of the air

The Greek in Ephesians 2:2 that is translated as “of the air” in English is translated in Matumbi as “of the clouds.” Matumbi is missing a general word for “air,” so the translators preferred “clouds” to something referencing “heaven.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

See also cloud / sky.

unclean spirit / evil spirit

The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated/transliterated in English as “unclean spirit” or “evil spirit” is translated in Paasaal it is translated as gyɩŋbɔmɔ, which is also the term used for “demon.” Wyɩŋbɔmɔ are “beings that are in the wild and can only be seen when they choose to reveal themselves to certain people. They can ‘capture’ humans and keep them in hiding while they train the person in herbalism and divination. After the training period, which can range from a week to many years, the ‘captured’ individual is released to go back into society as a healer and a diviner. The gyɩŋbɔmɔ can also be evil, striking humans with mental diseases and causing individuals to get lost in the wild. The Pasaale worldview about demons is like that of others of the language groups in the area.” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)

Note that often the words for “demon” “unclean spirit” are being used interchangeably.

Ephesians 2:1-10 as a bullet list

In Nicholas King’s English translation of the New Testament (2004), the translator decided to use bullet point lists in some case in the Ephesians, Colossians, and Titus. “There are elaborate groups of nouns strung together, and the sentences are rather long. I have tried, not entirely successfully, to make these long sentences more manageable by the use of bullet points.” One such list is Ephesians 2:1-10:

 

And you, who were dead because of your transgressions and sins,

  • in which once you walked in keeping with the age of this world, in keeping with the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among the children, of disobedience
  • among whom we all once lived because of the desires of our flesh, doing the wills of the flesh and of the intellects, and we were by nature children of anger, just like the rest,
  • but since God is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
  • and us who were dead because of transgressions

he made alive together with Christ
(It is by God s gift that you have been saved)

and raised you with him
and made you sit in the heavenly regions in Christ Jesus

in order that in the coming ages he might demonstrate the surpassing value of his free gift in kindness to you in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2 in Jamaican Sign Language and Jamaican Country Sign Language

Following is the translation of Ephesians 2 into Jamaican Sign Language, intermixed with Jamaican Country Sign Language (see here for Country Sign ):


Source: Jamaican Sign Language Bible Translation

2:1-3 I am Paul. To the people of the church in Ephesus. Remember when you were not yet Christians, when you used to live in sin just like the rest of the world. You were dead. You were controlled by the unseen spirit of the Devil- that same spirit now working in the people who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate and selfish desires of our sinful nature. We should have faced God’s anger because of our sinful ways.

2:4-5 But God is merciful and he loves us very much, even though we were dead because we were detached from Him and lived in sin just like the rest of the world. He has given us a new life and has united us with Him through Jesus Christ. It is only by God’s grace that we have been saved.

2:6-7 Just as God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him in heaven, so will He raise us from the dead and seat us in heaven because we are united with Jesus Christ. God did this so He can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

2:8-10 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. You can’t take credit for this because it is a gift from God. We are saved only by His grace through Jesus Christ. We are God’s precious creations, His masterpiece, made new in Jesus Christ so that we can live the right way according to the plan that He had for us long ago.

2:11-13 Remember that you non-Jew used to be outsiders. You were called uncircumcised by Jews who were circumcised. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

2:14-16 Jesus united Jews and non-Jews into one people when, in his own body on the cross he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and non-Jews by creating in himself one new people from the two groups, united in peace and harmony with each other and God.

2:17-18 The non- Jews [who were called outsiders] and the Jews [who were called Christians] were now united in peace. Now all of us can come to God the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

2:19-22 So now you non-Jews are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are now members of God’s family. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. Just like a house is built on a solid foundation, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles who spread the word of God. The cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. In him, we become a holy temple for the Lord. In Christ we are built together [Jews and non-Jews] and are made into a holy place where God lives through the Spirit.

Back-translation by Amakedia Wallen, coordinated by Tashi Widmer

implicit exclusiveness (Eph. 2:1-2)

The translation in Yatzachi Zapotec had to make the inclusion of the writer in these verse explicit by changing the second person plural pronoun (“you”) to an inclusive first person plural pronoun (“we,” including the group that is addressed in the letter). Otherwise the writer of the letter would have been specifically excluded. (Source: Inez Butler in Notes on Translation 16, 1965, p. 4-5)

complete verse (Ephesians 2:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 2:2:

  • Uma: “At that time your everyday behavior followed the habit/custom of evil people in this world, you followed the will of the King of Evil-ones. That King of Evil-ones is the warchief that controls the evil spirits in the air/sky. To this present time he still works in the hearts of people who do not submit/bow to God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “At that time your customs were like the customs of people who don’t follow God. Satan was the one you were following. He is hep the one who rules over the unseen people in space and now he also rules over those people who don’t follow God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “At that time, you followed an evil way which is the way followed by people who are enemies of God. You obeyed the commands of Satan. He is the one who controls those who have power in the sky. He’s also the one who controls all those who will not obey the commands of God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because you were following the bad customs/behavior of those who don’t believe and you were obeying the leader of the evil-spirits in the sky who rules indeed also over those who persist in not obeying God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “There was nothing else that you were giving preference/priority to then in the past than the evil here in this world. For at that time you were still under the jurisdiction of the boss/leader of the evil-spirits, they who exercise-authority in the atmosphere, those entering-and-controlling-minds and (those) not, who exercize-control over people now who are opposing God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “We did the evil there is here on the earth. We did the will of the devil, he who rules all the evil spirits who go everywhere. And it is the devil who has grabbed the hearts of the people who do not want to believe in God now.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)