2:12a

remember: The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the word remember here. It occurred in 2:11a. It is repeated here to emphasize what Paul said in 2:12. He told the Ephesians to remember. Translate remember in a way that is natural in your language.

at that time: The phrase at that time refers to the word “formerly” in 2:11a. This was before the Ephesians had become Christians.

separate from Christ: The phrase separate from Christ means that they did not know him, and they had no relationship with him.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

without Christ (God’s Word)
-or-
did not know about Christ (Contemporary English Version)

2:12b

alienated from the commonwealth of Israel: The clause alienated from the commonwealth of Israel means they were foreigners/aliens and were not part of God’s chosen people.

alienated: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as alienated means “kept from” or “not a part of.” It occurs only three places in the New Testament: here, in 4:18b and in Colossians 1:21.

2:12c

strangers to the covenants of the promise: The word strangers here means the same as “excluded” in 2:12b. Those people who were not Jews were not included in the agreements between God and his chosen people.

covenants of the promise: The phrase covenants of the promise means the agreements/oaths that God made with all the people, in which he made a promise to them. See covenant in the Glossary for more information.

covenants: A “covenant” is an agreement or contract that binds two people or two groups.

Here the word covenants refers to the agreements that God made with Abraham and the agreements he made with the Jews. The Gentiles were excluded from these covenants that God had made with the Jews. The Gentiles were foreigners in the sense that they were on the outside. They were not part of the group with which God had made these covenants.

Here are some other ways to translate the word covenants :

binding agreements
-or-
pacts
-or-
promises

the promise: There is an interpretation issue here:

• Most commentators believe that the promise refers to the salvation provided to mankind through God’s Messiah, Jesus Christ and the blessings associated with his kingdom.

• Others believe it refers to God’s blessings in general, or to the promise that God made to Abraham, to make him a great nation.

Each of these interpretations is possible. So it is recommended that your translation be general to allow for these different interpretations as the English versions do.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

binding agreements ⌊in which God gave⌋ a promise
-or-
pacts ⌊made by God⌋ with an oath that he would do something

2:12d

without hope: The phrase without hope indicates that the Ephesians had no hope of being saved from their sins, and they had no hope of eternal life. In other words, they did not expect to live forever with God in heaven.

hope: As in 1:18b, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hope means “to confidently expect and wait for something wonderful to happen that we know will happen.” Christian hope includes the ideas that God is actively working in the lives of all believers and that they will live forever with him in heaven. See how you translated hope in 1:18b.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

confident expectation
-or-
assurance ⌊that God will do what he says⌋

and without God: The phrase without God means that the Ephesians did not know about God, and they had no relationship with God.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

and you did not know God (New Century Version)
-or-
and you were ignorant of who God was

in the world: Here the word world refers to this world where sin and evil are present. See world, Meaning 3 in the Glossary for more information.

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