Efesus 6:19-24

6:19 Pray ¹  for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak ²  – that I may confidently make known ³  the mystery of the gospel, 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

Farewell Comments

6:21 Tychicus, my ⁴  dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, ⁵  how I am doing. 6:22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances ⁶  and that he may encourage your hearts.

6:23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, ⁷  and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 6:24 Grace be ⁸  with all of those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. ⁹ 

[6:19]  ¹ tn To avoid a lengthy, convoluted sentence in English, the Greek sentence was broken up at this point and the verb “pray” was inserted in the English translation to pick up the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuxomenoi, “praying”) in v. 18.

[6:19]  ² tn Grk “that a word may be given to me in the opening of my mouth.” Here “word” (λόγος, logo") is used in the sense of “message.”

[6:19]  ³ tn The infinitive γνωρίσαι (gnwrisai, “to make known”) is functioning epexegetically to further explain what the author means by the preceding phrase “that I may be given the message when I begin to speak.”

[6:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “the.” The Greek article ὁ (Jo) was translated with the possessive pronoun, “my.” See ExSyn 215.

[6:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “the things according to me.”

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

[6:23]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “is.”

[6:24]  ⁹ 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.