2:19a
Therefore: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as Therefore means that Paul is concluding and summarizing what he has said in 2:11–18.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
So then (Good News Translation)
-or-
That is why (God’s Word)
-or-
And so because of this
strangers and foreigners: The word strangers refers to people who visit a country, but do not live there. The word foreigners refers to those who have come to live in a country, though they are not full citizens of it.
Before the Gentiles became Christians, they were like foreigners to God’s people. They were excluded from God’s people the same way foreigners and aliens are excluded from the people they are living among. (Paul used the word strangers in 2:12 also.)
If your language has only one word for both of these, do not try to distinguish them, but use the one word. For example:
outsiders
Some languages translate foreigners as a phrase, such as “not part of God’s people.” So to say, “no longer strangers and foreigners” makes a complicated sentence with two negatives, such as “You are no longer not a part of God’s people.” To avoid this you can make two sentences, for example:
In the past it was like you were on the outside, you were not part of God’s people. But now you are no longer like that.
2:19b
but fellow citizens with the saints: This clause contrasts with 2:19a. To be fellow citizens means to be members of the same country. This is another comparison. They are now members of God’s people.
Here are some ways to translate this phrase:
⌊It is like⌋ you are from the same tribe as all the rest of God’s people.
-or-
You are one group with God’s people.
-or-
But rather you and God’s people are in the same group
the saints: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as the saints means “people set apart for God.” This Greek word refers to every believer.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
God’s people (New International Version)
-or-
people who belong to God
See Holy, Meaning 1, special use in the Glossary for more information.
2:19c
members of God’s household: The phrase members of God’s household is also a comparison. The meaning is the same as the comparison in 2:19b. The Gentiles who believe in Christ are no longer foreigners or outsiders. They are God’s children, just the same as Jews who believe in Christ. Jews and Gentiles are all brothers and sisters, part of the same family.
Here is another way this phrase can be translated:
members of God’s family (New Living Translation (2004))
2:20–22
In 2:20–22, Paul used the idea of a house or building as a metaphor for the Church/believers. There are three parts of this metaphor:
(a) Believers are the bricks (or boards or sticks) of the house.
(b) The apostles and prophets are the foundation.
(c) Christ is the cornerstone.
You should keep this figure of speech in your translation. You may want to change it to a simile, for example, “Christ is like a cornerstone.”
Also, think about what houses are like in your area. You may want to adapt Paul’s figure of speech so that it will communicate clearly in your language. Perhaps you can say that Christ is like the rock on which the house posts stand and the apostles and prophets are like the house posts. Or perhaps you can say that Christ is the big central post, and the apostles and prophets are the main horizontal beams.
© 1999, 2019 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.