Efesus 2:19--3:5

2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 2:20 because you have been built ¹  on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, ²  with Christ Jesus himself as ³  the cornerstone. ⁴  2:21 In him ⁵  the whole building, ⁶  being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ⁷  for the sake of you Gentiles – 3:2 if indeed ⁸  you have heard of the stewardship ⁹  of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3:3 that ¹⁰  by revelation the divine secret ¹¹  was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. ¹²  3:4 When reading this, ¹³  you will be able to ¹⁴  understand my insight into this secret ¹⁵  of Christ. 3:5 Now this secret ¹⁶  was not disclosed to people ¹⁷  in former ¹⁸  generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by ¹⁹  the Spirit,

[2:20]  ¹ tn Grk “having been built.”

[2:20]  ² sn Apostles and prophets. Because the prophets appear after the mention of the apostles and because they are linked together in 3:5 as recipients of revelation about the church, they are to be regarded not as Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets.

[2:20]  ³ tn Grk “while Christ Jesus himself is” or “Christ Jesus himself being.”

[2:20]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “capstone” (NAB). The meaning of ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogwniaio") is greatly debated. The meaning “capstone” is proposed by J. Jeremias (TDNT 1:792), but the most important text for this meaning (T. Sol. 22:7-23:4) is late and possibly not even an appropriate parallel. The only place ἀκρογωνιαῖος is used in the LXX is Isa 28:16, and there it clearly refers to a cornerstone that is part of a foundation. Furthermore, the imagery in this context has the building growing off the cornerstone upward, whereas if Christ were the capstone, he would not assume his position until the building was finished, which vv. 21-22 argue against.

[2:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “in whom” (v. 21 is a relative clause, subordinate to v. 20).

[2:21]  ⁶ tc Although several important witnesses (א¹ A C P 6 81 326 1739^c 1881) have πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή (pasa Jh oikodomh), instead of πᾶσα οἰκοδομή (the reading of א* B D F G Ψ 33 1739* Ï), the article is almost surely a scribal addition intended to clarify the meaning of the text, for with the article the meaning is unambiguously “the whole building.”

[2:21]  tn Or “every building.” Although “every building” is a more natural translation of the Greek, it does not fit as naturally into the context, which (with its emphasis on corporate unity) seems to stress the idea of one building.

[3:1]  ⁷ tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[3:2]  ⁸ sn If indeed. The author is not doubting whether his audience has heard, but is rather using provocative language (if indeed) to engage his audience in thinking about the magnificence of God’s grace. However, in English translation, the apodosis (“then”-clause) does not come until v. 13, leaving the protasis (“if”-clause) dangling. Eph 3:2-7 constitute one sentence in Greek.

[3:2]  ⁹ tn Or “administration,” “dispensation,” “commission.”

[3:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “namely, that is.”

[3:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “mystery.”

[3:3]  ¹² tn Or “as I wrote above briefly.”

[3:3]  sn As I wrote briefly may refer to the author’s brief discussion of the divine secret in 1:9.

[3:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “which, when reading.”

[3:4]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “you are able to.”

[3:4]  ¹⁵ tn Or “mystery.”

[3:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “which.” Verse 5 is technically a relative clause, subordinate to the thought of v. 4.

[3:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the sons of men” (a Semitic idiom referring to human beings, hence, “people”).

[3:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “other.”

[3:5]  ¹⁹ tn Or “in.”