In Greek this verse begins a sentence which goes to the end of verse 12. The Greek text may be represented as follows: see Handbook translation|fig:Table_EPH3-8.jpg.
Again the writer refers to “the grace” that God gave him; here, as in the other passages (3.2, 7), Good News Translation takes it as a particular endowment, gift, responsibility, which God in his grace has given the writer; compare New English Bible “he has granted of his grace the privilege.” And Beare speaks of “a concrete sense, of the mission entrusted to Paul.”
God gave me this privilege may be rendered in some instances as “God gave me this valuable task” or “God was good to me in giving me this task.” The privilege obviously refers to a particular activity which is defined as taking to the Gentiles the Good News, but the special value and importance of such a task must also be indicated if the full implications of privilege are to be understood.
He calls himself “the lesser of the least,” a comparative form of the superlative “the least”; Barth tries to reproduce the effect of this in English by “smallester” or “leaster.” See the superlative in 1 Corinthians 15.9 “I am the least of the apostles.”
The statement I am less than the least of all God’s people is a humble exaggeration, and it is extremely difficult in some languages to speak of less than the least, since logically this is impossible. In some languages the closest equivalent is “I am the smallest of all God’s people.” In these, of course, “smallest” must refer to someone who is least important. In some languages the status of being less than the least may be expressed as “I am behind all of God’s people” or “I am the last of all of God’s people.”
All God’s people: for “the saints” (Revised Standard Version). The earliest copy of Ephesians (third century A.D.), omits hagiōn “saints,” so that its text reads “lesser than the least of all (people).” But it is the only Greek manuscript to do so, and it seems likely that the copyist omitted the word accidentally.
“To proclaim … the Good News” translates the same verb used in 2.17. In some languages it would be strange to translate literally taking to the Gentiles the Good News, since the Good News would not be something which could be carried or taken along. A more satisfactory rendering may be “speaking to the Gentiles about the Good News” or “telling the Good News to the Gentiles.”
“Unfindable” translates a word which means “that cannot be tracked down,” meaning “beyond exploring,” that is, illimitable, infinite; see its use in Romans 11.33.
For riches see 1.7, 18. A strictly literal translation of the phrase about the infinite riches of Christ may be completely misleading, for this might imply that Christ was himself an extremely wealthy person. In some languages the infinite riches may be spoken of as “riches which cannot be imagined” or “riches without limit.” But these riches must not be related to material wealth. Accordingly, in some languages the riches of Christ is rendered as “how wonderful Christ is.” In other instances the riches of Christ may be “what is valuable which we receive from Christ” or “the unimaginable good which we have from knowing Christ.” What is to be avoided is a statement which would imply valuable objects which Christ had hoarded.
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 .
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