Ephesians 2
New American Standard Bible
Made Alive in Christ
2 And [a]you [b]were (A)dead [c]in your offenses and sins, 2 in which you (B)previously walked according to the [d]course of (C)this world, according to (D)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in (E)the [e]sons of disobedience. 3 Among them [f]we too all (F)previously lived in (G)the lusts of our flesh, [g]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the [h]mind, and were (H)by nature (I)children of wrath, (J)just as the rest. 4 But God, being (K)rich in mercy, because of (L)His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were (M)dead [i]in our wrongdoings, made us alive together [j]with Christ ((N)by grace you have been saved), 6 and (O)raised us up with Him, and (P)seated us with Him in (Q)the heavenly places in (R)Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the [k]boundless (S)riches of His grace in (T)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For (U)by grace you have been saved (V)through faith; and [l]this is not of yourselves, it is (W)the gift of God; 9 (X)not a result of works, so that (Y)no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, (Z)created in (AA)Christ Jesus for (AB)good works, which God (AC)prepared beforehand so that we would (AD)walk in them.
11 Therefore remember that (AE)previously (AF)you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “(AG)Uncircumcision” by the so-called “(AH)Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, [m](AI)excluded from [n]the people of Israel, and strangers to (AJ)the covenants of the promise, having (AK)no hope and (AL)without God in the world. 13 But now in (AM)Christ Jesus you who (AN)previously were (AO)far away [o]have (AP)been brought near [p](AQ)by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is (AR)our peace, (AS)who made both groups into one and broke down the [q]barrier of the dividing wall, 15 [r]by (AT)abolishing [s]in His flesh the hostility, which is (AU)the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might [t](AV)make the two (AW)one new person, in this way establishing (AX)peace; 16 and that He might (AY)reconcile them both in (AZ)one body to God through the cross, [u]by it having (BA)put to death the hostility. 17 And (BB)He came and preached (BC)peace to you who were (BD)far away, and peace to those who were (BE)near; 18 for through Him we both have (BF)our access in (BG)one Spirit to (BH)the Father. 19 So then you are no longer (BI)strangers and foreigners, but you are (BJ)fellow citizens with the [v]saints, and are of (BK)God’s household, 20 having been (BL)built on (BM)the foundation of (BN)the apostles and prophets, (BO)Christ Jesus Himself being the (BP)cornerstone, 21 (BQ)in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into (BR)a holy [w]temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being (BS)built together into a (BT)dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 2:1 Lit being
- Ephesians 2:1 I.e., Gentile believers
- Ephesians 2:1 Or by reason of
- Ephesians 2:2 Lit age
- Ephesians 2:2 I.e., people opposed to God
- Ephesians 2:3 I.e., Jewish believers
- Ephesians 2:3 Lit doing
- Ephesians 2:3 Lit thoughts
- Ephesians 2:5 Or by reason of
- Ephesians 2:5 Two early mss in Christ
- Ephesians 2:7 Lit surpassing
- Ephesians 2:8 I.e., this salvation
- Ephesians 2:12 Or alienated
- Ephesians 2:12 Or citizenship in Israel
- Ephesians 2:13 Lit became; or were made
- Ephesians 2:13 Or in
- Ephesians 2:14 Lit the dividing wall of the barrier
- Ephesians 2:15 Or the hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the Law
- Ephesians 2:15 I.e., by His death
- Ephesians 2:15 Lit create
- Ephesians 2:16 Or in Himself
- Ephesians 2:19 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Ephesians 2:21 Or sanctuary
Ephesians 2
The Voice
Often in his letters, Paul records his prayers for his churches. He is constantly talking with God about those he considers his spiritual children. He prays that God will grant them wisdom, knowledge, and great power. This is the same power that was at work when God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him in heaven. Ultimately Paul knows all powers have been subjected to Jesus, the God-man, and He is destined to be head over all creation. In the resurrection of Jesus, the ultimate redemption of the cosmos has begun, and the church is the first act of God’s glorious drama.
2 As for you, don’t you remember how you used to just exist? Corpses, dead in life, buried by transgressions, 2 wandering the course of this perverse world. You were the offspring of the prince of the power of air—oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobedience. I’m not talking about the outsiders alone; 3 we were all guilty of falling headlong for the persuasive passions of this world; we all have had our fill of indulging the flesh and mind, obeying impulses to follow perverse thoughts motivated by dark powers. As a result, our natural inclinations led us to be children of wrath, just like the rest of humankind.
4 But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, 5 united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life—even though we were buried under mountains of sin—and saved us by His grace. 6 He raised us up with Him and seated us in the heavenly realms with our beloved Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. 7 He did this for a reason: so that for all eternity we will stand as a living testimony to the incredible riches of His grace and kindness that He freely gives to us by uniting us with Jesus the Anointed. 8-9 For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go around bragging that you must have done something amazing. 10 For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago.
The relationship between faith and works is often misunderstood. Some think that salvation is God’s reward for good deeds. If that’s true, then it can’t possibly be a gift. If it were a reward, then heaven would be a place where people might compare notes on what they did to make it through the gates. But Paul is confident in the truth of the gospel. The truth is that salvation is God’s gift through Jesus. Grace and faith make salvation real in us. When we are transformed by grace, then we become His new creation and begin to live out the good works He has planned for us. Works, then, aren’t the cause of salvation; they are its result. To put it another way, works aren’t the means of salvation; they are its presence.
11 So never forget how you used to be. Those of you born as outsiders to Israel were outcasts, branded “the uncircumcised” by those who bore the sign of the covenant in their flesh, a sign made with human hands. 12 You had absolutely no connection to the Anointed; you were strangers, separated from God’s people. You were aliens to the covenant they had with God; you were hopelessly stranded without God in a fractured world. 13 But now, because of Jesus the Anointed and His sacrifice, all of that has changed. God gathered you who were so far away and brought you near to Him by the royal blood of the Anointed, our Liberating King.
14 He is the embodiment of our peace, sent once and for all to take down the great barrier of hatred and hostility that has divided us so that we can be one. 15 He offered His body on the sacrificial altar to bring an end to the law’s ordinances and dictations that separated Jews from the outside nations. His desire was to create in His body one new humanity from the two opposing groups, thus creating peace. 16 Effectively the cross becomes God’s means to kill off the hostility once and for all so that He is able to reconcile them both to God in this one new body.
17 The Great Preacher of peace and love came for you, and His voice found those of you who were near and those who were far away. 18 By Him both have access to the Father in one Spirit. 19 And so you are no longer called outcasts and wanderers but citizens with God’s people, members of God’s holy family, and residents of His household. 20 You are being built on a solid foundation: the message of the prophets and the voices of God’s chosen emissaries[a] with Jesus, the Anointed Himself, the precious cornerstone. 21 The building is joined together stone by stone—all of us chosen and sealed in Him, rising up to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In Him you are being built together, creating a sacred dwelling place among you where God can live in the Spirit.
Footnotes
- 2:20 Literally, apostles
Ephesians 2
Easy-to-Read Version
From Death to 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 your lives were full of those sins. You lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers[a] 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 that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were.
4 But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.
8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.
One in Christ
11 You were not born as Jews. You are the people the Jews call “uncircumcised.[b]” Those Jews who call you “uncircumcised” call themselves “circumcised.” (Their circumcision is only something they themselves do to their bodies.) 12 Remember that in the past you were without Christ. You were not citizens of Israel, and you did not know about the agreements[c] with the promises that God made to his people. You had no hope, and you did not know God. 13 Yes, at one time you were far away from God, but now in Christ Jesus, you are brought near to him. You are brought near to God through the blood sacrifice of Christ.
14 Christ is the reason we are now at peace. He made us Jews and you who are not Jews one people. We were separated by a wall of hate that stood between us, but Christ broke down that wall. By giving his own body, 15 Christ ended the law with its many commands and rules. His purpose was to make the two groups become one in him. By doing this he would make peace. 16 Through the cross Christ ended the hate between the two groups. And after they became one body, he wanted to bring them both back to God. He did this with his death on the cross. 17 Christ came and brought the message of peace to you non-Jews who were far away from God. And he brought that message of peace to those who were near to God. 18 Yes, through Christ we all have the right to come to the Father in one Spirit.
19 So now you non-Jewish people are not visitors or strangers, but you are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family. 20 You believers are like a building that God owns. That building was built on the foundation that the apostles and prophets prepared. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone[d] in that building. 21 The whole building is joined together in Christ, and he makes it grow and become a holy temple[e] in the Lord. 22 And in Christ you are being built together with his other people. You are being made into a place where God lives through the Spirit.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 2:2 ruler of the evil powers See “Satan” in the Word List.
- Ephesians 2:11 uncircumcised People not having the mark of circumcision like the Jews have.
- Ephesians 2:12 agreements The agreements with special promises that God gave at various times to people in the Old Testament. See “agreement” in the Word List.
- Ephesians 2:20 most important stone Literally, “cornerstone.” The first and most important stone in a building.
- Ephesians 2:21 temple God’s house—the place where God’s people worship him. Here, it means that believers are the spiritual temple where God lives.
Efesios 2
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
De muerte a vida por Cristo
2 Y Él les dio vida a ustedes, que estaban[a] muertos en[b] sus delitos y pecados(A), 2 en los cuales anduvieron en otro tiempo(B) según la corriente[c] de este mundo(C), conforme al príncipe de la potestad del aire(D), el espíritu que ahora opera en los hijos de desobediencia(E). 3 Entre ellos también todos nosotros en otro tiempo vivíamos(F) en las pasiones de nuestra carne(G), satisfaciendo[d] los deseos de la carne y de la mente, y éramos por naturaleza(H) hijos de ira(I), lo mismo que los demás(J).
4 Pero Dios, que es rico en misericordia(K), por causa del[e] gran amor con que nos amó(L), 5 aun cuando estábamos muertos en[f] nuestros delitos(M), nos dio vida juntamente con Cristo (por gracia ustedes han sido salvados)(N), 6 y con Él nos resucitó(O) y con Él nos sentó en los lugares celestiales(P) en Cristo Jesús(Q), 7 a fin de poder mostrar en los siglos venideros las sobreabundantes riquezas de Su gracia(R) por Su bondad para con nosotros en Cristo Jesús.
8 Porque por gracia ustedes han sido salvados(S) por medio de la fe(T), y esto no procede de ustedes, sino que es don de Dios(U); 9 no por[g] obras(V), para que nadie se gloríe(W). 10 Porque somos hechura Suya, creados(X) en Cristo Jesús(Y) para hacer buenas obras(Z), las cuales Dios preparó de antemano(AA) para que anduviéramos en ellas(AB).
En Cristo hay paz y unidad
11 Por tanto, recuerden que en otro tiempo(AC), ustedes los gentiles en la carne(AD), que son llamados «Incircuncisión» por la tal llamada «Circuncisión», hecha en la carne por manos humanas(AE), 12 recuerden que en ese tiempo ustedes estaban separados de Cristo, excluidos de la ciudadanía de Israel(AF), extraños a los pactos(AG) de la promesa, sin tener esperanza(AH) y sin Dios(AI) en el mundo. 13 Pero ahora en Cristo Jesús(AJ), ustedes, que en otro tiempo(AK) estaban lejos, han sido acercados(AL) por[h] la sangre de Cristo(AM).
14 Porque Él mismo es nuestra paz(AN), y de ambos pueblos hizo uno(AO), derribando la pared intermedia de separación, 15 poniendo fin a la enemistad en Su carne(AP), la ley de los mandamientos expresados en ordenanzas(AQ), para crear en Él mismo de los dos un nuevo hombre(AR), estableciendo así la paz(AS), 16 y para reconciliar con Dios(AT) a los dos en un cuerpo(AU) por medio de la cruz, habiendo dado muerte en ella a la enemistad(AV). 17 Y vino y anunció(AW) paz(AX) a ustedes que estaban lejos, y paz a los que estaban cerca(AY). 18 Porque por medio de Cristo los unos y los otros[i] tenemos nuestra entrada(AZ) al Padre(BA) en un mismo Espíritu(BB).
19 Así pues, ustedes ya no son extraños ni extranjeros(BC), sino que son conciudadanos(BD) de los santos y son de la familia[j] de Dios(BE). 20 Están edificados(BF) sobre el fundamento(BG) de los apóstoles y profetas(BH), siendo Cristo Jesús mismo la piedra angular(BI), 21 en quien todo el edificio, bien ajustado, va creciendo(BJ) para ser un templo santo en el Señor(BK). 22 En Cristo también ustedes son juntamente edificados(BL) para morada de Dios en el Espíritu(BM).
Footnotes
- Efesios 2:1 Lit. estando.
- Efesios 2:1 O a causa de.
- Efesios 2:2 Lit. la época.
- Efesios 2:3 Lit. haciendo.
- Efesios 2:4 Lit. de Su.
- Efesios 2:5 O a causa de.
- Efesios 2:9 Lit. de; i.e. como resultado de.
- Efesios 2:13 O en.
- Efesios 2:18 Lit. ambos.
- Efesios 2:19 Lit. los de la casa.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation