Section 4:17–32

We should change our behavior

Paul urged the Christians to stop doing the evil deeds that they used to do before they knew God. He urged them to start doing the good things that people who know Christ should do. He gave examples of old (former) behavior that they must stop doing, for example: lying, theft, anger and slander. Instead they must be kind, tender and forgiving.

Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:

Live as God’s people (God’s Word)
-or-
The old life and the new life (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Don’t live as pagans but as God’s people

Paragraph 4:17–19

4:17a

So: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So connects all that Paul has previously taught to the advice that follows. It is similar to 4:1a, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “then.” Because God had done so much for the Ephesians, therefore they must not live as they formerly had.

Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:

Therefore
-or-
On the basis of that

Some versions do not translate the conjunction. Translate it in a way that is natural in your language.

I tell you this: The words I tell you this show that Paul was emphasising what he said.

this: The word this refers to the advice that he is about to give to his readers. It does not refer to that which Paul had already said. If your language would not use the word this in such a way, you may need to say something like:

So here is what I want to tell you
-or-
So I tell you

insist on it in the Lord: To insist means “to advise, warn, strongly urge.” Paul said that he is speaking in the name of the Lord, that is with the Lord’s authority.

the Lord: Here the word Lord refers to Jesus.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

With the Lord’s authority (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
In the Lord’s name (Good News Translation)

General Comment on 4:17a

One way you can translate 4:17a is like this:

So now listen to these words of mine! With the authority that the Lord gave me, I advise you to…

4:17b

that you must no longer walk: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as walk refers to our daily actions and our behavior. Some ways to translate this word are:

act
-or-
behave

(For other references to “walk,” see notes on 2:2a, 2:10c, 4:1b.)

as the Gentiles do: Here the word Gentiles does not mean simply non-Jewish people. Rather, Paul used it to refer to people who do not know God.

Here are some other ways to translate the word Gentiles :

heathen (Good News Translation)
-or-
pagan (Revised English Bible)

Both of these are words that refer to people who do not know God or believe in God. See Gentiles, Meaning 2 in the Glossary.

4:17c

in the futility of their thinking: The phrase in the futility of their thinking means that that which the pagans think is worthless, empty and a waste of time.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

whose thoughts are worthless (Good News Translation)
-or-
for they are hopelessly confused (New Living Translation (2004))

© 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.

5:17a

Therefore: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Therefore introduces an appeal on the basis of what he just said in 5:15–16. Some English versions do not translate it.

Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

so (New Century Version)
-or-
For this reason (NET Bible)

Translate this connecting phrase in a way that is natural in your language.

foolish: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as foolish here is different from the word translated as “unwise” in 5:15b. Their meanings are very similar. If you do not have two words that mean “foolish” or “unwise,” you can translate foolish here as you translated “unwise” in 5:15b. For example:

thoughtlessly (New Living Translation (2004))

5:17b

but: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but indicates a negative, positive contrast between 5:17a and 5:17b. If you need to make this contrast clearer, you could add the words “be wise” to make the contrast with “do not be foolish” more explicit. For example:

17a…do not be foolish, 17b but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is. (NET Bible)

understand what the Lord’s will is: Here are some other ways to translate the clause understand what the Lord’s will is :

understand what the Lord wants you to do (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
try to find out what the Lord wants you to do (Good News Translation)

This clause is similar to what Paul said in 5:10.

Lord: As in 5:10, Paul probably meant the Lord God here. So if you need to specify whether it is the Lord Christ or the Lord God, choose Lord God.

© 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.

6:16a

In addition to all this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as In addition to all this is literally “with all (these things).” There is an interpretation issue here. Scholars interpret this phrase in two ways:

(1) It means As well as putting on the things I have already mentioned. Paul had already told the Ephesians to put on a belt, breastplate and shoes. Next he told them some other pieces of armor to take. For example:

In addition to all these (God’s Word)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) It means At all times or always. For example:

At all times (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version, New Living Translation (1996))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and the greater number of versions. It also seems to fit the context better.

6:16b

the shield of faith: A shield is a large piece of armor that protected the soldier’s whole body. A soldier held it in one hand out in front of himself to protect himself from his enemies’ weapons.

A shield was made of wooden boards fastened together, covered with cloth and then leather. Before a battle, a soldier would soak his shield in water so that it would not burn when enemies shot flaming arrows at him. See the shield of a soldier in the picture at Section 6:10–20.

This is also a metaphor. Paul compared faith to a shield.

One way to fully explain this metaphor is like this: “Just as a shield protects a soldier in a battle, so if you trust in God, he will protect you when Satan attacks you.”

faith: Here faith means to trust or believe in God. See how you translated faith in 1:15b and 3:12a. See faith, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information.

Here are some ways to translate 6:16b:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

Take hold of the shield. The shield is faith ⌊in God⌋.

• Make the metaphor a simile. For example:

Have faith ⌊in God⌋. This will be like your shield.
-or-
Let your faith be like a shield (Contemporary English Version)

• Give the full meaning of the metaphor. For example:

⌊As a soldier⌋ takes hold of a shield ⌊to protect himself in battle⌋, if you believe/trust in God ⌊it will protect you when Satan attacks⌋.

6:16c

with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows: As was mentioned in 6:16b, before a battle, soldiers soaked their shields in water. When the enemy shot burning arrows at them, the wet shields put out the flames and the shields did not burn.

If people do not use bows and arrows in your part of the world, this figure of speech may be difficult to explain. If this is the case, you may want to translate this without the metaphor of arrows. One example is:

Your faith will be like a shield that protects you from all the dangerous weapons/things that the evil one throws at you.

all the flaming arrows: In Paul’s time, soldiers dipped the tips of arrows in something like tar. During a battle, they would set the arrows on fire before shooting them.

the evil one: The phrase the evil one refers to Satan, the devil, the ruler of demons. See note on 6:11b.

Here are some other ways to translate 6:16c:

to stop the fiery arrows of the devil (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One (Good News Translation)

© 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.