Translation commentary on Ephesians 2:12

Verse 12 describes in detail the spiritual situation of the readers before they knew Christ. At that time takes up the “at one time” (Revised Standard Version) in verse 11.

(1) They were apart from Christ; that is, they had no knowledge of him nor did they even hope for the coming of Messiah, as did the Jews. A literal translation of you were apart from Christ might suggest mere physical separation. What is important here is to indicate that “you had no relationship with Christ,” expressed in some languages as “there was nothing which bound you to Christ.” And a literal translation of “without Christ” (Revised Standard Version) may leave the impression that the readers did not possess Christ, but someone else did. “You did not know Christ” or “You did not know who Christ was” would be better.

(2) The readers were also “alienated from (citizenship in) the community of Israel.” The Greek verb is used also in 4.18 and Colossians 1.21, and nowhere else in the New Testament. It is from an adjective meaning “stranger, foreigner” (see Matt 17.25-26; Heb 11.19). There is no implication that the condition was the breakup of an original union (as Revised Standard Version “alienated” might imply), nor does the writer assign anyone the responsibility for this estrangement; he simply states a fact. Good News Translation has expressed the meaning here by You were foreigners and did not belong to God’s chosen people, while Revised Standard Version says “(you were) alienated from the commonwealth of Israel.” The name “Israel” is the covenant name of the Jewish people. The statement You were foreigners is somewhat ambiguous and obscure, because everyone is a foreigner to someone or to some people. It may be better therefore to invert the statement in the second sentence of verse 12: “You did not belong to God’s chosen people and so were foreigners.”

(3) The readers were also “strangers to the covenants of promise” (Revised Standard Version; Good News Translation You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God’s promises to his people); this is closely related to the previous statement. The community of Israel was brought into being by the covenants that God made with the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) and with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. The word covenant carries the idea of “contract, agreement, pact,” and the Greek word for this is sunthēkē (the preposition sun “with” and a form derived from the verb tithēmi “to place, put down”). But the Greek Bible uses the noun diathēkē, which is more of a “testament” or “will” (see the play on the word in Heb 9.16-18) which represents the decision and will of one person. This better expresses the essential nature of the Hebrew word for “covenant” which is God’s decision that he communicated to his people and which imposed certain obligations on them. The biblical “covenant” was not the result of a bargaining session between God and Israel; it was completely God’s act, God’s decision. The Old Testament covenants were “of promise” (Revised Standard Version); that is, they were based on God’s promises to his people.

You had no part in the covenants may be expressed as “You were not included in the covenants that God made” or “You were not included in the way in which God bound himself to his people” or “… the way God and his people were bound together.” The whole statement may be rephrased as follows: “You had no part in the covenants (or, agreements) which God made with his people and which were based on his promises to them.”

The clause which were based on God’s promises to his people must be made a separate sentence in some languages, for example, “It was God’s promises to his people that bound him to them.”

(4) The readers had no hope and (5) were without God “in the world” (Revised Standard Version). The phrase “in the world” characterizes both conditions (Good News Translation you lived in this world; also Translator’s New Testament; New English Bible is good: “Your world was a world without hope and without God”). Hope probably has the broadest sense possible; it is doubtful that it is restricted to “hope in the Messiah,” as some think (see “without hope” also in 1 Thes 4.13). You lived … without hope may be expressed as “you lived without anything good to look forward to” or “you lived without being able to imagine that any good would come to you.” Without God here means that though pagans have their own gods they do not have the knowledge of and relation with the one true God, the God of Israel; there is no implication in the Greek word that God abandoned or rejected them. The Greek word atheos (from which English “atheist” comes) appears nowhere else in the Greek Bible; the translation “atheist” would be wrong, since the English word means one who denies the existence of God.

You lived … without God may be expressed as “you lived without knowing God” or “… without being related to God.” It would be wrong to translate in such a way as to suggest that people could live without any reference whatsoever to God, since obviously God is described as creator and sustainer of all life.

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 .

Translation commentary on Ephesians 4:9 – 4:10

In Good News Translation these two verses are placed within parentheses to show that the argument moves directly from verse 8 to verse 11; this parenthetical aside is made for the purpose of proving that the passage from the psalm had to refer to Christ, since an “ascent” implies a previous “descent,” and Christ is the only one who descended (from heaven) before ascending. “He went up”: this, says the author, necessarily implies a prior he came down.

Textus Receptus has katebē prōton “he came down first”; Good News Bible and all other editions of the Greek New Testament omit prōton. Good News Translation first he came down is based on the Good News Bible text and interprets the sense of the Greek, since the ascension of Christ followed his incarnation (“descent”). Some interpreters, however (see Abbott), take the text to mean that the descent followed the ascent and consisted of the coming of the glorified Christ in the Spirit to the church (see also Barth). Most commentators, however, take the ascent to follow the descent. The question in verse 9 is a rhetorical one, since the author is not asking for information but is calling special attention to the phrase “he went up”. It may be important, therefore, to identify the quoted phrase more specifically, for example, “What, then, do the words ‘he went up’ mean?” Or else a statement may be used, as follows: “This is what ‘he went up’ means.”

There may be some complications involved in rendering first in the second sentence of verse 9, since without some qualification this might mean the first thing that he ever did. Therefore, it may be necessary to translate “these words mean that before he went up he came down.”

To the lowest depths of the earth: Good News Translation (also New English Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, and most others) takes this to refer to the “descent into Hades” spoken of in 1 Peter 3.19 (see also Acts 2.31). As Good News Translation margin shows, the Greek can be taken to mean “to the lower depths, the earth itself” (so Salmond; New English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), which would be a statement of the incarnation as such, while Good News Translation and the majority of other translations take the text to refer to the descent of Christ into the world of the dead, after his crucifixion and death, followed by his resurrection and ascension. That Sheol, the world of the dead, is meant seems indicated by the fact that the ascent in verse 10 is described as reaching “above all the heavens” (and not just to “heaven” as such). This “above all the heavens” serves to define more precisely what is meant by the writer when he quotes “going to the height” in verse 8. The phrase “all the heavens” seems to reflect the Jewish idea that there is a series of three or seven heavens, at the uppermost of which God himself lives.

The phrase to the lowest depths of the earth may be rendered as “to the lowest place on earth” or even “to the deepest hole on earth.” This suggests Sheol, in view of the fact that it was normally regarded as a deep hole or abyss.

The phrase above and beyond the heavens may be translated as “above and beyond the sky.” It would be wrong to use a translation of heavens which would refer to the dwelling of God himself, for this would place Christ even above God rather than seated at the right side of God.

The final purpose clause, “so that he might fill the all,” is obviously related to the phrase in 1.23 “the one filling all in all.” The meaning here would be either (1) to bring all things to perfection, for fulfillment (so Robinson, Murray, Westcott), or (2) to fill all things with his presence (Dodd; Good News Translation, Twentieth Century New Testament, and others). Beare takes it to mean bringing all into subjection to himself by his redeeming power (also Salmond). Some translations have simply “to fill the universe” (New English Bible, New International Version, and others) or “to fill all things” (Barth; Revised Standard Version; Barclay says “fill all things with his presence and himself”). New American Bible “to fill all men with his gifts” is not recommended.

The statement to fill the whole universe with his presence is almost meaningless if translated literally, since it is likely to give the impression that Christ simply poured himself out over the universe. If one wishes to maintain a relatively close approximation to the statement to fill the whole universe with his presence, it would be possible to say “in order that he could be everywhere.” On the other hand, it might be possible to translate this expression as “in order that everything everywhere could be as it should be.” This would be the concept of bringing everything to perfection or fulfillment.

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 .

Translation commentary on Ephesians 5:19

The verse is closely similar to Colossians 3.16. Here it follows without a break in Greek from verse 18 with the participial phrase “speaking among yourselves.” Verse 20 similarly begins with a participle, “giving thanks” (and verse 21 with another participle, “being subject”).

The readers are told to Speak to one another with the words of psalms, etc. (literally “speaking among yourselves with psalms” etc.). It is impossible to differentiate precisely among psalms, hymns, and sacred songs. Psalms are Old Testament psalms, used also by Christians in their corporate worship; hymns could be specifically Christian compositions in honor of Jesus as Lord and Savior; and “spiritual songs” (Revised Standard Version) could be spontaneous outbursts of inspired singing, prompted by the Spirit. It is quite possible that hymns and sacred songs are synonymous, referring to Christian compositions generally, so that in translation only one word is needed.

It may seem strange to use an expression such as speak to one another in connection with psalms, hymns, and sacred songs, which one assumes would be sung or chanted. It is possible that the reference here is to reciting to one another psalms, hymns, and sacred songs, but it is also possible to render this first part of verse 19 as “in speaking to one another use the words of psalms, hymns, and sacred songs.”

Sing hymns and psalms translates the participles of two verbs: the first one “to sing” (also Col 3.16) is related to the noun “song”; the second one is related to the noun “psalm.” This second verb can mean “play an instrument” (so Barth; Translator’s New Testament, New English Bible, New International Version, Barclay “make music”). A possible translation is “sing praises” or else “sing and praise.”

What follows in Greek is simply “in your heart,” which Good News Translation understands to mean with praise in your hearts. But some translate “in your hearts” (New English Bible, Translator’s New Testament, New International Version, Jerusalem Bible), which can only mean inaudible singing; so Westcott: “the outward music was to be accompanied by the inner music of the heart.” But it seems difficult to believe that the writer was telling them to have the strains and choruses of songs and psalms running through their minds. Others translate “from the heart,” “heartily,” “with all your hearts” (Barclay, Moffatt, Goodspeed, and others). Abbott, however, notes that the normal way to say this is “from the heart” (see the synonymous “from the soul” in 6.6). Good News Translation understands the Greek phrase here to mean “with praise in your heart,” but it may be preferable to take the phrase to mean “with all your heart” (Revised Standard Version), that is, heartily, enthusiastically.

The Lord here is probably Christ. The expression to the Lord may be rendered in some languages as “as praise to the Lord.” A strictly literal rendering might suggest that the Lord was himself present at the performance or that such hymns and psalms had not been heard by him before.

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 .

Translation commentary on Ephesians 1:1

The identification of Paul as author of the letter is exactly the same as that in Colossians 1.1, From Paul, who by God’s will is an apostle of Christ Jesus. In order to make certain that Paul is the author of this letter, it may be necessary in a number of languages to introduce the first person singular pronoun; for example, “I, Paul, write this letter.” Or else, “This is a letter from Paul.”

Paul’s status as an apostle of Christ Jesus is the result of God’s doing; it was God who made Paul an apostle (2 Cor 1.1; Col 1.1; 2 Tim 1.1 have the identical phrase; Rom 1.1 has “a called apostle,” and 1 Cor 1.1 “a called apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God”). Apostle is literally “messenger” and has the meaning of a representative, with the commission and authority to act in the name and on behalf of the one who has sent him; he is not simply one who delivers a message and nothing else.

The clause who by God’s will is an apostle of Christ Jesus may constitute several difficult problems for some translators. In some instances it may be necessary to employ a causative expression such as “God made me an apostle of Jesus Christ because that was what he wanted” or “God wanted me to be an apostle of Jesus Christ and made me such.”

In a number of languages an apostle of Christ Jesus is expressed as “one whom Jesus Christ has sent,” but frequently a more satisfactory equivalent is “a personal representative of Jesus Christ” or “one who represents Jesus Christ.” And in many languages it will be necessary to introduce a verb of “writing,” and therefore it may be appropriate to translate “I, Paul, write to God’s people in Ephesus.” In a few languages it may be difficult to use a possessive expression such as God’s people. In such instances one may sometimes use “people who worship God.”

As the footnotes in the Today’s English Version (Good News Translation) and Revised Standard Version (Revised Standard Version) show, there is considerable doubt over whether the words in Ephesus belong to the text. The United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament third edition (Good News Bible) includes them but places them within brackets, thereby indicating a high degree of doubt about their genuineness. One reason which is given for retaining the words, other than the manuscript evidence, is that “the letter has been traditionally known as ‘To the Ephesians,’ ” but this is not convincing. The manuscript evidence supporting their omission is strong; it includes the earliest copy known of Ephesians, the Chester Beatty papyrus (P46) of the third century A.D. And it is difficult to imagine a copyist omitting the words if they were in the copy he was using. It seems better to consider “in Ephesus” an addition to the text, as do Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible (Jerusalem Bible), Bible de Jérusalem (Bible de Jérusalem), Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), Moffatt, Goodspeed.

But it should be noted that with the omission of “in Ephesus” the Greek text reads literally “to the saints the ones being also faithful.” This is, to say the least, an unusual way to write in Greek, particularly because of the use of the participial phrase “the ones being.” Westcott, who holds to the Pauline authorship, states that it is not improbable that Paul should write “to the saints who are also faithful (believing) in Christ Jesus,” but one is inclined to agree with the judgment of Blass-Debrunner (B-D) that this construction “is impossible.” Barth classifies kai “and” here as epexegetical, equivalent to “namely” or “that is” in English, so that “the saints” are those “who are faithful to Messiah Jesus” (as Barth translates). This is also the opinion of Zuntz: “Tois ousin without an indication of place (as in Phil 1.1) following makes no sense; for it is, I submit, quite impossible to translate tois ousin kai pistois, as Professor Goodspeed does, by ‘who are steadfast.’ ” Zuntz believes the letter was a circular, with a blank space to be filled in with the place name. Bible de Jérusalem suggests that the words tois ousin may not have been original. After the participial phrase “those who are,” a place name is expected such as in Romans 1.7, “those who are in Rome,” and Philippians 1.1, “those who are in Philippi” (see also 1 Cor 1.2 and 2 Cor 1.1: “the church of God the one being in Corinth”). Such considerations lend weight to the suggestion accepted by many that this letter was written to be sent to various places, and that after the Greek phrase “who are,” a blank space was left which was to be filled in with the locality to which that particular copy was to be sent. Copies survived which had “in Ephesus” written in at that place, but it is difficult to account for the fact that some copies survived without any place name, and that no copy has survived with another place name in it.

The most practical solution for most translations, it would seem, is to follow Good News Translation, also the New International Version (New International Version), Phillips (Phillips), and many common language translations.

God’s people represents the Greek word (usually translated “the saints”) which is used throughout the New Testament as a designation of Christians in terms of the concept of the chosen people (Israel, in the Old Testament), those who belong exclusively to God by his sovereign choice and determination; in these contexts the word does not have the idea of “holy” or “saintly,” which refers to moral and spiritual qualities. Some translations have the phrase “the people who serve (or, worship) God.”

Faithful applies to the readers’ faithfulness in their Christian life, the degree to which they have remained loyal followers of Christ Jesus. Some take the word here to mean “believers” (so New English Bible [New English Bible], “believers incorporate in Christ Jesus”), but most translate faithful, loyal, steadfast. In a number of languages faithful can be effectively expressed in a negative way; for example, “they never fail to,” or in the broader context of the clause in which faithful occurs, “who, as they are joined with Jesus Christ in their life, never give up” or “… always remain firm.”

The phrase that follows, “in Christ Jesus,” may be taken to mean, as elsewhere, in their life in union with Christ Jesus (compare Westcott, Murray); simply to translate “faithful in Christ Jesus” (Revised Standard Version) does not communicate much meaning, and the simple “loyal Christians” (Barclay [Barclay]) or “faithful Christians” (Phillips) does not seem sufficient. The Translator’s New Testament (Translator’s New Testament) “who belong to Christ Jesus” and the French common language translation (Bible en français courant) “who are faithful in union with Jesus Christ” better translate the meaning of the Greek phrase. In a number of languages it is difficult to translate a phrase such as in union with Christ Jesus, for such a relationship is complex. In some languages a figurative expression is used, such as “as they are tied to Christ Jesus” or “as they link themselves closely to Christ Jesus.” In other instances the most appropriate equivalent is “as they are one with Christ Jesus” or “as they are united with Christ Jesus.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Ephesians 3:1

As Revised Standard Version shows, the verse is an incomplete sentence in Greek; Good News Translation has added pray to God at the end of the verse in order to complete the sentence (similarly Translator’s New Testament, New English Bible, and others); some translations have ellipses at the end of the verse (Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or a dash (Revised Standard Version, New International Version, and others); New American Bible reverses the order of verses 1 and 2. What Good News Translation has done is to establish the relationship between verses 1 and 14, to keep the reader from being confused by an incomplete sentence at the beginning of the section.

For this reason refers back to the exposition (2.11-22) of the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles effected by Christ and points forward to the prayer (3.14-21); in verse 14 For this reason picks up the thought broken by the digression in verses 2.1–3:13.

Some languages have no convenient transitional device such as For this reason, and the only effective equivalent is a clause, for example, “Because of what God has done” or “Because of what God has done in bringing Jews and Gentiles together as one.”

I, Paul: this is emphatic; some languages will say “I myself, Paul” to express the same emphasis.

The prisoner of Christ Jesus: Good News Translation is not good; the meaning is “I am a prisoner because I serve/belong to Christ Jesus” (see similar expression in Philemon 1, 9). Prisoner here is meant literally of physical imprisonment, not figuratively of the writer’s complete submission to Christ’s will (see also 4.1 and 6.20).

It may also be possible to translate the prisoner of Christ Jesus as “a prisoner because of what I have done for the sake of Christ Jesus,” or “I am in prison because I serve Jesus Christ.” There is, however, a problem in some languages in having a kind of triple apposition, namely, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus. This must be broken up in some languages to read “I, Paul, who am a prisoner for Christ Jesus’ sake.” In order that people may understand that prisoner is not to be taken in a figurative sense, one may translate I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus as “I, Paul, am in prison because of Christ Jesus.”

For the sake of you Gentiles: this is a further reason; Paul is a servant of Christ Jesus working for the good of the Gentiles. So the two phrases might be rendered: “I am a prisoner because as a servant of Christ Jesus I work on your behalf,” or “I am a prisoner because I serve Christ Jesus and work on your behalf.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Ephesians 4:23 – 4:24

Your hearts and minds translates what is literally “(in) the spirit of your mind” (compare Revised Standard Version); New English Bible has “in mind and spirit”; Translator’s New Testament “You must be spiritually renewed”; Barclay “a completely new attitude of mind”; Phillips “mentally and spiritually remade”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “the spiritual transformation of your mind.” It seems clear that intellectual and spiritual reformation is meant. See a similar thought in Romans 12.2.

From the phrase your hearts and minds one might assume that this is a reference to desire and thinking, and one could transform your hearts and minds into a phrase using verbs, “how you desire and how you think.” But since the Greek text uses a term meaning “spirit,” something other than mere desire seems to be in focus. It may therefore be more appropriate in some languages to speak of “your spirit and mind.” In some languages the equivalent of “spirit” may be “that which is within” or “our shadow which stands within us.” Or else a language may have a word or an expression that refers to the part of a person that relates to God, such as “Your way of thinking and your way of worshiping (or, serving) God must be completely new.”

The Greek verb translated be made completely new occurs only here in the New Testament (a synonymous verb is used in the parallel Col 3.10). The verb should be taken as a passive: “be renewed.” There may be some complication in speaking of “being made completely new,” since this might imply complete replacement. Sometimes the equivalent of the Greek expression may be “be made over again” or “be made to be completely different.” The focus is upon the transformation of the spirit and mind, and not a replacement or substitution.

In verse 24, and you must put on the new self is the opposite of get rid of your old self in verse 22 (see Col 3.10). It is to be noticed that the two verbs get rid of and put on are both in the aorist, indicating one decisive action; the verb “renew” in verse 23 is in the present tense, indicating a continuous process. Get rid of and put on probably reflect the rite of baptism, at which a person took off his or her old clothes before baptism and put on new, clean clothes after.

It may be impossible to reproduce the figurative expression you must put on the new self, since the combination of self with the concept of “putting on clothes” is simply unthinkable. One may possibly approximate this meaning by translating “you must become a completely new person as when you take off old clothes and put on new clothes” or “… take off old clothes and put on clean clothes.” If the figurative language is difficult or impossible to retain, a translation may say simply “You must become like a new person.”

The new self is created in God’s likeness (literally “the one created according to God”); it seems quite probable that the idea here is the same as in Colossians 3.10, “according to the image of the one who created it.” For the verb “create” see 2.10, 15.

It may be necessary to render the clause which is created in God’s likeness as active rather than passive, and this may be done by translating “which God has created to be like himself.”

In Greek the rest of the verse is a compound prepositional phrase “in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Barth takes it to modify the participle created: “in true righteousness and piety.” These are then understood as qualities of the created new self, not of the Creator (as his syntax requires). So the sense could be expressed by “created to be truly righteous and holy.” But there are many other ways in which this phrase has been translated: Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “and that reveals itself in a life that is truly righteous and pure”; Translator’s New Testament “and shown in the righteousness and holiness that comes from the truth”; similarly Barclay “and which shows itself in that justice and holiness, which are the products of the truth”; Bible en français courant “and that manifests itself in the righteous and holy life inspired by the truth.”

It seems better to take “the truth” as the source or origin of “righteousness and holiness,” as Translator’s New Testament, Barclay, Bible en français courant have done.

The Greek noun translated “righteousness” occurs often in Paul’s letters, usually in the sense of God putting people in the right relationship with himself; the noun “holiness” occurs only here and in Luke 1.75. Here “righteousness” has in view social conduct (relation with others), and “holiness” has in view religious conduct (relation with God).

The statement reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy would seem to be relatively simple, and yet it is unusually complex. In the first place, it may be difficult to speak of “life being true,” and in many languages reveals itself must be restructured as “all people can see.” There is an additional difficulty involved in the abstract terms upright and holy. In view of these difficulties it may be necessary to restructure reveals itself in the true life as “lives in such a way that all may see that this life is true” or “causes everyone to see that you are living according to God’s truth” or “… according to the true words that come from God.”

The final clause that is upright and holy must be effectively related to life, and it may be necessary to introduce some kind of explanation of the relationship to serve as a type of transition, for example, “that means that you must live right in relation to others and must be dedicated to God” or “… live right before God.” Or else holy may be represented by a verbal phrase like “as God requires” or “that pleases God.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Ephesians 5:32

Here the author once more uses the Greek word mustērion (see 1.9; 3.3, 4, 9); here it is used in the sense that there is a hidden meaning in the Genesis text which can be understood only when the passage is interpreted in a typological or allegorical fashion. Translator’s New Testament translates “There is a great truth hidden here” (similarly New English Bible); Barclay “there is a great symbol here.” This seems preferable to the interpretation that takes “this mystery is great” to refer explicitly to the unity of man and woman in the marriage relationship or to the oneness of Christ and the church. It should be noted that the translation “This is a great mystery” is wrong; the adjective in Greek is in the predicate position: “This mystery is great.” The Latin Vulgate translation of the Greek mustērion by the Latin sacramentum explains in part why in Roman Catholic theology marriage is held to be a sacrament. Bible en français courant translates: “It is an important truth that is revealed in this passage”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “In this quotation there lies a deep mystery/secret.”

In order to provide adequately for the transition between verse 32 and verse 31, one must often alter the order of the first part of verse 32, for example, “In this passage of scripture there is an important truth which has not as yet been revealed” or “… had not as yet been revealed.” One might also translate the clause as “In this part of the Holy Writings you can recognize some important true words which have previously been a secret.”

In the writer’s understanding, the passage in Genesis refers to Christ and the church; that is, its symbolic meaning is specifically Christian, even though it has a literal application as well (which he points out in the next verse). Notice that a similar exegesis is made by Paul in Galatians 5.21-26, where he takes Hagar and Sarah to be types, or figures, of the Hebrew faith and the Christian faith. So the last clause of verse 32 may be translated as “I understand these words to refer to Christ and the church” or “I understand that these words are talking about Christ and the church.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Ephesians 1:18 – 1:20

The perfect passive participle “having been illumined,” with which verse 18 begins in Greek, is syntactically related to the main verb “give” (verse 17) and modifies it; strictly it should refer to an action previous to the action of the main verb, but here it seems to function as a circumstantial clause, showing the way in which the disclosure, the revelation of God’s will, takes place; or else (as participles are often used in biblical Greek) it serves as an imperative: “the eyes of your heart be opened”; so Good News Translation I ask that … (compare New English Bible and others “I pray that…”).

The whole participial clause has to do with spiritual illumination, discernment, perception; “the eyes of your heart” means either intellectual or spiritual vision, insight. Thus Good News Translation, your minds may be opened; compare Phillips “inner illumination of the spirit.”

Even after some of the figurative elements have been eliminated from the statement I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, there is still much which provides serious difficulty in translation. It may simply be impossible to speak of “opening the mind,” since the phrase might suggest merely making a hole in the skull or cracking open the head. The important element is not the place where understanding happens (in Greek, “heart”; in English “mind”), but the actual understanding itself. So in some instances I ask that your minds may be opened may be rendered as “I ask that you may come to understand.”

Similarly, the phrase to see his light might only be understood as “to look at his light bulb.” A more satisfactory rendering in some languages is “to understand the truth that comes from him.”

The writer prays that his readers will have spiritual insight so that they may know three things (verses 18-19a):

(1) “What is the hope of his (God’s) calling,” that is, the hope to which he has called you (Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, New International Version; “to which he calls you,” New English Bible, Translator’s New Testament). Here it would seem that hope means not only the subjective emotion felt by the believer, but the object or goal of that hope as well (as in Col 1.5). This is not spelled out in the context; in general terms it could be the final purpose of God’s saving activity through Christ. God’s “call” is his invitation extended through Christ to all mankind to accept the destiny he has planned for all: reconciliation, salvation, sonship. So the phrase “the hope of his calling” includes the following: God “calls” people, this “call” promises or produces hope in them, and this emotion of hope is directed toward something or someone.

There are a number of problems involved in rendering effectively the statement the hope to which he has called you. In the first place, this must often be restructured as a clause introduced by a conjunction such as “how…” and the term called must often be rendered as “invite.” A literal rendering of called might mean merely “to shout to.” Accordingly the hope to which he has called you may be rendered as “how he has invited you to look forward with anticipation” or “to what God has invited you to look forward with eager anticipation.” Sometimes the concept of “eager anticipation” may be expressed as “with your heart looking for what is good.” And the abstract conception of hope must be expressed in a concrete manner, “the thing (or, event) for which you hope.”

(2) “What is the wealth of the glory of his inheritance among the saints” (compare Col 1.12). The compound genitive phrase “the wealth of the glory of his inheritance” may be (a) the glorious wealth of his inheritance, or (b) the wealth of his glorious inheritance, or (c) his rich and glorious inheritance. Good News Translation represents the second alternative, (b): how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people. However, there is no way of determining which one was meant by the writer; in such cases it is the rhetorical effect of the total phrase that matters, and not the separate meaning of each individual word. Beare calls this phrase “a redundant fullness of expression which does not make for clarity.” For “wealth” see Eph. 1.7; for “glory” see Eph. 1.6; and for “inheritance” see verse 14 (compare a similar phrase in 3.16, and see also Col 1.27).

“Among the saints” (Good News Translation his people): these are the recipients of “the wealth of the glory of God’s inheritance.” New English Bible translates “the wealth and glory of the share he offers you among his people in their heritage,” which sounds rather materialistic; Phillips is better, “the magnificence and splendour of the inheritance promised to Christians”; Translator’s New Testament has “the glorious wealth which he invites you to share with all his people,” which is ambiguous (since “to share with” could be understood to mean “give part of what you have to others”).

There are a number of problems involved in translating either the literal expression “what is the wealth of the glory of his inheritance among the saints” or the Good News Translation restructuring how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people. If one attempts to translate this clause in a more or less literal fashion, there is an obvious difficulty in the phrase “of his inheritance.” A literal rendering might suggest that God had in some way received an inheritance from someone who had died. Clearly, however, this is an inheritance which God gives to his people as their heritage or as what they have been promised. There is also an obvious difficulty in the heaped up phrase “the wealth of the glory,” for the meaning is really a combination of that which is wonderful as well as abundant. It would be possible to translate “what is the wealth of the glory of his inheritance among the saints” as “how truly wonderful is that which God will give to his people.” If one follows somewhat more closely the restructuring of Good News Translation, it would be possible to translate “how valuable are those wonderful things which God has promised to do for his people” or “… to give to his people.”

(3) “What is the exceeding greatness of his power in us the believers.” In the phrase “the exceeding greatness,” the word “exceeding” translates the participle of the Greek verb meaning “go beyond, exceed” (see the same use in 2.7 and 3.19); here again the writer uses synonymous terms for rhetorical effect. Good News Translation has how very great is his power at work in us who believe. If an object, is implied in the verb “to believe,” it is probably Christ. It should be noticed that the Greek phrase “in (or, for) us,” which Good News Translation takes to mean at work in us, is taken by Phillips to mean “available to us” (also New English Bible “power open to us”). This is possible and could well be the meaning intended.

In a number of languages it is extremely difficult to speak of “his power in us” or even to translate more or less literally “his power at work in us.” The closest equivalent may be simply “his power to help us” or “his power which he will give us” or “… which he gives to us.” It may also be difficult to speak of power as being great, since power is often spoken of as being either “much” or “strong.” Accordingly how very great is his power at work in us who believe may be rendered as “how very strong indeed is his power which helps us who believe.”

From here on (verses 19b-23) the prayer on behalf of the readers is left behind, and the writer reflects on the nature of the power which is at work in those who believe in Christ, This power working in us is the same…. The Greek preposition translated “according to” in the final clause of verse 19 (see Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-14.jpg) is designed to set forth the standard, the measure by which this power may be described. So Translator’s New Testament “This is the same stupendous power….”

Again the writer uses a compound genitive phrase, “the working of the might of his strength,” for rhetorical effect; compare “the working of his power” in 3.7 and “in the might of his strength” in 6.10. No sharp differences of meaning are to be sought among “working” (also in 3.7; 4.16; see the related verb “to work” in 1.11), “might” (also 6.10), and “strength” (also 6.10); the use of synonyms is part of the writer’s florid style.

In some languages there is a problem involved in speaking about “power” or “strength” as a kind of abstract quality or potentiality, since power or strength is really only a capability or ability applied to some particular kind of action or event. It may be necessary to restructure This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which he used when he raised Christ from death as “In the same way that he is able to help us, so in that same way he was able to raise Christ from death” or “… cause him to live again.” Sometimes the equivalent of power or strength may be represented in speaking of a person being “very able to” or “being very strong to.” Accordingly, the last part of verse 19 and the first part of verse 20 may be rendered as “in the same way that God has been very strong in helping us, so in the same way he was very strong in raising Christ from death.”

Verse 20 begins “which he accomplished in Christ” (Revised Standard Version; Good News Translation which he used when he raised Christ); the verb here is the same one used in 1.11. Good News Bible prefers the aorist form and makes no mention of the variant perfect form, which has excellent manuscript support and is preferred by Westcott and Hort, Nestle, and New English Bible. Both B (Vaticanus) and A (Alexandrinus) have the perfect form; and, as Salmond says, the perfect is the more difficult reading; it is easy to see why a copyist would have changed the perfect to an aorist, but not vice versa. Beare stresses the fittingness of the perfect form: the action is completed and is “a present guarantee of God’s life-giving power.” But a translation of this would be difficult to make without a rather clumsy paraphrase. New English Bible, whose Greek text has the perfect form, translates simply “he exerted.”

The two participial clauses which follow describe the way in which God’s power was exerted in Christ: (1) “by raising him” and (2) “by seating him.” See Good News Translation, when he raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side. The resurrection of Christ is the supreme evidence of God’s power, but it is not an isolated event; it is followed by Christ’s enthronement at the place of honor and power, “the right side of God.” The New Testament language derives eventually from Psalm 110.1. The Greek verb translated “to seat” is usually intransitive, “to sit,” but it is also transitive, “to seat,” as in Acts 2.30; 1 Corinthians 6.4 (and see also “to seat with” in Eph 2.6). Christ’s exaltation and enthronement are also depicted as the act of God.

Because of the frequent usage of the figurative phrase seated him at his right side, it may be important to preserve this figure of speech in this context. But in some languages the right side is not the preferred side, and therefore it may be necessary to have a marginal note. Furthermore, Christ being seated at the right side of God is not simply a gesture of hospitality but indicates honor and power, and therefore it may be necessary to translate seated him at his right side in the heavenly world as “caused him to sit down at his right side in the heavenly world and gave him power” or “caused him to sit down in the place of power (or, the place where he rules) at his right side in the heavenly world.”

For in the heavenly world see Eph. 1.3. Here “in heaven” would be an adequate rendering.

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 .