Ephesians 2:1-10
King James Version
2 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
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Ephesians 2:1-10
New King James Version
By Grace Through Faith
2 And (A)you He made alive, (B)who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 (C)in which you once walked according to the [a]course of this world, according to (D)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in (E)the sons of disobedience, 3 (F)among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in (G)the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and (H)were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, (I)who is rich in mercy, because of His (J)great love with which He loved us, 5 (K)even when we were dead in trespasses, (L)made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together (M)in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in (N)His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 (O)For by grace you have been saved (P)through faith, and that not of yourselves; (Q)it is the gift of God, 9 not of (R)works, lest anyone should (S)boast. 10 For we are (T)His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
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- Ephesians 2:2 Gr. aion, aeon
Ephesians 2:1-10
Contemporary English Version
From Death to Life
2 (A) In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. 2 You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God. 3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.
4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God's gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7 God did this so in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.[a] This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.
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- 2.8 treats us much better than we deserve: The Greek word charis, traditionally rendered “grace,” is translated here and other places in the CEV to express the overwhelming kindness of God.
Ephesians 2:1-10
Common English Bible
Saved from sin to life
2 At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. 2 You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. 3 At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else.
4-5 However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace! 6 And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus. 7 God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.
8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith.[a] This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. 10 Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.
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- Ephesians 2:8 Or through his faithfulness
Ephesians 2:1-10
New Century Version
We Now Have Life
2 In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God. 2 Yes, in the past you lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. 3 In the past all of us lived like them, trying to please our sinful selves and doing all the things our bodies and minds wanted. We should have suffered God’s anger because we were sinful by nature. We were the same as all other people.
4 But God’s mercy is great, and he loved us very much. 5 Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace. 6 And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those in Christ Jesus 7 so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus. 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.