Ephesians 4
The prisoner in the Lord exhorts: walk worthily of the calling — lowliness, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Grace was given to each — he went up on high and took captivity captive; he who went down is he who went up above all the heavens. He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers — for the making complete of the holy ones, the building of the body, until a complete man; no longer infants tossed by waves and wind but a body growing into the head, Christ. Do not walk as the nations in the futility of the mind — throw off the old man, be made new in the spirit of the mind, put on the new man. Throw off the lie and speak truth; be angry and do not sin; give the slanderer no place; labour instead of stealing; build with words instead of rotting them; do not grieve the Holy Spirit; take away bitterness, rage and wrath — be good to one another, compassionate, showing grace as God in Christ showed grace.
Why this rendering
Eph.4.1 Observation
Syntactic observation
Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε … ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων ἐν ἀγάπῃ, σπουδάζοντες τηρεῖν τὴν ἑνότητα τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης· ἓν σῶμα καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα … εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα· εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν — I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called … being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit … one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε — calling and called on one root (1:18 κλῆσις). Seven ‘one’s in vv.4-6 — ἕν (body, Spirit, baptism) · μία (hope, faith) · εἷς (Lord, God) — three genders, one word in Korean and English. πάντων may be masculine or neuter (all people / all things) — ‘all’ keeps it open. σύνδεσμος is the word of Acts 8:23 ‘the bond of unrighteousness’ — here of peace. ἑνότης occurs in the New Testament only in this chapter, twice (vv.3, 13). ⸀πᾶσιν (the Received Text ‘in you all’).
Rendering options · 3
Basis ‘All’ carries both the masculine (all people) and the neuter (all things).
Basis The neuter closing.
Rejected It decides a gender the text does not.
Basis The word of ‘the bond of unrighteousness’; English keeps ‘bond’ for both.
Lost in translation
ἕν · μία · εἷς — three genders of ‘one’ become one word.
κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε — ‘calling … called’ keep the root.
σύνδεσμος (4:3) ↔ Acts 8:23 — one ‘bond’.
The gender of πάντων — ‘all’ keeps it open.
Why this rendering
Eph.4.7 Observation
Syntactic observation
Ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ. διὸ λέγει· Ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔδωκεν δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. τὸ δὲ Ἀνέβη τί ἐστιν εἰ μὴ ὅτι καὶ κατέβη εἰς τὰ κατώτερα μέρη τῆς γῆς; ὁ καταβὰς αὐτός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν … καὶ αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν τοὺς μὲν ἀποστόλους … πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων … μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα … εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ — to each one of us the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of the Christ. Therefore it says: ‘Having gone up on high he took captivity captive; he gave gifts to men.’ Now the ‘he went up’ — what is it, except that he also went down into the lower parts of the earth? He who went down is himself also he who went up far above all the heavens … for the making complete of the holy ones … at a complete man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ. Verse 8 is Psalm 68:18 — the Psalm has ‘you received’ (ἔλαβες), the letter ‘he gave’ (ἔδωκεν); the subject of λέγει is not supplied. ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν — two on one root (took captivity captive). ἀναβαίνω / καταβαίνω four times in vv.8-10 — went up / went down. The genitive of τὰ κατώτερα μέρη τῆς γῆς — ‘the lower parts of the earth’ or ‘the lower parts, the earth’ — the text does not decide. Three words of gift — δωρεά (v.7) · δόμα (v.8, Matt 7:11) · δῶρον (2:8) — all ‘gift’ (a recorded loss). In v.11 τοὺς μέν … τοὺς δέ four times — shepherds and teachers under one article. καταρτισμός occurs once in the New Testament — the noun of καταρτίζω (6:1 ‘make complete’). ἀνὴρ τέλειος is ἀνήρ (man, male), not ἄνθρωπος — against νήπιοι (infants) in v.14. ἡλικία is Luke 19:3 ‘stature’. ⸀ἡ (v.7) · ⸀ἔδωκεν · ⸀κατέβη (the Received Text adds ‘first’).
Rendering options · 3
Basis On the root fixed at Luke 21:24, Rom 7:23 ‘take captive’ — not ‘led a host of captives’.
Basis The familiar gloss.
Rejected The echo of verb and noun is lost.
Basis ‘A complete person’ would merge with ἄνθρωπος (vv.22, 24 old man · new man); the text uses the word for an adult male against ‘infants’ (v.14).
Lost in translation
ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν — ‘took captivity captive’ keeps the root.
δωρεά · δόμα · δῶρον (2:8) — one ‘gift’ covers three words.
ἀνέβη / κατέβη ×4 — ‘went up / went down’ carry all four.
ἀνήρ (v.13) / ἄνθρωπος (vv.22, 24) — ‘man / man’: English cannot divide them.
Why this rendering
Eph.4.14 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι, κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης, ἀληθεύοντες δὲ ἐν ἀγάπῃ αὐξήσωμεν εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλή, Χριστός, ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας κατ’ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ — so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of the teaching, in the dice-play of men, in craftiness toward the scheme of deception; but speaking the truth in love, let us grow into him in all things, who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted together and knit together through every joint of the supply, according to the working in the measure of each single part, makes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Verse 14 draws from the sea and the gaming table — κλυδωνίζομαι (waves, once in the New Testament) · περιφέρω (2 Cor 4:10 ‘carry about’ — here passive) · κυβεία (dice, once) · πανουργία (Luke 20:23 craftiness) · μεθοδεία (two places, with 6:11 — scheme). ἀληθεύω is Gal 4:16 ‘speak the truth’. In v.16 the συναρμολογέομαι of 2:21 returns with συμβιβάζω beside it (Acts 9:22 ‘prove’ — here ‘knit together’) · ἁφή (two places with Col 2:19 — joint) · ἐπιχορηγία (two places with Phil 1:19 — the noun of Gal 3:5 ‘supply’) · αὔξησις (two places with Col 2:19 — growth) · αὐξήσωμεν (v.15) / αὔξησιν (v.16) one root. The body ‘builds up itself’ — οἰκοδομή (vv.12, 16). ⸀Χριστός (v.15 — the Received Text ὁ Χριστός).
Rendering options · 3
Basis A word from the die — ‘trickery’ would lose the picture and overlap πλάνη (deception).
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected Two words of deception in one verse become one.
Basis συναρμολογέομαι as at 2:21; συμβιβάζω, ‘prove’ at Acts 9:22, takes the body’s sense here (site-bound).
Lost in translation
αὐξήσωμεν / αὔξησιν — ‘grow / growth’ keep the root.
The dice of κυβεία — ‘dice-play’ keeps the picture.
ἐπιχορηγία ↔ ἐπιχορηγέω (Gal 3:5) — ‘supply / supply’ keep the root.
συμβιβάζω (v.16) ↔ Acts 9:22 — ‘knit together / prove’ diverge.
Why this rendering
Eph.4.17 Observation
Syntactic observation
μηκέτι ὑμᾶς περιπατεῖν καθὼς καὶ τὰ ἔθνη περιπατεῖ ἐν ματαιότητι τοῦ νοὸς αὐτῶν, ἐσκοτωμένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ ὄντες, ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ θεοῦ … οἵτινες ἀπηλγηκότες ἑαυτοὺς παρέδωκαν τῇ ἀσελγείᾳ … ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἐμάθετε τὸν Χριστόν … ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς … τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης, ἀνανεοῦσθαι δὲ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ νοὸς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐνδύσασθαι τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν κατὰ θεὸν κτισθέντα ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ὁσιότητι τῆς ἀληθείας — that you no longer walk as the nations also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their mind, estranged from the life of God … who, being past feeling, handed themselves over to indecency … But you did not so learn the Christ … that you throw off … the old man which is being corrupted according to the desires of deceit, and be made new in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth. νοῦς (vv.17, 23) and διάνοια (v.18) stand side by side, and both arrive as ‘mind’ (a recorded loss). ἐσκοτωμένοι carries ⸀ (the Received Text has the form of σκοτίζομαι — the verb of Rom 1:21 ‘was darkened’); the base text has σκοτόομαι. ἀπαλγέω occurs once in the New Testament — ‘be past feeling’. Three infinitives in vv.22-24 — ἀποθέσθαι (throw off, Rom 13:12) · ἀνανεοῦσθαι (be made new, once in the New Testament — a different word from 2 Cor 4:16 ἀνακαινόω ‘be renewed’) · ἐνδύσασθαι (put on) — the picture of clothing. παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος (Rom 6:6 the old man) ↔ καινός ἄνθρωπος (2:15 the new man). φθείρω is 1 Cor 3:17 ‘corrupt’ — here ‘being corrupted’. ἀπάτη is the word of Mark 4:19 ‘the deceit of riches’ — πλάνη in v.14 is ‘deception’ (in Korean both 속임, a recorded loss). ὁσιότης — two places, with Luke 1:75 ‘holiness’. ⸀τά (v.17).
Rendering options · 3
Basis A verb on νέος against a verb on καινός — ‘be made new / be renewed’ keep them a word apart.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected It merges with ἀνακαινόω of 2 Cor 4:16.
Basis ‘feel pain’ with ἀπο- — ‘callous’ would lose the pain.
Lost in translation
νοῦς / διάνοια — ‘mind / mind’: two words become one.
παλαιὸς / καινός ἄνθρωπος — ‘old man / new man’ run to Rom 6:6 and 2:15.
ἀπάτη / πλάνη — ‘deceit / deception’ keep two words.
ἀνανεόω ↔ ἀνακαινόω (2 Cor 4:16) — ‘be made new / be renewed’ stay apart.
Why this rendering
Eph.4.25 Observation
Syntactic observation
Διὸ ἀποθέμενοι τὸ ψεῦδος λαλεῖτε ἀλήθειαν ἕκαστος μετὰ τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐσμὲν ἀλλήλων μέλη. ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε· ὁ ἥλιος μὴ ἐπιδυέτω ἐπὶ παροργισμῷ ὑμῶν, μηδὲ δίδοτε τόπον τῷ διαβόλῳ … πᾶς λόγος σαπρὸς … πᾶσα πικρία καὶ θυμὸς καὶ ὀργὴ καὶ κραυγὴ καὶ βλασφημία ἀρθήτω ἀφ’ ὑμῶν σὺν πάσῃ κακίᾳ. γίνεσθε εἰς ἀλλήλους χρηστοί, εὔσπλαγχνοι, χαριζόμενοι ἑαυτοῖς καθὼς καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν Χριστῷ ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν — having thrown off the lie, speak truth each one with his neighbour, because we are members of one another. Be angry, and do not sin; let not the sun go down on your provoked anger, nor give place to the slanderer … no rotten word … Let all bitterness and rage and wrath and cry and blasphemy be taken away from you, with all wickedness. Become good to one another, compassionate, showing grace to one another, just as also God in Christ showed grace to you. Verse 25 λαλεῖτε ἀλήθειαν is Zech 8:16; v.26 ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε is Psalm 4:4 — two imperatives (be angry · do not sin); παροργισμός (once in the New Testament) is the noun of ὀργίζομαι (Matt 5:22 ‘be angry’). ἐπιδύω also once — the sun ‘goes down’. διάβολος is ‘slanderer’ (as fixed at Matt 4:1 — not transliterated). Five in v.31 — πικρία (Rom 3:14 bitterness) · θυμός (rage) · ὀργή (wrath) · κραυγή (cry) · βλασφημία (blasphemy) — rage and wrath kept two as at Gal 5:20, Rom 2:8. χρηστός (Luke 6:35 good) · εὔσπλαγχνος (two places with 1 Pet 3:8 — the adjective of σπλαγχνίζομαι, be moved with compassion) · χαρίζομαι twice (2 Cor 2:7 ‘show grace’ — to a person) — in v.32 what people do and what God did are one verb. ⸀γίνεσθε (the Received Text γίνεσθε δέ) · ⸀ὑμῖν (the Received Text ἡμῖν).
Rendering options · 3
Basis The two imperatives of Psalm 4:4 are not turned into ‘if you are angry’; ὀργίζομαι ‘be angry’ as fixed at Matt 5:22.
Basis The familiar gloss.
Rejected It makes the first imperative a condition; the text has two imperatives.
Basis As fixed at Matt 4:1, John 6:70 — a Greek word from διαβάλλω (Luke 16:1).
Lost in translation
ὀργίζεσθε / παροργισμῷ — ‘be angry / provoked anger’ keep the root.
θυμός / ὀργή — ‘rage / wrath’, two.
χαριζόμενοι / ἐχαρίσατο — ‘showing grace / showed grace’, one verb.
The σπλάγχνα (bowels) in εὔσπλαγχνος — ‘compassionate’ keeps no organ.