2:16a

reconciling both of them to God: The word reconciling means “making those who are enemies into friends.” By his death on the cross, Christ made the Jews and the Gentiles into friends of God.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

brought them back to God (Good News Translation)
-or-
made peace between us and God (Contemporary English Version)

See reconcile in the Glossary for more information.

in one body: The phrase in one body means the same thing as the phrase “one new man” in 2:15b. It means that the Jews and Gentiles are now “one (new) group.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

as one united people
-or-
like one ⌊harmonious⌋ group of people

through the cross: The phrase through the cross means “through Christ’s death on the cross” or “by Christ’s dying on the cross.”

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

his death on the cross (Good News Translation)

2:16b

by which: The word which refers to “the cross” in 2:16a. By dying on the cross, Christ ended the hatred between Jews and Gentiles.

He extinguished their hostility: The phrase He extinguished their hostility is a figure of speech. It means that what Christ did caused the Jews and Gentiles to stop hating each other.

Here are some other ways this phrase has been translated:

Christ did away with our hatred for each other (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Christ’s purpose (was) to end the hatred between the two groups (New Century Version)

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