Ephesians 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 

Ephesians 2:5-6

2:5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! ⁹  – 2:6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

[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]  ³ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[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.

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Or “by grace you have been saved.” The perfect tense in Greek connotes both completed action (“you have been saved”) and continuing results (“you are saved”).