Efesus 2:9

2:9 it is not from ¹  works, so that no one can boast. ² 

Efesus 5:9

5:9 for the fruit of the light ³  consists in ⁴  all goodness, righteousness, and truth –

Efesus 6:15

6:15 by fitting your ⁵  feet with the preparation that comes from the good news ⁶  of peace, ⁷ 

Efesus 6:17

6:17 And take the helmet of salvation ⁸  and the sword ⁹  of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

[2:9]  ¹ tn Or “not as a result of.”

[2:9]  ² tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”

[5:9]  ³ tc Several mss (Ì⁴⁶ D² Ψ Ï) have πνεύματος (pneumatos, “Spirit”) instead of φωτός (fwtos, “light”). Although most today regard φωτός as obviously original (UBS⁴ gives it an “A” rating), a case could be made that πνεύματος is what the author wrote. First, although this is largely a Byzantine reading (D² often, if not normally, assimilates to the Byzantine text), Ì⁴⁶ gives the reading much greater credibility. Internally, the φωτός at the end of v. 8 could have lined up above the πνεύματος in v. 9 in a scribe’s exemplar, thus occasioning dittography. (It is interesting to note that in both Ì⁴⁹ and א the two instances of φωτός line up.) However, written in a contracted form, as a nomen sacrum (pMnMs) – a practice found even in the earliest mss – πνεύματος would not have been easily confused with fwtos (there being only the last letter to occasion homoioteleuton rather than the last three). Further, the external evidence for φωτός is quite compelling (Ì⁴⁹ א A B D* F G P 33 81 1739 1881 2464 pc latt co); it is rather doubtful that the early and widespread witnesses all mistook πνεύματος for φωτός. In addition, πνεύματος can be readily explained as harking back to Gal 5:22 (“the fruit of the Spirit”). Thus, on balance, φωτός appears to be original, giving rise to the reading πνεύματος.

[5:9]  ⁴ tn Grk “in.” The idea is that the fruit of the light is “expressed in” or “consists of.”

[6:15]  ⁵ tn The definite article τοῖς (tois) was taken as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “your,” since it refers to a part of the physical body.

[6:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “gospel.” However, this is not a technical term here.

[6:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “in preparation of the gospel of peace.” The genitive τοῦ εὐαγγελίου (tou euangeliou) was taken as a genitive of source, i.e., “that comes from….”

[6:17]  ⁸ sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.

[6:17]  ⁹ sn The Greek term translated sword (μάχαιρα, macaira) refers to the Roman gladius, a short sword about 2 ft (60 cm) long, used for close hand-to-hand combat. This is the only clearly offensive weapon in the list of armor mentioned by the author (he does not, for example, mention the lance [Latin pilum]).