Efesus 2:2

2:2 in which ¹  you formerly lived ²  according to this world’s present path, ³  according to the ruler of the kingdom ⁴  of the air, the ruler of ⁵  the spirit ⁶  that is now energizing ⁷  the sons of disobedience, ⁸ 

Efesus 4:14

4:14 So ⁹  we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. ¹⁰ 

Efesus 5:15

Live Wisely

5:15 Therefore be very careful how you live – not as unwise but as wise,

[2:2]  ¹ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ² tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  sn The Greek verb translated lived (περιπατέω, peripatew) in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[2:2]  ³ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  sn The word translated present path is the same as that which has been translated [this] age in 1:21 (αἰών, aiwn).

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ⁶ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ⁸ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

[4:14]  ⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ¹⁰ tn While the sense of the passage is clear enough, translation in English is somewhat difficult. The Greek says: “by the trickery of men, by craftiness with the scheme of deceit.” The point is that the author is concerned about Christians growing into maturity. He is fearful that certain kinds of very cunning people, who are skilled at deceitful scheming, should come in and teach false doctrines which would in turn stunt the growth of the believers.