This verse in Greek follows without a break from verse 26. Jerusalem Bible combines the two as follows: “never let the sun set on your anger, or else you will give the devil a foothold.” This takes verse 27 to be a consequence of not obeying the injunction in verse 26 (see also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). But verse 27 can be understood as a general command and not restricted only to the anger of verse 26. Devil translates a Greek noun which means “slanderer, accuser,” and which may be used of human beings (1 Tim 3.11; 2 Tim 3.3; Titus 2.3) as well as of Satan, the ruler of the evil spiritual forces. Believers should do nothing that would allow the force of evil to disrupt their fellowship in the body of Christ.

In some cases it may be necessary to specify what chance is given to the Devil, for example, “do not give the Devil a chance to tempt you” or “do not give the Devil any time in which he can try to make you sin.”

Devil is often translated as “head of the evil spirits” or “chief evil power.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1982. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .