Efesus 6:21-24

Farewell Comments

6:21 Tychicus, my ¹  dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, ²  how I am doing. 6:22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances ³  and that he may encourage your hearts.

6:23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, ⁴  and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 6:24 Grace be ⁵  with all of those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. ⁶ 

[6:21]  ¹ tn Grk “the.” The Greek article ὁ (Jo) was translated with the possessive pronoun, “my.” See ExSyn 215.

[6:21]  ² tn Grk “the things according to me.”

[6:22]  ³ tn Grk “the things concerning us.”

[6:23]  ⁴ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[6:24]  ⁵ tn Or “is.”

[6:24]  ⁶ tc Most witnesses (א² D Ψ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of the letter. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. The earliest and best witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B F G 0278 6 33 81 1175 1241 1739* 1881 sa) lack the particle, giving firm evidence that Ephesians did not originally conclude with ἀμήν.

[6:24]  tn Grk “without corruption.” The term “love” is not found at the end of the sentence, but is supplied to clarify the sense in English. The term “undying” which modifies it captures the sense of the kind of love the author is referring to here. He is saying that God’s grace will be with those whose love for Jesus never ceases.