14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming;
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 4:11-16:
And he himself gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for a work of service, for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ, until all of us arrive
at the unity of faith and the knowledge of the ‘sons of God’,
at the perfect human being,
at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
so that we may no longer be infants, tossed here and there by waves, and carried here and there by every breeze of teaching, by the craftiness of human beings, by readiness to do anything bad as regards deceitful scheming,
but that we may be truthful in love and make everything grow into him, who is the Head,
Christ, from whom the whole body is joined together and knit together, through every supporting ligament according to the activity that is proper to each individual part;
it may bring about the increase of the body for its own upbuilding in love.
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 4:14:
Uma: “When we become like that, we will no longer like children who are easily deceived or like dry leaves that are blown back and forth by the wind. We no longer follow just any old teaching [lit., follow-following randomly teaching-teachings], we no longer immediately swallow the words of people who want to deceive us with their plans that make-fall.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When our (dual) trust is already firm/strong, our (dual) thinking is no longer like the thinking of a child who is easily deceived/taken-in. We (dual) are no longer carried-along by whatever is taught. We (dual) are no longer like other people, whatever they are taught by the deceiving religious-teachers they believe-obey, they figuratively just go along wherever the waves or the wind carry them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then it will be possible that we will be no longer like children, because the person who is like that, His faith varies because He can easily believe any kind of doctrine that’s taught to Him by lying people who know how to deceive.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And if that’s what we are like, we will not be like a child who easily keeps-changing his mind, because we will not of course be deceived by the not true teaching of clever and lying people.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “For the Lord wants that we are not like children who can be influenced by various (lit.taken by here and there) teaching, in which they are like a boat that’s just floating and being-lifted-up-and-down by the waves and driven along by the wind. Good if we are not fooled by the teaching of people who don’t have good motives for they are just like lying-in-wait for whoever they might deceive.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Then we won’t be doing like children. Because the children are easily deceived. Like when the wind blows something here and there, thus are the children in that they follow after whatever teaching comes along. Because the teachers who are deceivers are knowledgeable in searching how to deceive the people. They want us to follow their lies which they teach.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Copainalá Zoque: “Thus that we not be like children, and that we not totter back and forth, and that whatever teaching that blows [lit. runs] like wind may not blow [run] us along here and there, because thus men take thought how they may deceive us and (how) we may lose our way.” (Source: William Wonderly in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 14ff. )
Illustration by Horst Lemke (1922-1985) for the GermanGute Nachricht für Sie – NT68, one of the first editions of the Good News Bible in German of 1968. Lemke was a well-known illustrator who illustrated books by Erich Kästner , Astrid Lindgren and many others.
Here the purpose or result of the church’s maturity is spelled out in contrast with the figure of immature, indecisive children who are led astray by cunning and artful schemers. In 1 Corinthians 13.11 Paul makes a contrast between “child” and “man” (and see also 1 Cor 3.1-2). In order to emphasize the figurative sense of the term children, it may be best to translate the first part of verse 14 as “then we shall no longer be like children.”
The first participle means “tossed about by waves” (the verb occurs only here in the New Testament; for the noun “wave” see James 1.6). The second participle is “carried around”; the picture is that of a small boat in a storm, unable to hold a steady course. This figure of rough waves and strong winds is applied to wrong teachings which carry immature Christians away from the truth of the gospel.
In order to make somewhat clearer the figurative expression carried by the waves and blown about by every shifting wind, it may be necessary to fill out the figurative expression by introducing the idea of a boat in a storm, for example, “we will no longer be like a small boat tossed one way and then another by the waves or blown in one direction and another by the wind which keeps changing.”
The teaching of deceitful men translates the Greek “the teaching in/by the deceit of man”; “deceit” translates a word used nowhere else in the New Testament, and which literally means “playing with dice.” Here it means “trickery, sleight of hand.” In order to relate teaching of deceitful men to the preceding figures of speech, it may be best to translate “the way deceitful men teach others is like that” or “that is just what happens when deceitful men teach people.”
“In the cunning in accordance with the scheming of error” (Hdb|fig:Table_EPH4-11.jpg): the Greek word for “cunning” or “craftiness” is used in 2 Corinthians 11.3 of the snake in the Garden of Eden as it tricked Eve; the meaning of the word is well illustrated by its use in Luke 20.23.
“Scheming” translates a Greek word which appears in the New Testament only here and in 6.11 “craftiness, trickery.” It is qualified by the genitive phrase “of error.” Here again, in order to emphasize his point, the writer employs redundant and flamboyant language which is none too precise. Translator’s New Testament translates “at the mercy of cunning men wickedly plotting to lead us astray”; New English Bible “dupes of crafty rogues and their deceitful schemes”; Barth “the trickery of men who are experts in deceitful scheming”; New International Version “the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” Good News Translationthe tricks they invent is not good, since it might suggest the actual performance of tricks; better would be something like “their clever schemes/lies.”
The last clause of this verse, namely, who lead others into error by the tricks they invent, may be rendered as “they cause others to go astray because of the clever lies that they tell.” It may also be possible to translate who lead others into error as “who cause others to go down the wrong road” or “who cause others to believe what isn’t true.”
It should be noted that the writer does not specify what are the wrong teachings which he condemns. Beare conjectures: “It is an eccentric individualism, rather than sectarianism, which is attacked.”
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 .
This verse describes immature Christians. They are like children who are easily influenced by false teachers. Paul compared such Christians to a boat blown about on the sea during a storm. The false teachers who try to influence believers are cunning and deceitful.
4:14a
Then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then is sometimes translated as:
in order that (Revised Standard Version)
This conjunction introduces another purpose of 4:11–12a. Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural for introducing a purpose in your language.
Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:
In order that
-or-
So that
-or-
The purpose is that
-or-
If we do that, then…
we will no longer be infants: The clause we will no longer be infants is a metaphor. It is a continuation of the figure of speech that Paul used in 4:13. It means “immature,” which is the opposite of “mature” in 4:13b. For example:
we will no longer be immature like children (New Living Translation (2004))
Another way to translate this is as a simile:
we will no longer be like children
4:14b–c
tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching: There are at least two issues you must consider as you translate 4:14b–c.
Issue 1—passives:
There are several passives in 4:14b–c. If it would be more natural in your language to use active clauses here, you could say:
The waves will no longer toss us about, and every wind of teaching will no longer carry us around.
Issue 2—metaphor:
4:14b–c contains another metaphor. Here Paul compared Christians to boats in the water. The New Century Version makes this explicit when it says:
We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. (New Century Version)
The waves and wind easily push boats off course. In the same way, cunning men easily deceive weak Christians and “push” them away from true doctrine.
In translating this metaphor, you have several possibilities:
• You may want to translate this as a simile:
⌊We will no longer be like boats⌋ that the waves toss back and forth and the wind blows here and there.
• You may want to translate the direct meaning of the metaphor. If you live in a place where boats and travelling on the water are unknown, people who read your translation may be confused by this figure of speech. If that is true, you may need to translate the meaning with no figure of speech:
14c Cunning men will no longer easily deceive us 14b to believe false teaching.
• Or you may need to use another figure of speech, for example:
We will no longer be like dry leaves that the wind blows around.
by every wind of teaching: The phrase by every wind of teaching means we will no longer be easily deceived “by every type of false teaching.” The word wind is part of the figure of speech that Paul used. The word teaching helps explain the meaning of this figure of speech. Wind easily blows a boat in different directions. In the same way, false teaching easily “blows off course” a weak Christian. That is, it easily causes a weak Christian to leave the truth and follow false teaching.
4:14d
by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming: The phrase by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming is also a passive. If it would be more natural in your language to translate this as an active clause, you could say:
Cunning and crafty men ⌊will no longer⌋ deceive us with their scheming.
clever cunning of men: The two words clever and cunning may be treated as a doublet. Together they add emphasis. Both words indicate men who “deceive” or who “trick” people. Some versions translate this phrase like this:
deceitful people (Good News Translation)
deceitful scheming: The phrase deceitful scheming refers to working in an underhanded, lying way. For example:
tricks (Good News Translation)
Paul used these words to emphasize his point. The meaning is similar to “clever” and “cunning.”
General Comment on 4:14b–c
The clever and cunning men in 4:14d are the ones who do the false teaching mentioned in 4:14c, so in some languages, it will be more natural to put 4:14d before 4:14b–c. For example:
14d Clever and cunning men ⌊will no longer be able to⌋ deceive us with their false teaching. 14b–c This teaching tries to toss us back and forth ⌊like boats⌋ on the waves or ⌊like boats⌋ blown here and there by the wind.
La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible et la Bible de Jérusalem commencent un nouveau paragraphe ici, mais il s’agit de propositions qui continuent la phrase entamée beaucoup plus haut. En fait, ce verset exprime d’une façon négative ce qui est exprimé positivement dans Éph. 4.13 : tout chrétien doit être mûr pour ne pas être dans l’erreur.
L’état d’adulte, décrit dans le verset précédent, est maintenant mis en contraste avec celui de l’enfant. Si 4.13 décrit les croyants qui deviennent mûrs et qui se développent vers la stature parfaite du Christ, ce verset décrit plutôt l’état d’enfants instables, qui sont par nature indécisifs et facilement trompés. Ce même contraste entre enfant et adulte apparaît ailleurs chez Paul. Voir, par exemple, 1 Cor 13.11 ; 3.1-2.
Ainsi, nous ne serons plus des enfants : cette proposition qui continue l’idée du Éph. 4.13, présente une proposition subordonnée introduite par la conjonction ἵνα hina, « pour que ». Mais plusieurs versions, comme la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, commencent une nouvelle phrase ici. D’autres commencent une nouvelle phrase sans conjonction de transition.
nous ne serons plus : il s’agit d’une négation forte : « pour que plus jamais nous soyons… »
enfants : ce mot ne désigne pas des bébés, mais des petits enfants entre trois et quatre ans. Ainsi la traduction de la Parole de Vie « bébés » ne semble pas correcte. Celle de la Nouvelle Bible Segond « tout-petits » semble mieux.
ballottés … menés à la dérive à tout vent de doctrine : Paul décrit le comportement des enfants en employant deux participes. Le premier, ballottés, veut dire « emportés par les vagues ». On imagine alors un bateau basculant à droite et à gauche entraîné par les vagues agitées. Le verbe ne se retrouve qu’ici dans le NT, mais il y a le substantif de la même racine en Jacques 1.6 où il se réfère à une vague. Le deuxième participe est le verbe « porter » : « porté par tout vent de doctrine ». Cette image évoque le même trait de caractère : une personne qui vacille facilement. Ici le croyant est faible et facilement tiré à droite ou à gauche. Les deux images parlent de l’instabilité et peut-être aussi de la naïveté de la personne.
Il s’agit ici d’une métaphore effilée ou étendue, puisque les mêmes images continuent. Paul parle de tout vent de doctrine. Il s’agit en fait de fausses doctrines qui peuvent bouleverser la foi des croyants. Le vent est souvent utilisé dans la Bible comme une image négative du néant ou des idées fausses. Le mot doctrine est tout simplement le nom « enseignement ». La Parole de Vie essaie d’expliciter cette comparaison frappante : « Nous ne ressemblerons plus à un petit bateau poussé dans tous les sens par les vagues de la mer. Nous ne serons plus emportés de tous les côtés par le vent des idées fausses ». Les idées et le langage de l’auteur sont assez clairs, et il appartient au traducteur de chercher les expressions dans sa langue pour exprimer ces idées fortes et imagées.
joués par les hommes et leur astuce à fourvoyer dans l’erreur : le grec dit littéralement « par la tromperie des hommes, par la ruse vers une manœuvre de déception ». joués dans la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible veut dire « trompés » (Bible en français courant). Il s’agit d’un nom grec qui ne se trouve qu’ici dans le NT. Il se réfère au jeu aux dés, d’où son sens figuré : « tromperie », « duperie » ou « fourberie ».
hommes est en grec ἄνθρωπος anthrôpos, se référant à tout être humain. Ces hommes s’opposent, en fait, aux personnes qui se confient en Dieu.
et leur astuce à fourvoyer dans l’erreur : la ruse ou l’astuce est un trait du serpent (2 Cor 11.3 ; voir aussi Luc 20.23). Le grec, « vers une manœuvre de déception », ainsi que la traduction de la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible s’avèrent difficile à comprendre. On peut parler de la ruse qui « entraîne les autres dans l’erreur » (Bible en français courant). On pourrait aussi dire « Nous ne serons plus trompés par des gens rusés qui essaient de nous induire en erreur ». Ce dernier mot, erreur, est utilisé ailleurs par Paul dans les contextes où les gens sont trompés ou séduits par de faux enseignements (Rom 1.27 ; 2 Thess 2.11).
Source: Zogbo, Lynell. La lettre aux Éphésiens – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2011.
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