Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Redemption in Christ

^3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as ^(B)He chose us in Him ^(C)before the foundation of the world, that we should ^(D)be holy and without blame before Him in love, ^5 (E)having predestined us to ^(F)adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, ^(G)according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, ^(H)by which He ^[a]made us accepted in ^(I)the Beloved.

^7 (J)In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to ^(K)the riches of His grace ⁸ which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and ^[b]prudence, ^9 (L)having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure ^(M)which He purposed in Himself, ¹⁰ that in the dispensation of ^(N)the fullness of the times ^(O)He might gather together in one ^(P)all things in Christ, ^[c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. ^11 (Q)In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to ^(R)the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ^12 (S)that we ^(T)who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard ^(U)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, ^(V)you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ^14 (W)who^[d] is the ^[e]guarantee of our inheritance ^(X)until the redemption of ^(Y)the purchased possession, ^(Z)to the praise of His glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

¹⁵ Therefore I also, ^(AA)after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ^16 (AB)do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that ^(AC)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ^(AD)may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ^18 (AE)the eyes of your ^[f]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is ^(AF)the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, ^(AG)according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when ^(AH)He raised Him from the dead and ^(AI)seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ^21 (AJ)far above all ^(AK)principality^[g] and ^[h]power and ^[i]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

²² And ^(AL)He put all things under His feet, and gave Him ^(AM)to be head over all things to the church, ^23 (AN)which is His body, ^(AO)the fullness of Him ^(AP)who fills all in all.

Christian Graces; Final Greetings

4 Masters,^(A) give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Christian Graces

^2 (B)Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it ^(C)with thanksgiving; ^3 (D)meanwhile praying also for us, that God would ^(E)open to us a door for the word, to speak ^(F)the ^[a]mystery of Christ, ^(G)for which I am also in chains, ⁴ that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

^5 (H)Walk in ^(I)wisdom toward those who are outside, ^(J)redeeming the time. ⁶ Let your speech always be ^(K)with grace, ^(L)seasoned with salt, ^(M)that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Final Greetings^(N)

^7 (O)Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ^8 (P)I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that ^[b]he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, ⁹ with ^(Q)Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.

^10 (R)Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with ^(S)Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), ¹¹ and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.

^12 (T)Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always ^(U)laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand ^(V)perfect and ^[c]complete in all the will of God. ¹³ For I bear him witness that he has a great ^[d]zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. ^14 (W)Luke the beloved physician and ^(X)Demas greet you. ¹⁵ Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and ^[e]Nymphas and ^(Y)the church that is in ^[f]his house.

Closing Exhortations and Blessing

¹⁶ Now when ^(Z)this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. ¹⁷ And say to ^(AA)Archippus, “Take heed to ^(AB)the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

^18 (AC)This salutation by my own hand—Paul. ^(AD)Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.

The Corinthians’ Repentance

7 Therefore,^(A) having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Corinthians’ Repentance

² Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, ^(B)we have cheated no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn; for ^(C)I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ^4 (D)Great is my boldness of speech toward you, ^(E)great is my boasting on your behalf. ^(F)I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

⁵ For indeed, ^(G)when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but ^(H)we were troubled on every side. ^(I)Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. ⁶ Nevertheless ^(J)God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by ^(K)the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the ^[a]consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

⁸ For even if I made you ^(L)sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; ^(M)though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. ⁹ Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰ For ^(N)godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; ^(O)but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what ^(P)clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be ^(Q)clear in this matter. ¹² Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, ^(R)but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.

The Joy of Titus

¹³ Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit ^(S)has been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴ For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. ¹⁵ And his affections are greater for you as he remembers ^(T)the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. ¹⁶ Therefore I rejoice that ^(U)I have confidence in you in everything.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

^4 (A)I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers,