Translation commentary on Ephesians 3:17 – 3:18

Verse 17 begins with the verbal infinitive “to dwell,” which could be read as the purpose (or result) of the preceding infinitive “to be strengthened”: “that you will be made strong … so that Christ will dwell” (so Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, New International Version, Translator’s New Testament). Good News Translation, however, takes it as parallel with the preceding infinitive: “for you to be made strong … and for Christ to dwell” (so Caragounis, who says that there should be an “and” joining the two infinitives; also Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, and others; New English Bible is ambiguous). Beare and Abbott take the second infinitive “to dwell” not as a parallel with the first one “to be made strong,” but as a definition of it. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible understands the Greek verb “to dwell” not as intransitive but as transitive with God as the subject and Christ as the object: “that he make Christ live in your hearts.” This is quite possible.

The statement that Christ will make his home in your hearts may be translated as “that Christ may dwell in your hearts.” But this is often a very strange and bold figure of speech and therefore must often be made a simile, for example, “that Christ will, so to speak, dwell in your hearts.” It may, however, be important to indicate that this dwelling is to be a more or less permanent one, for example, “that Christ will always dwell in your hearts” or “that Christ will continue to dwell in your hearts,” or else “that Christ may take possession of you (through the faith you have in him).”

Through faith is the readers’ faith in God (or Christ), and this must be made clear (as it is not clear in Good News Translation). The phrase introduces a rather complex element, for it not only states the means or attendant circumstances involved in Christ’s dwelling in people’s hearts, but it also implies a particular kind of condition, for example, “this happens when you trust him” or “this will happen if you trust him.”

The following prepositional phrase “in love” (see Hdb|fig:Table_EPH3-13.jpg) may be related to what precedes (so Westcott and Hort [Westcott and Hort], Robinson, New English Bible, Goodspeed) or to what follows (so most editions of the Greek New Testament; Abbott, Barth; Good News Translation, Goodspeed, and most others).

Verse 17 ends “(you) having been rooted and firmly founded” (Hdb|fig:Table_EPH3-13.jpg). The two perfect passive participles (in the nominative case) grammatically function to describe the condition of the readers, but in keeping with the use of participles elsewhere in the New Testament, Good News Translation here takes them to express a wish (or a command): I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love (or “Be rooted and founded”). In the context of a prayer the latter seems more likely.

That you may have your roots and foundation in love is both strange and complex. It certainly represents a mixed metaphor, since roots would apply to a tree while foundation applies to a building. It would be possible to express the idea by a statement such as “I pray that the basis for all you do is love” or “I pray that whatever you do may be the result of love” or “… because you love.” In a number of languages, however, one cannot speak of “love” without indicating the object or the source of love. In this context it may be best to speak of “love for God and people.”

In love is not here made specific, and it may well mean love in all its aspects, toward God and from God, and toward fellow believers. It does not seem probable that it means here specifically God’s (or Christ’s) love alone (so Goodspeed, who takes it to be Christ’s love for us; it is difficult to understand why New American Bible translates “may charity be the root and foundation of your life”).

For the verb “to be rooted” see Colossians 2.7 (which is a passage like the present one), and for “to place a foundation” see Colossians 1.23 (and see in Eph 2.20 the noun “foundation”).

Verse 18 states the purpose of the double request expressed in verses 16-17: “that you will have the strength to grasp” (Hdb|fig:Table_EPH3-13.jpg). The Greek compound verb “to have strength” occurs only here in the New Testament (for the simple form of the Greek verb see such passages as Luke 16.3; Phil 4.13; James 5.16). This verb is quite appropriate with the following “to grasp, lay hold of, possess, seize” (compare John 1.5, where it means “to overcome,” and see in Phil 3.12 the play on the active and the passive voices of the verb). Abbott, New American Bible, Translator’s New Testament translate the whole phrase by “be fully able to grasp.”

So that you … may have the power to understand may often be translated as “so that you may be able to completely understand” or “… completely able to understand.”

“With all the saints”: the whole fellowship of the church, all God’s people, is the place where this knowledge is attained; it is not an individual achievement but a corporate experience. There is a subtle problem involved in the Good News Translation rendering together with all God’s people, since a literal rendering might exclude you from being part of God’s people. Therefore, together with all God’s people must be rendered in many languages as “together with all the rest of God’s people.”

The object of the verb “to grasp” is an indirect question, “what (is) the width and length and height and depth.” Although there are other possibilities, most commentators take “the love of Christ” as the subject being described by these four words of measure (some take the subject to be the secret, others the grace of God, others the wisdom of God, others “your salvation”). They are used to indicate its limitless dimensions, its indescribable size (compare other such expressions: 1.19 “the overwhelming greatness of his power,” 2.4 “the great love with which he loved us,” 2.7 “the overwhelming wealth of his grace,” 3.8 the infinite riches of Christ, 3.10 “the manifold wisdom of God”). The writer likes superlatives.

In a number of languages it makes little sense to speak about Christ’s love being broad and long and high and deep, since love cannot be conceived as having spatial dimensions. In some languages one must drop the figure of speech and translate “so that you will be fully able to understand how very, very great is Christ’s love for you.” It may even be possible to add a statement to imply something of the enormous extent of Christ’s love by saying “you cannot even imagine how great it is” or “… how much Christ truly loves you.”

If “your salvation” is taken to be subject, then the translation can read “… to understand your salvation in its full dimension” or “… to understand the complete scope (or, meaning) of your salvation.”

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 5:6 – 5:7

Here the writer warns his readers against people who would deceive them with foolish words, literally “empty words,” that is, words devoid of wisdom, of sense, of truth. Beare translates “specious arguments,” and Abbott summarizes the situation: these are the words of “persons … who made light of sins of impurity.” It is impossible to determine, however, whether such persons were part of the Christian fellowship or were outsiders. The verb translated deceive is used elsewhere in the New Testament only in 1 Timothy 2.14; James 1.26; for the related noun “deceit” see 4.22.

It would be wrong to translate foolish words as “stupid words” or “meaningless words.” In order to be deceitful, such words must be clever but wrong, and therefore in some languages foolish words may be appropriately translated as “lying words.”

Most languages have plenty of words for deceive, but one of the common phrases is “cause someone to believe a lie.”

These very things are the sins listed in verses 3-5. It may be necessary to be specific: “These very things I am talking about.”

For God’s anger see 2.3; and for those who do not obey him (literally “the sons of disobedience”) see 2.2. The whole statement is found exactly in the same form in Colossians 3.6. In place of the statement God’s anger will come upon those, it may be necessary in a number of languages to say “God will be angry with those.”

In verse 7 such people are the people who are attempting to deceive the readers. The Greek is literally “Do not, then, become partners of them”; for the noun “partners” see 3.6. Beare takes the genitive “of them” to refer not to the persons but to their actions (so Barth); others (see Jerusalem Bible) take “of them” to refer to “the sons of disobedience.”

Have nothing at all to do with such people may sometimes be expressed as “avoid such people.” But it may be more in keeping with the context to say “do not join up with such people” or “do not keep company with such people.”

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 6:14 – 6:15

In verses 14-17 the writer mentions the various different items in the Christian’s armor. Again he exhorts his readers So stand ready; compare New English Bible “Stand firm, I say.”

Truth translates the Greek alētheia, and righteousness the Greek dikaiosunē, and these are the meanings that the two words normally have in the Greek New Testament. But in this passage there seems to be an allusion to (or dependence on) Isaiah 11.5, which describes the rule of the future Davidic king: “Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins” (Revised Standard Version), which the Septuagint translates by the same two nouns used here, dikaiosunē and alētheia. The two lines in Hebrew are parallel, and it would seem that no great difference in meaning is intended between the Hebrew “righteousness” and “faithfulness”; the two are synonymous. So it may be that here the Greek alētheia reflects the meaning of the Hebrew noun “faithfulness, loyalty,” that is, the Christian soldier’s faithful devotion to the cause for which he is fighting, his loyalty to his commanding officer.

But some commentators, pointing to the use of the two nouns in 5.9, take the word here to mean truth or truthfulness as a Christian virtue (Murray “sincerity”). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “the truth of God.”

A belt tight around your waist: the loose clothes had to be held tight with a belt (or girdle) to permit rapid movement; see the same metaphorical figure of “girding the loins” (Revised Standard Version) in Luke 12.35; 1 Peter 1.13.

The phrase with truth as a belt tight around your waist may be translated as “your faithfulness to God will be like a belt tied around your waist” or “the truth about God will be like a belt fastened around your waist” or “the true message about God will be….”

Righteousness may be regarded as “integrity, character.” Abbott defines it as uprightness of character. In Isaiah 59.17 it is said of Yahweh, “He put on righteousness as a breastplate” (Revised Standard Version); there Yahweh’s righteousness is his faithfulness to his covenant promises.

In a number of languages one cannot speak of righteousness as an abstract quality. Rather, one must employ some type of personal reference, for example, “your doing what is right” or “your being a just person” or “your being an upright person.” It may be possible to translate with righteousness as your breastplate as “your always doing what is right is like a protection for your chest.”

The breastplate was made of tough leather or metal, and it covered the soldier’s breast and sometimes the back, to protect him from the enemy’s attack. (It should be noticed that in 1 Thes 5.8 Paul defines the breastplate as “faith and love.”)

The writer speaks of the readiness to announce the Good News of peace as the shoes the Christian warrior is to wear. The Greek noun “preparation, readiness” occurs only here in the New Testament. It is difficult to know for sure in what sense the word is used here. The following are possible meanings:

(1) Abbott takes it to mean “readiness of mind,” the attitude that is required of a soldier as he advances into battle; so this would be equivalent to courage or determination or readiness to fight. The Good News of peace, in Abbott’s view, is what equips the Christian soldier with this attitude, this readiness of mind (also Goodspeed “the readiness the good news of peace brings”; see also Ellicott).
(2) Revised Standard Version translates “(having shod your feet) with the equipment of the gospel of peace,” which is not very clear.
(3) Others take the Greek word to mean firmness, stability, sure footing. So Barth “steadfast because the gospel of peace is strapped under your feet”; New English Bible “to give you firm footing”; Moffatt “stability.”
(4) Others, like Good News Translation, take the phrase to mean “the readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace”: Westcott, Robinson (who regards Isa 52.7 as a source of the figure), Beare; Translator’s New Testament, New International Version, Jerusalem Bible, and others.

It is impossible to be dogmatic; the translator will choose the interpretation that seems best to fit the context, and it would seem that either (3) or (4) would be the best choice.

In verse 15 it may be better to preserve the parallelism with the two preceding statements about protection and armor by translating “the fact that you are ready to announce the Good News of peace is like your shoes” or “… like the shoes that a soldier wears.”

Readiness to announce the Good News may also be expressed as “the fact that you always want to tell others about the Good News.”

In general one may best translate the Good News of peace as “the Good News about the peace that God provides” or “… causes” or “… makes possible.” Here peace is practically synonymous with “salvation” or “reconciliation” (see verse 23 below). It is the restoration of spiritual health or wholeness that the Good News proclaims and effects.

In some instances it may be better to use similes (or comparisons): “Take truth as if it were the belt you put on, righteousness as if it were the breastplate that protects you, and your readiness to announce the Good News of peace will be like the shoes you wear.”

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 2:15

He abolished: this means that, so far as Christians are concerned, what Christ did and taught made the Law of no effect; he nullified it, and it is no longer binding. In the context, the primary effect of this annulment was the abolition of the distinction between Jews and Gentiles in the eyes of God.

The Jewish Law with its commandments and rules: “the law of commandments in rules” is another phrase in Ephesians which may be translated several ways: Revised Standard Version “the law of commandments and ordinances”; New English Bible “the law with its rules and regulations” (similarly New International Version, Good News Translation, and others). It is quite certain that “the law” is the Mosaic Law, the Torah, which was the basis for the whole Hebrew religious legal system; the plural “(of) the commandments” can be taken to mean the Ten Commandments specifically or the whole range of commandments in the Law. The Greek prepositional phrase “in decrees” refers to specific rules or regulations (see Luke 2.1 and Acts 17.7, which speak of imperial decrees; in Acts 16.4 the word is used of a ruling by the apostles; and see also Col 2.14).

In translating He abolished the Jewish Law, it is important to use an expression which will not seem completely contradictory to history, for Jews have continued to follow the commandments and rules of the Law to the present time. What is meant here is that “he made the Jewish Law of no validity” or “he made it so that the Jewish Law need not be obeyed any more.”

The phrase Jewish Law must be expressed in some languages as “the rules which Jews must follow” or “… must obey.” In fact, in many languages there is no term which is an inclusive designation for a body of laws.

In some languages it is necessary to describe commandments and rules in terms of “what people must do or must not do.”

If “in his flesh” (in verse 14) goes with “abolishing the law of commandments in rules” (in verse 13), it can be taken to indicate either the crucifixion of Christ (as in the similar Col 2.14) or to the incarnation (as Barclay and Goodspeed do); but it seems difficult, if not impossible, to say that “in his flesh” here refers to the incarnation, since the whole section points to Christ’s death on the cross as the means whereby the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles was achieved (specifically in verses 13, 16). So “in his flesh” also refers to the crucifixion of Christ.

The purpose of Christ’s reconciling work is (see Hdb|fig:Table_EPH2-14.jpg) (1) “to create the two in himself into one new man” (verse 15b) and (2) “to reconcile both in one body to God” (verse 16a).

The “one new man” that Christ creates is, so to speak, the new Adam (the name “Adam” means “man, mankind”); New English Bible “a single new humanity”; Jerusalem Bible “a single New Man”; Twentieth Century New Testament “one New Man”; Translator’s New Testament is like Good News Translation one new people. It is to be noticed that this “new humanity” is achieved not by transforming Gentiles into Jews or vice versa; both are re-created into a new people, neither Jewish nor Gentile, but Christian.

Technically speaking, the Jews and the Gentiles did not consist of two races. They were simply “two different kinds of people,” and so it may be best to translate the purpose clause as “in order to make two different kinds of people into one new kind of people” or “… to make two different tribes of people into one new tribe.” This new tribe of people could then be characterized as those “who are closely linked with Christ.”

For the verb “to create,” see 2.10.

In union with himself translates the Greek phrase “in him.” The Greek manuscripts have no accents, and so this may be accented as a reflexive, hautō (so W&H, New English Bible), but Good News Bible, Nestle, BFBS have autō, which in Hellenistic Greek often stood for the reflexive.

The verse in Greek ends with the participial phrase “making peace.” The simplest way is to take it as the result: “and so he achieved peace” (New English Bible “thereby making peace”; New International Version “thus making peace”). Another way to represent the meaning is “in this way he made different peoples be at peace with one another.” If the phrase is understood as expressing result, one may say “and so he caused people to be at peace.”

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 4:13

This verse in Greek continues from verse 12 with the conjunction “until” expressing the final goal, the ultimate result, of all that precedes. Good News Translation we shall all come together brings out the collective meaning of the text: not all, one by one, separately, but all together (see Beare). As Lightfoot says: “we Christians all as a body, not simply pantes [all of us].”

There is a subtle ambiguity in the statement we shall all come together, for this may be understood to mean merely “to gather together.” It may therefore be better to translate “all of us together shall come to….”

Come … to translates the Greek verb “arrive at, reach, attain to.” There are three goals to be reached, indicated in Greek by the threefold use of the preposition “into”:

(1) “The oneness of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”: for oneness see 4.3; faith is here defined by Furnish as the “totality of Christian doctrines and practices.” For knowledge see 1.17. Only here in Ephesians is the title the Son of God used. Robinson takes both faith and knowledge to be governed by the genitive of the Son of God: “faith in and knowledge of the Son of God” (so Translator’s New Testament). But it is also possible to take faith absolutely (so Good News Translation).

A literal translation of the expression to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God might imply “to a point of agreeing about our faith and about our knowledge concerning the Son of God.” But this passage is not about diverse doctrines and heresies but about the unity of believers. Therefore it is better to translate to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God as “to that place of being like one in the way we trust Christ and in our experiencing the Son of God.” In this context knowledge implies much more than “knowing about.” Here the emphasis is upon “experiencing the presence of the Son of God” or “experiencing the power of the Son of God.” That is to say, experiencing his power in the life of the believer.

(2) We shall become mature people: the Greek phrase “the mature man” is a way of speaking of growth and maturity in the Christian life; the singular is used because the corporate nature of the experience is being emphasized. It is the church as a body, the “one new man” (Revised Standard Version) in 2.15. Murray, however, thinks each individual Christian is meant; in that case, however, one would expect the Greek to use the noun anthrōpos, more appropriate for the meaning “person,” and not the noun anēr, which is specifically a male. The figure is in contrast to the immature and indecisive children of verse 14.

The use of the phrase mature people suggests both growth and the completion of such a process. It may even be possible in some languages to say “we shall become like grown people in our faith” or “we shall completely grow up in our faith.”

(3) Reaching to the very height of Christ’s full stature; “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”: this clause is closely parallel to the second one and serves to define what it means to be a “mature man.” For “measure” see 4.7; here it means “full measure,” that is, “the desired height.” The Greek noun translated stature can mean “age” (as in John 9.21), and some (see Abbott) prefer that meaning here. Of course both age and size are usually implied in the expression “a full-grown man,” “a mature man.”

Here the Greek phrase “the fullness of Christ” (for “fullness” see 1.10, 23; 3.19) is the standard set for the body, the church; see New English Bible “to mature manhood, measured by nothing less than the full stature of Christ”; Translator’s New Testament, somewhat differently, “that full maturity which comes from Christ”; Jerusalem Bible “fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.” So the “fullness” of Christ here is either to be indicated by stature, maturity, perfection, completeness, or whatever else best fits the context of the language.

It may be difficult to employ the figure of height and stature in speaking of Christ, since such a figure of speech may be interpreted as purely physical in the sense that people would grow up to be as tall as Christ was. Therefore reaching to the very height of Christ’s full stature may be better rendered in some instances as “becoming as mature as Christ was” or “in our trust in God becoming completely like 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 .

Translation commentary on Ephesians 5:22

In Greek this verse does not have a verb. But the Greek text without the verb is preferred by Good News Bible and the other modern editions of the text; the Textus Receptus has the verb, second person plural. In translation the verb must be supplied from the participle of “to submit” in the preceding verse. This verb is used in military contexts of a subordinate’s relationship to his superior in the army hierarchy. It is used of a wife’s relation to her husband in Colossians 3.18; Titus 2.5; 1 Peter 3.1; of servants to masters in Titus 2.9; 1 Peter 2.12; of people to state authorities in Romans 13.1. It means “to be subject to, obey, be ruled by.” It carries the implication of subordination, reflecting the standards of the time, which no amount of special pleading can disguise. Phillips “learn to adapt yourselves” is an unfortunate attempt to make the command more palatable in a different age.

In translating submit yourselves to your husbands, it is essential to use the same type of terminology with which submit yourselves to one another is rendered in verse 21. This means, for example, that the first part of verse 22 may be rendered as “you wives should be willing to obey your husbands,” or “you as a wife should obey your husband.”

The meaning of as to the Lord is slightly different from the phrase in Colossians 3.18. Here the figure of Christ as the husband and the church as the wife seems to have led the writer to write as to the Lord; this is not to be taken in the strictest sense, as Beare points out, but is to be understood to mean that the Christian wife’s attitude toward her husband reflects her (and his) relationship to Christ. The phrase should not be rendered in such a way as to suggest that a wife should treat her husband as her Lord, but she should be willing to obey her husband in the same way as she would obey the Lord.

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 1:4 – 1:5

As Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-3.jpg shows, the Greek has “even as he chose us … before the foundation of the world.” The initial adverb “even” introduces the long and detailed description of the way in which God blessed us. As Caragounis says (pages 82-83), verse 4 makes specific the truth that is stated in general terms in verse 3.

The temporal clause “before the foundation of the world” indicates that God’s decision was made in eternity, before time and creation. The word “foundation” depicts the creation of the world in terms of a building. The meaning of the temporal clause is expressed simply by before the world was made or “before God created the world.” In some instances it may be necessary to introduce the temporal clause by an expression involving “not yet,” for example, “God had not yet created the world.” In some languages there is no highly specialized term for “create,” and therefore it may be necessary to use a more general term such as “to make.”

The concept of God’s choosing his people goes back to Israel’s experience in the Old Testament, where again and again the point is made that Israel’s “election” (from the Greek verb meaning “to choose”) is due only to God’s decision and action, not to Israel’s work or choice. Yahweh chose Israel to be his own people; Israel did not choose Yahweh. The initiative was his alone (see Deut 7.6-8). Us here includes all of God’s people, which in the New Testament are thought of as being the Christians. The Greek middle voice of the verb “to choose” allows the translation “God chose for himself.” Westcott comments: “the middle voice emphasizes … the selection of the person chosen to the special purpose of him who chooses.” The idea of a choice inevitably involves discrimination, but the biblical emphasis on God’s choice of some (and not of others) is that such choice is not for privilege but for service, and is the means whereby God intends to redeem all humanity.

In any choice of a word to translate “choose” or “select,” it is important to check the connotation, for many times a term for “choose” may suggest a selection based upon a desire to eliminate or to discard rather than to choose because of some value or worth. At the same time one would not want to use a term for “choose” based upon the special worthiness of the object chosen, since this would violate the whole theological implications of God’s choice of his people. Therefore, the implication of any verb meaning “to choose” must point to some purpose for the person who does the choosing and should not be dependent upon the idea of worthiness in the individual chosen.

The prepositional phrase “in him” (see Revised Standard Version) again emphasizes the relation of Christians to Christ in the experience of salvation; Twentieth Century New Testament has “in our union with Christ.” The simple “in Christ” in English, at least, does not convey any specific meaning; see New English Bible “In Christ he chose us before the world was founded.”

It may be relatively easy to render our union with Christ as “our being united with Christ” or “in close fellowship with Christ.” But what is perhaps more difficult with the phrase is the manner in which it is to be combined with the statement God had already chosen us to be his. Some scholars assume that through our union with Christ could be combined directly with had … chosen. But the Good News Translation relates through our union with Christ more closely to the fact of our belonging to God. In the Greek text there is only the term “choose,” but the implication of this choice is the believer’s special relationship to God. It therefore may be appropriate in some languages to render the phrase through our union with Christ as a type of means (often expressed as cause), as in the following statement: “God had already chosen us to belong to him by means of our being united with Christ” or “… because of our being one with Christ.”

For we would be holy and without fault: the two Greek adjectives are here used in an ethical sense and are largely synonymous. The second one means “without defect, blemish, or imperfection”; the idea is based on the requirement in the Hebrew sacrificial system that an animal offered in sacrifice to God had to be perfect, without any defect or blemish. The two adjectives occur together also in 5.27, and the whole clause here is closely related to Colossians 1.22, “to present us as holy, blameless, and faultless before him.”

It may be appropriate to render holy by “as God would want us to be.” Though the meaning of holy in this context is primarily ethical, it is more than just “good.” In some languages the word traditionally used for “holy” means “taboo.” This idea should be avoided here, and a word or expression that means “clean” or “pure” should be used, if it is clearly understood that spiritual or moral purity is meant. The phrase without fault is simply a negative way of stating essentially what is stated positively in the term holy. In many languages without fault is translated simply “without any sin” or “without any guilt.”

The phrase before him refers to God; the Christian life is lived in his sight, his presence, open to his scrutiny. It is important to avoid in a rendering of before him the idea that the believers are without fault only after they go to heaven. In some instances the closest equivalent of before him is “as he looks upon us” or “as he sees us.”

The last two words in verse 4 of the Greek text, meaning “in love,” may be taken with what precedes or with what follows. (1) If it is taken with what precedes (so Good News Translation), “in love” more naturally refers to human love; so New English Bible, New American Bible (New American Bible) “to be full of love”; Jerusalem Bible “to live through love” (so Westcott, who takes the word here to refer specifically to Christians’ love for one another; also Barth, Salmond, Lightfoot). Caragounis takes it to mean Christians’ love for God: “and love him.” Caragounis lists the different possibilities, and based on stylistic and syntactical considerations favors taking “in love” with what precedes; on semantic grounds, however, in the body of the commentary (pages 85-86) he inclines toward joining it with what follows. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch takes it to refer to God’s love for us, and so translates the beginning of verse 4: “Already before he made the world God loved us….” (2) If it is taken with what follows (specifically, the aorist participle “having predestined”), then the words apply to God: “Because God loved us he predestined us….” This is the meaning preferred by Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and other translations; also Beare, Abbott.

No one can be dogmatic about which is correct, but it would seem better to take the phrase “in love” with what follows.

In a number of languages there is no specific word for love, but the content can often be expressed in a figurative manner, for example, “God hid us in his heart” or “God’s heart went away with us” or “God was sweet in his stomach for us.” In a number of languages it is obviously impossible to use the term “heart,” since it may not be at all related to emotions. Therefore one may need to employ terms referring to “bowels,” “stomach,” “liver,” or even “throat.” Languages actually refer to a number of different organs since the emotional reactions experienced in certain parts of the body are simply the result of the response of the sympathetic nervous system.

God had already decided … make us his sons; Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-3.jpg “in love having predestined us to sonship through Jesus Christ”: the aorist participle translated “having predestined” is related to the main verb “he chose (us)” in verse 4. It expresses either antecedent action or else, which seems more likely, the manner or means by which the choice was made: “He chose us … by predestining us….” Caragounis (page 87) vigorously contends that this is impossible and argues that the (aorist) participle is subsequent in time to the main verb “he chose” (in verse 4). He says “the ptcp. is sometimes used loosely, just carrying on the argument.” So the action of “predestining” in verse 5 would be in addition to that of “choosing” in verse 4: “he chose us … and predestined us.”

The Greek verb translated “predestined” is a compound verb meaning “to mark out beforehand (or, ahead of time).” It appears in the New Testament in Romans 8.29, 30; Acts 4.28; 1 Corinthians 2.7; Ephesians 1.5, 11. It is used only of God, and it serves to emphasize God’s sole and complete initiative and authority in the experience of salvation, his independence of action based on a decision already made in the past, in God’s own eternal time. The full theological implication of the word is brought out in Romans 8.29-30.

Theological considerations on the relation between God’s sovereign power and man’s freedom of choice inevitably arise, but such matters cannot influence a translator’s choice of a word to translate the Greek verb. In English “planned” (Phillips) is too weak; some translations have “destined”; New International Version “predestined” seems better; Bible de Jérusalem “determining in advance” is good; Translator’s New Testament “he set us apart (for himself)” does not give sufficient value to the temporal element expressed in the Greek prefix meaning “before.”

It may be difficult to find some expressions which will appropriately render “predestined.” If one uses a phrase such as “he decided ahead of time to set us aside,” this may have quite a negative value, for in many languages “to set aside” implies some type of rejection or lack of appreciation. The connotation of such an expression may be made somewhat less objectionable because believers are predestined to be his own sons. In some instances, translators have tried to build an expression for “predestined” on a more or less literal translation of the Greek term, namely, “to mark out ahead of time.” But this often suggests some kind of restriction or encirclement. In a number of cases the best way of dealing with “having predestined us to be his own sons” is to translate “having decided ahead of time to make us his own sons” or “… to cause us to be his sons.”

Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-3.jpg “for him (God)” goes with the participle, “Having predestined us … to himself,” that is, in connection with “to sonship”: “having predestined us to be his (own) sons.”

The Greek noun “sonship” means “adoption as son,” a legal term used exclusively in a religious sense in the New Testament; of Israel, Romans 9.4; of believers in Christ, Romans 8.15, 23; Galatians 4.5; and here. An adopted son had all the privileges and rights enjoyed by a natural son. Barclay uses the phrase “adoption into his own family.”

It may be difficult in some languages to use a literal rendering of sons since this might exclude women completely. Therefore a more appropriate expression would be “his children.” Since believers become God’s children not by biological means but by a kind of theological adoption, it may be necessary in some instances to use a term for “children” which indicates the adopted status. Otherwise there may be an implication that God is somehow involved in sexual activity.

The phrase through Jesus Christ gives the means or agency God used in making us his (adopted) children.

Through Jesus Christ may be rendered as “Jesus Christ made this possible” or “Jesus Christ caused this to happen” or “God made us his sons because of what Jesus Christ did.” Some languages have used the expression “by Jesus Christ” which may mean either that he is the agent or that he is the Father. For such cases an unambiguous expression for agency should be used, for example, “by the hand of Jesus Christ.”

The final part of verse 5, this was his pleasure and purpose, gives the basis or standard of God’s action in making us his children. Logically there seems to be no need for saying this, since at the beginning of the sentence it has already been stated that God did this because of his love. But one of the characteristics of this letter is the repetition of such qualifying clauses (see in verse 9 “according to his pleasure,” and in verse 11 “according to the decision of his will”). No great difference in meaning is to be found between pleasure and purpose (or “will”); the clause could be simply expressed by “according to his good pleasure,” “in keeping with his gracious will.” Caragounis suggests: “This was in accordance with what He considered good and willed/decided upon.” Most English translations use a combination of “will, pleasure, purpose.” An equivalent in some languages is “this is what he wanted to do.” Some translators have used an expression equivalent to “this is what God decided he wanted to do.”

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 3:5

The Greek phrase “in other generations” is a way of referring to the past, with no limitations (compare Col 1.26 “the secret hidden from the ages and from the generations”). So Good News Translation In past times; in some languages “Before” or “Before this” or “Before now” will be sufficient.

Mankind was not told; “was not made known” (Revised Standard Version): again the use of the passive of the verb “to make known” (as in verse 3a). The implied actor in this passive voice and in the following passive “was revealed” is God. Some translators will want to say “God did not tell mankind the secret,” or “God did not tell people about this plan.” But the Greek verb may mean “to know,” so that it is possible to translate “… mankind did not know this secret.”

God has revealed it: here the verb “to uncover” is used (see the related noun in 1.17; 3.3). In the parallel Colossians 1.26b the verb “bring to light” is used; the meaning of both is the same, that is, both refer to God’s action of revealing a truth to mankind.

“The sons of men” (Revised Standard Version) is a Semitic phrase meaning “all mankind” (see its use in Mark 3.28).

To his holy apostles and prophets: see in 2.20 the apostles and prophets. His here is taken by most to refer to God (the implied actor in “was revealed”), but Westcott takes it to refer to Christ, which is also possible. It is to be noticed that here the adjective “holy” is used, and it must somehow distinguish the apostles and prophets as being in some way different from other Christians, all of whom are “the saints,” that is, dedicated to God, God’s people (see 1.1). As a group “the apostles and prophets” have a standing or a quality not shared by others. It should be noticed that the parallel passage in Colossians 1.21 has “to his saints,” all of God’s people, not just to one select group. Such a sharp contradiction between the two makes it very difficult to believe that the same person wrote both passages. The phrase “holy prophets” in Luke 1.70; Acts 3.21; 2 Peter 3.2 refers to the Old Testament prophets and is perfectly natural in a New Testament document. Nowhere else in the New Testament is the adjective hagios “holy” applied to the apostles (compare Rev 18.20). New English Bible translates “his dedicated apostles and prophets”; Barclay “God’s consecrated apostles and prophets” (similarly Phillips).

In rendering his holy apostles and prophets in the sense of “his dedicated apostles and prophets,” it may be necessary to indicate specifically how the apostles and prophets are dedicated or consecrated to God. One may sometimes use a statement such as “his apostles and prophets who have given themselves to serving God” or “the apostles and prophets whom God has especially appointed to serve him.” This means that the process of dedication or consecration can be viewed either from the standpoint of the activity of the apostles and prophets or in terms of what God did in appointing or commissioning them to serve him in these special functions.

The final phrase in verse 5 in Greek is “in spirit,” and it is taken by nearly all to refer to the Holy Spirit. The phrase means either (1) the Spirit did the revealing (“by the Spirit”; so Translator’s New Testament, New International Version, and others) or (2) God revealed by means of the Spirit (Good News Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and others). If interpretation (1) is followed, then the translation must say “But now the Holy Spirit has revealed it to God’s holy apostles and prophets.”

There is a problem of double agency in the second part of verse 5. God is the primary agent who reveals, but it is by means of his Spirit. Therefore it may be necessary to translate the second clause of verse 5 as “God has now caused his Spirit to reveal this secret to his holy apostles and prophets.”

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 .