All three nouns used in this verse (Revised Standard Version “filthiness, silly talk, levity”) occur only here in the New Testament. The first one could be understood to refer to conduct, “indecent behavior” (so Abbott, Salmond, Murray), but most likely it is a reference to conversation, as are the following two nouns. It has its equivalent in Colossians 3.8 obscene talk; it refers to shameful, shameless talk of every kind, but probably dealing with sexual themes in a vulgar way; New English Bible, Translator’s New Testament “coarse”; Jerusalem Bible “coarseness.”

The second Greek noun is literally “foolish talking”; Good News Translation takes this “foolishness” not in the sense of levity or silliness as such, but in the biblical sense of “the fool” as the person who disregards God. Murray defines the word as “conversation … which is coarse and outwardly repulsive” and quotes Plutarch’s definition of it as “the kind of talk that comes from a man when he is drunk.” Murray goes on to say that this may be no more than inane talk, but adds: “But ‘the fool’ in the Wisdom literature has a darker side.” But no other translation consulted gives it this specific a sense of “profanity”; most have “silly” or “foolish” or “stupid” talking.

The third Greek noun originally had a favorable meaning of “ready wit,” “pleasantry,” but it acquired a connotation of suggestive talk which employs euphemisms and double meanings. So Barth “ribald talk”; New International Version “coarse joking”; Translator’s New Testament “suggestive language”; Abbott “licentious speech.” So it means not just jokes as such (as Revised Standard Version “levity” suggests) but dirty jokes.

In almost all languages there are plenty of terms which one may use to speak of obscene or vulgar language, since such types of speech are universal. Obscene language may be described in some languages as “dirty language.” But in some instances it may be called “vulva language” (a reference to the female genital organs). It would be wrong, however, to interpret the Good News Translation use of profane as simply being in contrast with sacred. This is not secular language but “bad talk.” Sometimes one may use an expression such as “how fools talk.” Finally the term vulgar may be rendered as “jokes about sex” or “jokes about the genitals.”

The expression Nor is it fitting is synonymous with it is not right in verse 3, and it may be rendered as “You should not.”

Give thanks to God translates the Greek noun for “thanksgiving” (see the related verb “to give thanks” in 1.16). This is the kind of language that is fitting for Christians. As early as Origen and Jerome (see the quotation in Robinson) the question has arisen: Why should “thanksgiving, praise” (to God) be the kind of language Christians should use, in opposition to vulgarity and obscenity? One would expect something like “gracious, beautiful, noble” talk, or even “truthful, honest, fair” speaking. But commentators, in one way or the other, show why thanksgiving is fitting here. For similar injunctions to be thankful see 5.20 and Colossians 3.15, 17.

In speaking of “giving thanks” it is frequently necessary to indicate the content of such thanks or at least the reason for the thanks. Making such information specific in this context may be particularly significant in that it provides a basis for contrast from the first part of verse 4. One may, for example, translate you should give thanks to God as “you should thank God for what he has done for you,” presumably in freeing the believer from such bad behavior.

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 .

We: so all modern editions of the Greek New Testament; some very good Greek manuscripts (including (P46) and Vaticanus) and some ancient versions (including Old Latin, Syriac) have “you.”

Fighting translates a Greek noun which occurs only here in the New Testament; it means properly “wrestling,” a hand-to-hand fight (see Barth). But in the context, with the picture of a soldier armed for combat, it is inappropriate to use the specific word for “wrestling,” and a more general term is called for: “to struggle, fight, battle against.”

Human beings translates the phrase “blood and flesh” (as in Heb 2.14); the usual order is “flesh and blood” (see 1 Cor 15.50; Gal 1.16). The phrase against human beings may be best rendered as “against other people.”

The rest of the verse in Greek is “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the evil spiritual beings in the heavenly world” (see a comparable list in 2.2). Good News Translation has changed the order of the various titles so that their evil and otherworldly nature will be apparent at once.

The wicked spiritual forces: these, as the others, were thought of as angels or lesser gods, evil beings who are opposed to God and his will for mankind. In many languages “spirits that do evil things” will be the best way to represent the meaning.

For the heavenly world see 1.3, 20; 2.6; 3.10.

For rulers, authorities see the same two nouns in 3.10 (also Col 2.15).

In a number of languages the closest equivalent of wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world is “wicked demons in the sky.” Then the three classifications the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers may be rendered as “who rule and have authority and are strong.”

Cosmic powers translates a word used only here in the New Testament; Revised Standard Version, Translator’s New Testament “world rulers”; Barth “overlords.” A number of savior gods of other religions had the name “the world ruler”; in most instances this “world ruler” god was identified with the sun (see Beare; Barth, pages 802-803).

Translators should not use a word for cosmic powers which would indicate an earthly ruler. They might say “gods or spirits that rule in this world”; but if “gods” is a problem, they could say “spiritual forces that people worship” or “spiritual forces that rule over people.”

Of this dark age translates the Greek “of this darkness.” This may be rendered as “of this dark time in which we live” or “in these days in which we live, which are like night.”

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 .

Here the crucial change occurs: But now. The readers’ present situation is stated in strong contrast with their previous condition, before their experience with Christ. The new situation is described at length in the following verses.

In union with Christ Jesus (Good News Translation, New English Bible; Translator’s New Testament “through union with Christ Jesus”; Barclay “because of your relationship with Christ Jesus”), literally “in Christ Jesus” (Revised Standard Version, New International Version, and others). This clause may also be translated by “because you are one with Christ Jesus” or “because you are so close to Christ Jesus.”

Far away … near: the Gentiles were “far away” from Zion, the visible dwelling of God with his people; now they are “near,” like the Jews (see also verse 17). It is pointed out that the language reflects Isaiah 57.19, where those “far away” were the Israelites in exile, distant from Jerusalem. In Rabbinic teaching “to come near” was used of the reception of a Gentile convert into the Jewish faith.

There is a basic problem involved in the order of the various elements in verse 13. The first part of the verse refers to present time, while the second part refers to a past experience. The third part, however, again brings the focus of time into the present, but by reference to the sacrificial death of Christ, which was in the past. This produces a particularly awkward development if references to time must be made rather specific and if the phrase by the sacrificial death of Christ must be rendered as a clause. It may be better therefore in some languages to shift somewhat the order of phrases and clauses, for example, “you used to be far away, but now that you are in close union with Christ Jesus, you have been brought near, because Christ died as a sacrifice on the cross” or “… because Christ shed his blood for you.” At the same time, however, there is a problem involved in the figurative reference to being far away and being brought near. In some languages it is necessary to specify more precisely the relative position, and therefore it may be best to translate “who used to be far away from God” and “have been brought near to God.”

By the sacrificial death of Christ: literally “in the blood of Christ”; for “blood” see 1.7.

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 .

This verse in Greek begins a sentence which ends with verse 16. It will be useful to show how the thought progresses in the Greek text: see Handbook translation|fig:Table_EPH4-11.jpg.

Verse 11 begins with the third personal pronoun (as in 2.14), which is emphatic; so Good News Translation It was he who. The Greek says only “he himself gave,” which Good News Translation has translated by “gave gifts to mankind”, since it is clear that the verb refers back to the scripture quoted in verse 8. Translator’s New Testament achieves the same effect by a more extensive paraphrase: “And what does ‘he gave gifts’ mean? It means that he gave….” Another way of making the meaning clear would be to say “He is the one referred to in the passage that says ‘He gave gifts.’ ”

The phrase “gave gifts to mankind” refers specifically to different kinds of endowments or abilities. But it is probably best to translate this quotation in a relatively literal fashion, since the explanation of its meaning comes in the following statements.

The Greek “he himself gave some as apostles,” etc., could be understood to mean “he himself gave (to the church) some as apostles,” etc. Good News Translation has he appointed some to be since the gifts are properly the offices or responsibilities in the church and not the persons as such (so New English Bible “some to be,” etc.). The statement he appointed some to be may be rendered as “he chose some to be.” But often a more appropriate rendering is equivalent to “to some he gave the task of being…” or “… assigned the task of being….”

Apostles and prophets: see 2.20; 3.5.

Evangelists: the word occurs also in Acts 21.8 (Philip), and 2 Timothy 4.5 (Timothy). It means one who proclaims the Good News, presumably as an itinerant going from place to place where there was no established work (so Robinson, Beare, Barth). The word does not mean the writers of the Gospels. The term may be translated by “those who told others about the Good News” or “those who went about from place to place telling the Good News.” In some languages it may be appropriate to use “missionaries” (see Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

The fact that the phrase pastors and teachers is governed by one definite article implies that the same persons would exercise both functions. So Beare: “twofold task of the settled ministry, with its duties of pastoral care and instruction”; Barth translates “teaching shepherds.” Pastors translates the Greek word for “shepherd,” which Christ uses to speak of himself in John 10. The related verb “to shepherd” is used of the pastoral functions of the elders in the Ephesian church, Acts 20.28, and also in 1 Peter 5.2. Pastors had charge of a given church, but it is not at all certain that at this time any one man had the sole responsibility over a given church. Both in Acts 20.28 and in 1 Peter 5.2 the role of pastor is defined as that of “overseer,” and in 1 Peter 2.25 Christ is called “pastor and overseer of your souls.”

As teachers these people presumably instructed a given congregation in the facts and the faith of the Christian religion.

In a number of languages pastors and teachers may be rendered as “those who help the believers and teach them” or “those who guide the believers and teach them.”

In 1 Corinthians 12.28-29, in Paul’s lists of church offices, apostles, prophets, and teachers head the list, in that order.

It seems clear that here the first three offices listed were functions in the churches at large, while the last two were functions in a local congregation.

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 .

This verse, which follows in Greek without a break from verse 19, is like Colossians 3.18. The phrase In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ qualifies the participle “giving thanks”: all prayers of thanksgiving to God are made by people who acknowledge Christ as Lord and themselves as his disciples; it is because of this relationship that they offer their prayers to God.

In a number of languages the statement In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is relatively meaningless. If the term for name is understood as a kind of substitute for the personality, the expression becomes repetitious. In a number of languages this expression is best rendered as “because of our Lord Jesus Christ” or “because of your relationship to our Lord Jesus Christ.”

For everything translates a Greek phrase which could mean “for all people.” Nearly everyone, however, takes it to mean “everything” here. In this context everything is not a reference to things but to events. The admonition is not to thank God for all the things that he has given but for all that happens. Therefore one may translate the second part of verse 20 as “always give thanks to God the Father for everything that happens.”

As in other contexts, the phrase God the Father must often be restructured as “God who is our Father,” since in many languages the appositional relationship is not completely clear. In a number of languages one cannot use a definite article with “father” but must use some kind of possessive pronoun.

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 .

The salutation in verse 2 is standard in all of Paul’s letters and is exactly like the one in Romans (see also Col 1.2). Grace is the one word which most vividly expresses God’s unconditional, unmerited, and uncaused love and favor which he displays toward mankind in Christ. In the stereotyped formula of a salutation, however, it most probably refers to the result of God’s attitude in terms of blessing, so that its equivalent would be “May God bless you” or “be kind to you.” Peace is a word with its roots in the Old Testament concept of salvation as wholeness, completeness, the full and abundant life enjoyed by God’s people because of their relationship to one another and to God. It is the new quality of life enjoyed by those who are in the fellowship of the people of God. As part of the salutation, its main emphasis is probably the lack of conflict and dissension in the Christian fellowship.

In order to introduce properly the prayer and hope expressed in verse 2, it may be relevant to begin this statement with a phrase such as “I pray that….” For example, “I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ may give you….”

It may be extremely difficult to translate literally give you grace and peace. The closest equivalent may be “be very good to you and cause you to be at peace.” Peace is often expressed figuratively, for example, “to sit down in one’s heart” or “to feel warm inside.”

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 .

The verse begins a sentence which goes to the end of verse 7. It will be well to represent the Greek text formally: see Handbook translation|fig:Table_EPH3-2.jpg.

Verse 2 is in the form of a conditional statement: “if, indeed, you heard.” As Barth and others say, there may be a touch of irony here: “Surely you have heard…?” (see Good News Translation, New English Bible, and others). A good way to portray the tone in English is “I assume you have heard” (compare Barclay “I am sure that I can assume that you have heard,” and see the same construction in 4.21 and Col 1.23). Another possible rendering would be “you surely must have heard.”

The text continues: “(you have heard) of the administration of the grace of God which was given me for you.” This is a complex phrase and is variously understood.

“Administration” translates the Greek noun which appears also in 1.10. This abstract noun represents the task or the responsibility of a manager, an administrator (see Luke 16.2-4). Colossians 1.25 has a close parallel: “according to the administration of God which was given me for you” (Good News Translation God, who gave me this task to perform for your good). But here the “administration” is qualified by the genitive phrase “of the grace of God.” This could mean, as Barth translates it, “I was given God’s grace in order to administer it to you” (similarly Caragounis). But it would seem that here “grace” does not refer primarily and exclusively to God’s attitude of complete love, unmerited favor, but to the expression of that love in a concrete way, a gift, a favor, which in the context is the writer’s commission to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. So Barth: the grace is not God’s personal favor toward him, but the ministry he was given (and he alludes to Rom 1.5 where “grace” and “apostleship” are virtually synonymous, or better, where the latter defines concretely the former). Good News Translation has taken “grace” as God’s attitude and as the expression of it in the “administration” he has given the writer: God in his grace has given me this work to do.

This work is Paul’s task of proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles.

If grace refers to the particular task of being an apostle, then one may translate verse 2 as “you must have heard that God has given to me the task of being an Apostle for your sake” or “… to help you.” If on the other hand grace is to be understood as an expression of God’s special goodness to Paul, one may translate “You surely must have heard how God was so kind as to give to me this work to do on your behalf” or “… in order to help you.”

The relative clause “which was given me” agrees formally in Greek (genitive case) with the preceding “the grace of God,” but it modifies the noun phrase “the administration of the grace of God.” Beare points out that two phrases are combined here: “the grace that was given me” (see Gal 2.9) and “the administration that was given me” (see Col 1.25). He sees the two as being virtually equivalent, with “grace” having the concrete sense of what God has bestowed, that is, the writer’s knowledge of the secret, knowledge given by revelation (verse 3).

The final “for you” means “for your good/benefit” and goes with all that precedes.

So the verse can be rendered: “Surely you have heard of the task of administering God’s gift that he has given me to perform for your good”; or, “Surely you have heard that God, because of his grace, has given me the task/responsibility of administering, for your benefit, the gift that he has given me.”

The interpretation that translators choose for this verse may depend somewhat on how they are able to translate “administration,” since it may be impossible to speak of “administering God’s gracious gift.” Following the interpretation of Good News Translation, translators could use sentences such as “performing the work God gave as a gift” or “accomplishing the task God gave in his love.”

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 .

Then serves to connect what follows with what precedes. Since we are new beings we must act like it. This verse forbids lying, literally “putting off the lie, speak the truth.” The verb “put off” is the same one used in verse 22. Colossians 3.9 expresses the same command more directly: “Do not lie to one another.” The language here “but speak the truth each one with his neighbor” is derived from Zechariah 8.16; here “neighbor” has the meaning fellow Christian, fellow believer. The reason for the injunction is clear: “because we are members of one another” (see in 5.30 for we are members of his body); see Romans 12.5. The emphasis here is on the unity and interdependence of Christians; because they all belong to the body of Christ, the church, they must do all that is necessary for the good of the body; whatever hurts one member hurts the whole body.

Since the statement everyone must tell the truth to his fellow believer is in complete contrast to the negative statement which precedes, it must be marked as such in some languages. The transitional particle may be equivalent to something like “rather.” In reality, the two statements are supplementary in that one is negative and the other positive.

In some instances it is impossible to use a noun such as truth, and so in this particular context one may need to translate the first clause of the second sentence of verse 25 as “what you say to your fellow believer must be what really happened” or “what every one of you tells his fellow believer must agree with what happened.”

There may be some difficulty in speaking of all members … in the body of Christ, so that the last clause of verse 25 may be rendered as “because all of us are parts of the body of 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 .