Ephesians

11Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints, the ones being [in Ephesus] Many early versions do not includein Ephesus. and faithful in Christ Jesus. 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3Blessed {be} the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one having blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly {places} in Christ, 4just as he chose us in him from the foundation of the world, {for} us to be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely given us in the Beloved One, 7in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of the trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he caused to abound to us in all wisdom and understanding. 9He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he had planned in him, 10with a view to an administration of the fullness of time, to bring all the things together in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on earth, in him, 11in whom we were also allotted as a possession. We were predestined according to the purpose of the one working out everything according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we, the ones having first hoped in Christ, would be for the praise of his glory. 13In him, you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and having believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a down payment of our inheritance until the redemption of the full possession, to the praise of his glory.

15Because of this, I also, having heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and the love Some manuscripts do not includelove, but the best manuscripts include it. for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, making mention {of you} in my prayers, 17so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, would give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, 18the eyes of your heart having been enlightened {for} you to know what is the hope of his calling {and} what {are} the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19and what {is} the incomparable greatness of his power toward us, the ones believing, according to the working of the force of his strength, 20which he worked in Christ, having raised him from the dead and seated {him} at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name being named, not only in this age, but also in the one coming. 22And he put all things under his feet and gave him {as} head over all things to the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of the one filling all in all.

21And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authorities of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, 3in which we all also once lived in the evil desires of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the body and of the minds. And we were by nature children of wrath, as also the rest. 4But God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, 5and we being dead in the trespasses, he made us alive together in Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with {him} and seated us with {him} in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages that are coming he might show the immeasurably great riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this {is} not from yourselves; {it is} the gift of God, 9not from works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand, so that we would walk in them.

11Therefore, remember that once you {were} Gentiles in the flesh, the ones being called “uncircumcised” by the ones being called “circumcised” in the flesh, performed by human hands. 12For at that time you were apart from Christ, excluded from the community of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you, the ones once being far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For he himself is our peace, the one having made the two one and destroyed in his flesh the middle wall of partition, the hostility. 15He abolished the law of the commandments in regulations so that he might make the two into one new man in himself, making peace, 16and so that he might reconcile both to God as one body through the cross, putting to death the hostility in it. 17And he came {and} proclaimed peace to you, the ones far away and peace to the ones near, 18for through him both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then, you are no longer strangers and foreigners. Instead, you are fellow citizens with the saints and {members} of the household of God, 20having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole building, being fit together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.

31For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, 2if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God that was given to me for you, 3according to a revelation made known to me, the mystery about which I already wrote in brief. 4Concerning that, reading {it}, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men as it now has been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets— 6that the Gentiles are to be fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7for which I became a servant by the gift of the grace of God that was given to me through the working of his power. 8To me—the least of all the saints—this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to reveal for everyone what {is} the administration of the mystery that was hidden from the ages in God, the one having created all things, 10so that now through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and to the authorities in the heavenly places, 11according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. 13Therefore, I ask you not to be discouraged by my sufferings for you, which is your glory.

14For this reason I bend my knees to the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16so that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, 17that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, being rooted and grounded in love, 18so that you may be fully able to comprehend, along with all the saints, what {is} the width and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ surpassing knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20And to the one being able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that is working in us, 21to him {be} the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever {and} ever. Amen.

41Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthily of the calling by which you were called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3doing your best to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4{There is} one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, the one over all and through all and in all. 7And to each one of us this grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8Therefore it says:

“Having ascended to the heights,

he led captives into captivity,

{and} he gave gifts to men.”

9And this “He ascended,” what is it except that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth? 10The one having descended is also himself the one having ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things. 11And he himself gave the apostles, and the prophets, and the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of serving, for building up of the body of Christ, 13until we all reach to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children tossed back and forth by the waves and carried away by every wind of teaching through the trickery of men in cleverness for deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking truth in love, let us grow up in all things into him who is the head, {even} Christ, 16from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by every supporting ligament, according to the working in measure of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for building up itself in love.

17Therefore, I say this and strongly urge you in the Lord, to walk no longer as the Gentiles also walk, in futility of their minds. 18They have been darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their hearts. 19They, being dead to all feeling, handed themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20But you did not thus learn about Christ, 21if indeed you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. 22You are to put aside {what} belongs to your former manner of life, the old man being corrupted according to {its} deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new man {that is} according to God—having been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

25Therefore, putting aside the lying, let each of you speak truth with his neighbor, because we are members of one another. 26Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your indignation, 27nor give an opportunity to the devil. 28The thief must steal no longer. But rather, he must labor, working good with his hands, so that he may have something to share with the ones having need. 29Do not let any corrupt talk come out from your mouth, but whatever {is} good for building up of the {one in} need, so that it might give grace to the hearers, 30and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, and rage, and anger, and quarreling, and insults be removed from yourselves, along with all malice. 32Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

51Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2and walk in love, as also Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a fragrant aroma.

3But sexual immorality and every impurity or greed must not even be named among you, just as is proper for saints, 4and filthiness and foolish talk or crude jokes—which are not fitting—but instead, thanksgiving. 5Indeed, know this for certain, that every sexually immoral or unclean or greedy {person}—that is, an idolater—has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore, do not become partners with them, 8because formerly you were darkness, but now {are} light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10carefully testing what is pleasing to the Lord. 11And do not take part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even expose {them}. 12For it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light is revealed, for everything that is revealed is light. 14Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

15Watch carefully, therefore, how you walk—not as unwise but as wise, 16redeeming the time because the days are evil. 17Because of this, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord {is}. 18And do not get drunk with wine, in which is recklessness. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and singing psalms in your heart to the Lord, 20giving thanks always for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father, 21submitting yourselves to one another in reverence for Christ—

22wives, to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For a husband is the head of the wife as Christ also {is} the head of the church—he himself {is} the savior of the body. 24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also {are} wives to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word, 27so that he might present the church to himself as glorious, not having stain or wrinkle or any of those things, but so that she might be holy and blameless. 28In the same way, the husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. The one loving his own wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and treats it with care, just as Christ also {does} the church, 30because we are members of his body. 31“Because of this a man will leave his father and his mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32This mystery is great—but I am speaking about Christ and about the church. 33Nevertheless, you also—each one of you—must love his own wife in this way—as himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

61Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is righteous. 2“Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3“so that it may be well with you and you may be long-lived on the earth.” 4And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger. Instead, raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

5Slaves, obey your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling, in honesty of your heart, as to Christ, 6not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul, 7serving with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men, 8knowing that each person, if he does something good, this he will receive from the Lord, whether slave or free.

9And masters, do the same to them. Stop using threats. You know that the Master, both theirs and yours, is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the force of his strength. 11Put on the whole armor of God, to enable you to stand against the scheming of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-controllers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly {places}. 13Because of this, put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done everything, to stand. 14Stand, therefore, having girded up your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with readiness of the gospel of peace. 16In everything take up the shield of the faith, by which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit. And to this {end}, be watchful with all perseverance and requests for all the saints, 19and for me, so that a message might be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel 20(for which I am an ambassador in chains), so that in it I may speak boldly, as it is necessary for me to speak.

21But so that you also may know the things concerning me, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make known to you everything, 22whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, so that you may know the things about us and your hearts may be encouraged.

23Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace {be} with all the ones loving our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptibility.