Efesus 2:1

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ¹  dead ²  in your transgressions and sins,

Efesus 3:4

3:4 When reading this, ³  you will be able to ⁴  understand my insight into this secret ⁵  of Christ.

Efesus 4:3

4:3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Efesus 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ⁶  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Efesus 5:17

5:17 For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise ⁷  by understanding ⁸  what the Lord’s will is.

Efesus 6:11

6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes ⁹  of the devil.

Efesus 6:15

6:15 by fitting your ¹⁰  feet with the preparation that comes from the good news ¹¹  of peace, ¹² 

Efesus 6:17

6:17 And take the helmet of salvation ¹³  and the sword ¹⁴  of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

[2:1]  ¹ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ² sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[3:4]  ³ tn Grk “which, when reading.”

[3:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “you are able to.”

[3:4]  ⁵ tn Or “mystery.”

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Or “become.”

[5:17]  ⁷ tn “become wise by understanding”; Grk “understanding.” The imperative “be wise” is apparently implied by the construction of vv. 15-21. See the following text-critical note for discussion.

[5:17]  ⁸ tc ‡ The best witnesses read the imperative here (so Ì⁴⁶ א A B P 0278 33 81 1739 pc). The participle is found primarily in the Western and Byzantine texttypes (D² Ψ 1881 Ï latt [D* F G are slightly different, but support the participial reading]). But the participle is superior on internal grounds: The structure of v. 17 almost requires an imperative after ἀλλά (alla), for this gives balance to the clause: “Do not become foolish, but understand…” If the participle is original, it may be imperatival (and thus should be translated just like an imperative), but such is quite rare in the NT. More likely, there is an implied imperative as follows: “Do not become foolish, but become wise, understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Either way, the participle is the harder reading and ought therefore to be considered original. It is significant that seeing an implied imperative in this verse affords a certain symmetry to the author’s thought in vv. 15-21: There are three main sections (vv. 15-16, v. 17, vv. 18-21), each of which provides a negative injunction, followed by a positive injunction, followed by a present adverbial participle. If συνίετε (suniete) is original, this symmetry is lost. Thus, even though the external evidence for συνιέντες (sunientes) is not nearly as weighty as for the imperative, both the transcriptional and intrinsic evidence support it.

[6:11]  ⁹ tn Or “craftiness.” See BDAG 625 s.v. μεθοδεία.

[6:15]  ¹⁰ tn The definite article τοῖς (tois) was taken as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “your,” since it refers to a part of the physical body.

[6:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “gospel.” However, this is not a technical term here.

[6:15]  ¹² tn Grk “in preparation of the gospel of peace.” The genitive τοῦ εὐαγγελίου (tou euangeliou) was taken as a genitive of source, i.e., “that comes from….”

[6:17]  ¹³ sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.

[6:17]  ¹⁴ 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]).