Efesus 4:1-3

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ¹  urge you to live ²  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ³  4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ⁴  with patience, bearing with ⁵  one another in love, 4:3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Efesus 4:32

4:32 Instead, ⁶  be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. ⁷ 

[4:1]  ¹ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ² tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ³ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”

[4:32]  ⁶ tc ‡ Although most witnesses have either δέ (de; Ì⁴⁹ א A D² Ψ 33 1739^mg Ï lat) or οὖν (oun; D* F G 1175) here, a few important mss lack a conjunction (Ì⁴⁶ B 0278 6 1739* 1881). If either conjunction were originally in the text, it is difficult to explain how the asyndetic construction could have arisen (although the dropping of δέ could have occurred via homoioteleuton). Further, although Hellenistic Greek rarely joined sentences without a conjunction, such does occur in the corpus Paulinum on occasion, especially to underscore a somber point. “Instead” has been supplied in the translation because of stylistic requirements, not textual basis. NA²⁷ places δέ in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[4:32]  ⁷ tn Or “forgiving.”