6:23–24

Paul’s final words are a blessing or prayer or wish. Paul ended some of his letters with a short blessing, such as “Grace be with you all” (Titus 3:15, see also Colossians 4:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:18, 1 Timothy 6:21 and 2 Timothy 4:22). In other letters he has a longer blessing at the end (see Romans 16:25–27, 2 Corinthians 13:14).

6:23

Peace to the brothers: The word Peace refers to serenity and calm well-being. It can also refer to having a good relationship with God. See how you translated Peace in 1:2 and 6:15.

brothers: The word brothers should be translated so as to include the women believers too, but avoid a long construction. You could say:

all the believers

It is unusual that Paul uses the third person instead of the second person here. That is, he says “Peace to the brothers ” instead of “Peace to you.” Some translators prefer to translate this as:

Peace be to ⌊you⌋ Christian brothers

You may use the second person if the third person is unnatural or would be misleading.

Here are some other ways to translate “Peace to the brothers”:

⌊May God give⌋ peace to the brothers
-or-
I pray to God and ask him to give peace to the brothers

love with faith: In 1:15 Paul told the Ephesian Christians that he had heard about their “faith in the Lord Jesus” and their “love for all the saints.” Now here at the end of his letter, he prays that they will continue to have love and faith. It may be more natural for you to translate these nouns by verbs. For example:

love each other and continue believing in Christ

See love, meaning 2 in the Glossary for more information.

faith: Here, the word faith refers to the action of trusting and believing in Jesus Christ. See faith, Meaning 1 in the Glossary for more information.

God the Father: See how you translated this phrase in 5:20a.

Lord Jesus Christ: See how you translated this phrase in 5:20b.

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