Paragraph 4:7–16

In 4:4–6 Paul talked about the things that unite Christians. These are things that we have in common. But in 4:7 he talked about special abilities that some Christians have and that others do not have. We all have the same Spirit, we all worship the same Lord, and so on. But to each of us, Christ has given different special abilities.

4:7a

Now: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now marks a contrast and a transition. In 4:4–6 Paul talked about what Christians have in common. In this paragraph he talked about special abilities that Christ gives to individual believers. Indicate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

However (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
And yet
-or-

⌊Although we are united in these ways⌋ yet

to each one of us grace: Here the word grace means “the ability which Christ gives to do a special task.” Some of these tasks are described in 4:11. It does not mean “mercy.”

Here are some other ways to translate the word grace:

special gift (Good News Translation)
-or-
favor (God’s Word)
-or-
generous gift/enabling
-or-
gracious empowering

In some languages it is translated as:

power to do a work

See grace, Meaning 3 in the Glossary for more information.

has been given: The phrase has been given is passive. Christ is the one who has given to us these gifts/abilities.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

he has given each one of us a special gift (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Christ gave each of us a gracious gift/ability

4:7b

according to the measure of the gift of Christ: The words according to the measure means “to measure out,” “to distribute,” or “to divide.” Christ decides which gift each Christian should receive. He does not give the same abilities to every Christian.

Here are some other ways to translate the words according to the measure :

as…divided (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
as…measured out (God’s Word)
-or-
as…distributed

© 1999, 2019 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

5:7

Therefore: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Therefore introduces an appeal on the basis of what Paul said in 5:3–6. It indicates the following: God will punish immoral people, therefore, we must not participate in their evil deeds.

Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:

So (Good News Translation)
-or-
For that reason

Many versions do not translate the conjunction in 5:7. Translate it in a way that is natural in your language.

do not be partakers with them: The clause do not be partakers with them means that they should not join these people when they do evil things.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

So have nothing at all to do with such people. (Good News Translation)
-or-
Don’t participate in the things these people do (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
do not be part of their group
-or-
If people behave in those ways, then don’t be with them.

© 1999, 2019 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

6:6a

And do this not only to please them: Here are some other ways to translate the phrase to please them :

to please your masters
-or-
to gain the approval of your masters
-or-
so that your owners will praise you

while they are watching: The clause while they are watching means “when your master is watching you.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Try to please them all the time (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Don’t obey them only while you’re being watched (God’s Word)
-or-
Do what your masters say even when they are not around.

6:6b

but as servants of Christ: This is a comparison. Paul is comparing slaves of men to slaves of Christ. The point of comparison between a slave of another person and a slave of Christ is that both should obey their masters. So the meaning is: “Obey your earthly masters as servants of Christ obey their heavenly master.”

Here is one way to translate this phrase:

But obey like slaves who belong to Christ… (God’s Word)

6:6c

doing the will of God: Another way to say doing the will of God is “doing what God wants.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

following the will of God
-or-
do God’s wishes (Yakan Back Translation)
-or-
do what God says to do

from your heart: The phrase from your heart means “wholeheartedly” or “with enthusiasm.” An English idiom is:

with all your heart (Good News Translation)

If there is an idiom in your language with this meaning you can use it.

It has a similar meaning as the phrase “sincerity of heart,” found in 6:5b.

your: Depending on how you translate this verse, you may have to use different pronouns. For example:

They do what God wants them to do with all their heart.

See the second meaning line in the Display for another example.

© 1999, 2019 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.