Continuing the thought from verse 16, the writer tells the readers not to be fools, that is, not to depend on human advice or wisdom, but “to understand what the will of God is” (Revised Standard Version). In place of the statement Don’t be fools, which might mean “being imbeciles” or “being idiots,” it may be better to translate this admonition as “Do not act foolishly” or “Don’t act like fools.”

Here in verse 17, as in verses 1, 10, Good News Translation has used the expression try to (verse 1 be like God; verse 10 learn what pleases the Lord; verse 17 find out what the Lord wants you to do), because what the readers are being ordered to do requires effort and diligence; this is not a command they can obey at once without trying (Translator’s New Testament, New English Bible also use “try to”).

The verb translated “to understand” (Revised Standard Version) is related to the noun “understanding” in 3.4.

The Lord here is probably Christ.

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 .