phrase thus stands in apposition to what follows (the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens); see note on heavens at the end of this verse.

[6:12]  ⁴⁶ tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.

[6:12]  ⁴⁷ sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.

[6:16]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “in everything.”

[6:16]  ⁴⁹ sn The Greek word translated shield (θυρεός, qureos) refers to the Roman soldier’s large rectangular wooden shield, called in Latin scutum, about 4 ft (1.2 m) high, covered with leather on the outside. Before a battle in which flaming arrows might be shot at them, the soldiers wet the leather covering with water to extinguish the arrows. The Roman legionaries could close ranks with these shields, the first row holding theirs edge to edge in front, and the rows behind holding the shields above their heads. In this formation they were practically invulnerable to arrows, rocks, and even spears.

[6:21]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the.” The Greek article ὁ (Jo) was translated with the possessive pronoun, “my.” See ExSyn 215.

[6:21]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “the things according to me.”

[6:22]  ⁵² tn Grk “the things concerning us.”