Ephesians 5
Imitate God as beloved children — Christ handed himself over for us, an offering and sacrifice, a fragrance of sweet aroma. Let sexual immorality, uncleanness and greed not even be named — such a one is an idolater without inheritance. Be not deceived by empty words. You were the dark; now you are light — walk as children of light, expose the fruitless works; everything manifested is light. ‘Rise, sleeper, and Christ will shine on you.’ Walk accurately, buy out the time, understand the Lord’s will. Not drunk with wine but filled in the Spirit — psalms, hymns, songs to one another, thanksgiving, subjection to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives to husbands as to the Lord — the husband head of the wife as Christ of the assembly; husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the assembly, handing himself over to sanctify her with the washing of water and present her without spot or wrinkle. No one hates his own flesh. ‘The two will be one flesh’ — a great mystery, spoken of Christ and the assembly.
Why this rendering
Eph.5.1 Observation
Syntactic observation
γίνεσθε οὖν μιμηταὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς τέκνα ἀγαπητά, καὶ περιπατεῖτε ἐν ἀγάπῃ, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς καὶ παρέδωκεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν τῷ θεῷ εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας. Πορνεία δὲ καὶ ἀκαθαρσία πᾶσα ἢ πλεονεξία μηδὲ ὀνομαζέσθω ἐν ὑμῖν … καὶ αἰσχρότης καὶ μωρολογία ἢ εὐτραπελία … πᾶς πόρνος ἢ ἀκάθαρτος ἢ πλεονέκτης, ὅ ἐστιν εἰδωλολάτρης, οὐκ ἔχει κληρονομίαν — Become therefore imitators of God, as beloved children … just as also the Christ loved us and handed himself over for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a fragrance of sweet aroma. But sexual immorality and all uncleanness or greed — let it not even be named among you … shamefulness and foolish talk or jesting … every sexually immoral or unclean or greedy person — which is an idolater — has no inheritance. ‘Imitators of God’ is a phrase found only here in the New Testament (μιμητής at 1 Cor 4:16 is ‘imitators of me’). 4:32 ἐχαρίσατο (God) → 5:1 ‘imitate’ → 5:2 ἠγάπησεν … παρέδωκεν (Christ) — 4:32-5:2 is one movement. προσφορά (offering, Acts 21:26) · θυσία (sacrifice, Rom 12:1) · ὀσμὴ εὐωδίας (2 Cor 2:14-15 fragrance · sweet aroma — the phrase of Gen 8:21) — four words of the altar. The three nouns of v.3 (sexual immorality · uncleanness · greed) become three persons in v.5 (the sexually immoral · the unclean · the greedy); ὅ ἐστιν is neuter — ‘which is’. The three words of v.4 all occur once in the New Testament — αἰσχρότης · μωρολογία (μωρός foolish + λόγος word) · εὐτραπελία. ὀνομάζω is ‘be named’ (1:21, 3:15). ἴστε γινώσκοντες stacks two verbs of knowing in a Hebrew frame. ⸀ἡμᾶς · ⸀ἡμῶν (v.2 — the Received Text ὑμᾶς · ὑμῶν) · ⸂ἀκαθαρσία πᾶσα⸃ · ⸂ἃ οὐκ ἀνῆκεν⸃ · ⸀ἴστε (the Received Text ἐστε) · ⸀ὅ (the Received Text ὅς).
Rendering options · 3
Basis Acts 21:26 προσφορά ‘offering’ · Rom 12:1 θυσία ‘sacrifice’ as fixed — not merged.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected Two words become one.
Basis The stacking of οἶδα and γινώσκω is not reduced to one — ‘you know, knowing’.
Lost in translation
Three nouns (v.3) → three persons (v.5) — ‘sexual immorality / the sexually immoral · uncleanness / unclean · greed / greedy’ keep the roots.
ἴστε γινώσκοντες — ‘you know, knowing’ keeps both verbs.
The μωρός + λόγος of μωρολογία — ‘foolish talk’ carries both.
The neuter ὅ ἐστιν — ‘which is’ leaves open whether it takes all three or the last.
Why this rendering
Eph.5.6 Observation
Syntactic observation
Μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς ἀπατάτω κενοῖς λόγοις … ἦτε γάρ ποτε σκότος, νῦν δὲ φῶς ἐν κυρίῳ· ὡς τέκνα φωτὸς περιπατεῖτε, ὁ γὰρ καρπὸς τοῦ φωτὸς … δοκιμάζοντες τί ἐστιν εὐάρεστον τῷ κυρίῳ· καὶ μὴ συγκοινωνεῖτε τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς ἀκάρποις τοῦ σκότους, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐλέγχετε, τὰ γὰρ κρυφῇ γινόμενα … τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐλεγχόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς φανεροῦται, πᾶν γὰρ τὸ φανερούμενον φῶς ἐστιν. διὸ λέγει· Ἔγειρε, ὁ καθεύδων, καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός — Let no one deceive you with empty words … for you were once the dark, but now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light … judging what is well-pleasing to the Lord; and do not share in the fruitless works of the dark, but rather even expose them … all things, being exposed by the light, are manifested; for everything that is manifested is light. Therefore it says: ‘Rise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and the Christ will shine upon you.’ Verse 8 says not ‘you were in the dark’ but ‘you were the dark’ — ἦτε σκότος · ‘are light’. σκότος is the ‘dark’ of Matt 6:23 (kept apart from σκοτία ‘darkness’); φῶς five times in vv.8-14. καρπὸς τοῦ φωτός carries ⸀ — the Received Text ‘fruit of the Spirit’ (the phrase of Gal 5:22). ἐλέγχω is John 3:20 ‘expose’ — imperative in v.11, passive in v.13 — not ‘rebuke’. φανερόω twice (vv.13, 14) — in v.14 φανερούμενον may be middle (manifests) or passive (is manifested); this edition takes the passive. The quotation of v.14 is a song not in scripture — the subject of λέγει is not supplied; ἔγειρε · ἀνάστα are two verbs (rise · rise — Korean and English make them one); ἐπιφαύσκω occurs once in the New Testament. The ὑπό of ὑπὸ τοῦ φωτός marks the agent, ‘by the light’. In v.6 υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας is the phrase of 2:2; in v.7 συμμέτοχοι is the word of 3:6.
Rendering options · 3
Basis ἦτε σκότος is not ‘you were in darkness’ — the people are the dark and are light.
Basis The familiar gloss.
Rejected It turns predicates into locations and gives σκότος the word of σκοτία.
Basis As fixed at John 3:20, 8:46, 16:8 — ‘rebuke’ would not work with ‘exposed by the light’ in v.13.
Lost in translation
ἔγειρε / ἀνάστα — ‘rise / rise’: two verbs become one.
φῶς ×5 · σκότος ×2 — ‘light / the dark’ carry all seven.
ἐλέγχετε / ἐλεγχόμενα · φανεροῦται / φανερούμενον — two verbs, each in two voices, kept apart.
φανερούμενον, middle or passive — closed to ‘is manifested’.
Why this rendering
Eph.5.15 Observation
Syntactic observation
Βλέπετε οὖν ἀκριβῶς πῶς περιπατεῖτε, μὴ ὡς ἄσοφοι ἀλλ’ ὡς σοφοί, ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τὸν καιρόν, ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσιν … μὴ γίνεσθε ἄφρονες, ἀλλὰ συνίετε τί τὸ θέλημα τοῦ κυρίου· καὶ μὴ μεθύσκεσθε οἴνῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία, ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι, λαλοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς ψαλμοῖς καὶ ὕμνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς, ᾄδοντες καὶ ψάλλοντες τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν τῷ κυρίῳ, εὐχαριστοῦντες πάντοτε … ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλοις ἐν φόβῳ Χριστοῦ — See then accurately how you walk — not as unwise but as wise, buying out the time, because the days are evil … do not become fools, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, in which is wastefulness, but be filled in the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, chanting and singing with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always … being subject to one another in the fear of Christ. ἐξαγοράζω is the verb of Gal 3:13 ‘buy out’ — here the time (two places, with Col 4:5); not ‘make the most of’. ἄσοφος occurs once in the New Testament — the negative of σοφός. Three pairs — unwise / wise · fools / understand · get drunk / be filled. Verse 19 has three nouns of song (ψαλμός · ὕμνος · ᾠδή) and two verbs (ᾄδω · ψάλλω) — ψάλλω is Rom 15:9 ‘sing’, ᾄδω ‘chant’. Verses 18-21 hang five participles on one imperative (πληροῦσθε) — λαλοῦντες · ᾄδοντες · ψάλλοντες · εὐχαριστοῦντες · ὑποτασσόμενοι; this edition keeps the participles as participles, and v.22 hangs verbless on the last of them. ⸂ἀκριβῶς πῶς⸃ · ⸀συνίετε (the Received Text a participle) · ⸀ἑαυτοῖς (the Received Text ἐν ἑαυτοῖς) · ⸀ψάλλοντες (the Received Text ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ).
Rendering options · 3
Basis One word, one rendering — the verb that bought us out of the curse buys out the time; the market is not erased by ‘make the most of’.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected It cuts Gal 3:13, 4:5 and loses the buying.
Basis Rom 15:9 ψάλλω ‘sing’ as fixed; ᾄδω ‘chant’ keeps the two apart.
Lost in translation
ἄσοφοι / σοφοί — ‘unwise / wise’ keep the pair.
μεθύσκεσθε / πληροῦσθε — ‘get drunk / be filled’: two passive imperatives set against each other.
Five participles on one imperative — English keeps them participles.
ἀσωτία ↔ ἀσώτως (Luke 15:13) — ‘wastefulness / wastefully’ keep the root.
Why this rendering
Eph.5.22 Observation
Syntactic observation
Αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ, ὅτι ἀνήρ ἐστιν κεφαλὴ τῆς γυναικὸς ὡς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς κεφαλὴ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, αὐτὸς σωτὴρ τοῦ σώματος … Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ἑαυτὸν παρέδωκεν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς, ἵνα αὐτὴν ἁγιάσῃ καθαρίσας τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν ῥήματι, ἵνα παραστήσῃ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἔνδοξον τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, μὴ ἔχουσαν σπίλον ἢ ῥυτίδα … ἀλλ’ ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος — Wives, to your own husbands, as to the Lord, because a husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ is head of the assembly — he himself the saviour of the body … Husbands, love your wives, just as also the Christ loved the assembly and handed himself over for her, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her with the washing of the water in the word, so that he might present to himself the assembly glorious, not having spot or wrinkle … but that she might be holy and blameless. Verse 22 has no verb in the base text — it hangs on ὑποτασσόμενοι of v.21 (⸀ — the Received Text adds ὑποτάσσεσθε); this edition also leaves it verbless. γυνή is ‘woman / wife’, ἀνήρ ‘man / husband’ — one word, two places (4:13 ‘a complete man’, here ‘husband’). κεφαλή is the ‘head’ of 1:22, 4:15 — the frame of 1 Cor 11:3. σωτήρ is the ‘saviour’ of Luke 2:11 — the first place in Paul’s letters where it is said of Christ (with Phil 3:20). Three ἵνα in vv.25-27 — sanctify · present · holy and blameless. λουτρόν (two places, with Titus 3:5) is washing; ἐν ῥήματι, ‘in the word’ — what it attaches to the text leaves open. σπίλος (two places, with 2 Pet 2:13) · ῥυτίς (once in the New Testament). ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος is the pair of 1:4 ‘holy and blameless’. ⸀ἀνδράσιν · ⸀αὐτός (v.23) · ⸀ὡς · ⸀τοῖς (v.24) · ⸀γυναῖκας (v.25) · ⸀αὐτός (v.27 — the Received Text αὐτήν).
Rendering options · 3
Basis The base text has no verb — it hangs on v.21 ‘being subject to one another’; the Received Text’s ‘submit’ is not supplied.
Basis The Received Text’s reading.
Rejected Not the base text, and the tie to v.21 ‘to one another’ is cut.
Basis ‘Washing by the word’ would close the attachment; the text’s order is kept.
Lost in translation
The verbless v.22 — kept verbless.
γυνή / ἀνήρ — ‘woman·wife / man·husband’: one word, two renderings by place.
ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος ↔ 1:4 — ‘holy and blameless’ in the same words.
The attachment of ἐν ῥήματι — left open by keeping its place.
Why this rendering
Eph.5.28 Observation
Syntactic observation
οὕτως ὀφείλουσιν καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες ἀγαπᾶν τὰς ἑαυτῶν γυναῖκας ὡς τὰ ἑαυτῶν σώματα· ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἑαυτὸν ἀγαπᾷ, οὐδεὶς γάρ ποτε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα ἐμίσησεν, ἀλλὰ ἐκτρέφει καὶ θάλπει αὐτήν … ὅτι μέλη ἐσμὲν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ. ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ προσκολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν. τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. πλὴν καὶ ὑμεῖς οἱ καθ’ ἕνα ἕκαστος … ἡ δὲ γυνὴ ἵνα φοβῆται τὸν ἄνδρα — husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies … no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it … because we are members of his body. ‘For this a man will leave father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will be one flesh.’ This mystery is great; but I speak of Christ and of the assembly. However, you also, one by one, each … and the wife, that she fear the husband. ἑαυτοῦ four times in v.28 — own wives · own bodies · own wife · himself. σῶμα (body) and σάρξ (flesh) are kept apart in vv.28-31 — ‘one flesh’ is σάρκα μίαν (Matt 19:5, Mark 10:8, 1 Cor 6:16 as fixed). Verse 31 is Gen 2:24 — Matt 19:5 has ἕνεκα τούτου, here ἀντὶ τούτου, a different preposition; the quotation carries four ⸀ (the Received Text ‘his father · his mother’ · ‘to his wife’ with πρός). ἐκτρέφω (two places, with 6:4 — nourish) · θάλπω (two places, with 1 Thess 2:7 — cherish). λέγω εἰς is ‘speak of’. In v.33 ἵνα φοβῆται stands for an imperative without a verb — ‘that she fear’; φοβέομαι shares its root with φόβος of v.21. ⸀καί (v.28) · ⸀Χριστός (v.29 — the Received Text κύριος) · ⸀αὐτοῦ (v.30 — the Received Text adds ‘of his flesh and of his bones’).
Rendering options · 3
Basis The opening of the Gen 2:24 quotation differs from Matt 19:5, Mark 10:7 (ἕνεκα τούτου) — not levelled.
Basis Matching the gospel quotations.
Rejected ἀντί and ἕνεκα would become one word.
Basis The text has only ἵνα with no main verb — not filled as ‘let her respect’; φοβέομαι shares the root of φόβος (v.21) and is not softened to ‘respect’.
Lost in translation
σῶμα / σάρξ — ‘body / flesh’ stay apart in vv.28-29.
σάρκα μίαν (v.31) — ‘one flesh’ keeps σάρξ.
ἀντὶ τούτου ↔ ἕνεκα τούτου (Matt 19:5) — ‘For this / For this reason’ stay apart.
φοβῆται / φόβος (v.21) — ‘fear / fear’ keep the root.