Ephesians 3:14-21

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Ephesians 3:14 sn For this reason resumes the point begun in v. 1, after a long parenthesis.
2. Ephesians 3:14 tn Grk “I bend my knees.”
3. Ephesians 3:14 tc Most Western and Byzantine witnesses, along with a few others (א² D F G Ψ 0278 1505 1881 2464 M lat sy), have “of our Lord Jesus Christ” after “Father,” but such an edifying phrase cannot explain the rise of the reading that lacks it, especially when the shorter reading is attested by early and significant witnesses such as P⁴⁶ א* A B C P 6 33 81 365 1175 1739 co Or Hier.
4. Ephesians 3:15 tn Or “by.”
5. Ephesians 3:15 tn Or “the whole family.”
6. Ephesians 3:16 tn Grk “that.” In Greek v. 16 is a subordinate clause to vv. 14-15.
7. Ephesians 3:18 sn The object of these dimensions is not stated in the text. Interpreters have suggested a variety of referents for this unstated object, including the cross of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem (which is then sometimes linked to the Church), God’s power, the fullness of salvation given in Christ, the Wisdom of God, and the love of Christ. Of these interpretations, the last two are the most plausible. Associations from Wisdom literature favor the Wisdom of God, but the immediate context favors the love of Christ. For detailed discussion of these interpretive options, see A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians (WBC), 207-13, who ultimately favors the love of Christ.
8. Ephesians 3:19 tn Or “with.”
9. Ephesians 3:20 sn On the power that is working within us see 1:19-20.
10. Ephesians 3:20 tn Or “infinitely beyond,” “far more abundantly than.”