Efesus 6:16-17

6:16 and in all of this, ¹  by taking up the shield ²  of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation ³  and the sword ⁴  of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

[6:16]  ¹ tn Grk “in everything.”

[6:16]  ² sn The Greek word translated shield (θυρεός, qureos) refers to the Roman soldier’s large rectangular wooden shield, called in Latin scutum, about 4 ft (1.2 m) high, covered with leather on the outside. Before a battle in which flaming arrows might be shot at them, the soldiers wet the leather covering with water to extinguish the arrows. The Roman legionaries could close ranks with these shields, the first row holding theirs edge to edge in front, and the rows behind holding the shields above their heads. In this formation they were practically invulnerable to arrows, rocks, and even spears.

[6:17]  ³ sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.

[6:17]  ⁴ sn The Greek term translated sword (μάχαιρα, macaira) refers to the Roman gladius, a short sword about 2 ft (60 cm) long, used for close hand-to-hand combat. This is the only clearly offensive weapon in the list of armor mentioned by the author (he does not, for example, mention the lance [Latin pilum]).