Ephesians 4
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Therefore I Exhort You To Walk Worthily of Your Calling, Keeping The Unity of The Spirit
4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all humblemindedness and gentleness, with patience bearing-with one another in love, 3 being diligent to keep[a] the unity of [b] the Spirit in the bond of [c] peace—
God Made Us One, And Gave Gifts And Grace To Each One of Us
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, the One over all and through all and in all; 7 and to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
For Scripture Says Jesus Ascended On High And Gave Gifts To His People
8 For this reason it says, “having ascended to on-high, He led captivity captive[d], He gave gifts to people” [Ps 68:18].
9 Now what does the “He ascended” mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth[e]? 10 The One having descended is Himself also the One having ascended far above all the heavens, in order that He might fill all things.
He Gave Gifted People To Equip The Saints To Build Up The Body of Christ To Maturity
11 And He Himself gave some as apostles, and others as prophets, and others as evangelists, and others as shepherds and teachers, 12 for[f] the equipping[g] of the saints for the work of ministry[h], for the building-up of the body of Christ 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature[i] man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, being tossed-about and carried-around by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with-regard-to[j] the scheme of [k] error[l], 15 but that while speaking-the-truth in love, we may grow as to all things into Him Who is the head— Christ, 16 from Whom the whole body, being fitted-together[m] and held-together by every joint of supply according to the working in measure of each individual part, is producing the growth of the body for the building-up of itself in love.
So Walk No Longer In The Futile Darkness of The Gentiles, As They Pursue Impurity
17 Therefore this I say and testify in the Lord, that you be walking no longer as indeed the Gentiles are walking, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, having been excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance being in them, because of the hardness of their hearts— 19 who, having become callous, gave themselves over to sensuality for the practice[n] of every impurity with greed.
Lay Aside The Old Person. Be Renewed In Your Mind And Put On The New Person
20 But you did not learn Christ in this manner, 21 if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, even as it is the truth in Jesus 22 that in-relation-to your former way-of-life you lay-aside the old person being corrupted[o] in-accordance-with the desires of [p] deception, 23 and that you be being renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put-on the new person having been created in accordance with God, in righteousness and holiness of [q] truth.
Live Out Righteousness And Truth
25 Therefore, having laid-aside the lie[r], each of you be speaking truth with his neighbor, because we are body-parts of one another. 26 Be angry and-yet do not be sinning. Do not let the sun go down upon your angriness[s], 27 nor give a place[t] to the devil. 28 Let the one stealing be stealing no longer. But rather let him be laboring, working the good thing with his own hands in order that he might have something to give to the one having a need. 29 Let every bad[u] word not proceed out of your mouth, but if there is something good for edification of the need, speak in order that it may give grace to the ones hearing. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with[v] Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and clamor and blasphemy[w] be taken-away[x] from you, along-with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ also forgave you.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 4:3 Or, preserve, protect, guard.
- Ephesians 4:3 That is, produced by.
- Ephesians 4:3 That is, consisting of; or, leading to.
- Ephesians 4:8 led captivity captive. Or, took-prisoner prisoners of war.
- Ephesians 4:9 This may refer to Christ’s incarnation, or to His descent into Hades after His death.
- Ephesians 4:12 Or, with a view to. Not the same word as in the next two phrases.
- Ephesians 4:12 Or, preparing, furnishing, training.
- Ephesians 4:12 Or, service.
- Ephesians 4:13 Or, finished, complete.
- Ephesians 4:14 Or, with a view to.
- Ephesians 4:14 That is, leading to; or, proceeding from; or, characterized by.
- Ephesians 4:14 Or, deception.
- Ephesians 4:16 See 2:21.
- Ephesians 4:19 Or, pursuit, business, working.
- Ephesians 4:22 Or, corrupting itself.
- Ephesians 4:22 That is, proceeding from; or, belonging to; or, characterized by.
- Ephesians 4:24 That is, characterized by truth (true holiness); or, belonging to the truth.
- Ephesians 4:25 the lie. Or, falsehood. That is, the lie of the Gentile way of thinking and living, v 17-19 (introducing v 25-32); or, falsehood in general, in direct contrast to speaking truth next (and part of that point only).
- Ephesians 4:26 Or, irritation, exasperation, angry mood.
- Ephesians 4:27 That is, opportunity, chance.
- Ephesians 4:29 Or, corrupt, worthless, unfit.
- Ephesians 4:30 Or, by, in.
- Ephesians 4:31 Or, harmful speech.
- Ephesians 4:31 Or, removed.
Ephesians 4
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ
4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord,(A) urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility(B) and gentleness, with patience,(C) bearing(D) with one another in love,(E) 3 making every effort to keep the unity(F) of the Spirit(G) through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit(H) – just as you were called to one hope[a](I) at your calling – 5 one Lord,(J) one faith,(K) one baptism, 6 one God(L) and Father(M) of all, who is above all and through all and in all.(N)
7 Now grace was given to each one of us(O) according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says:
9 But what does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he[c] also descended to the lower parts of the earth?[d](R) 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens,(S) to fill all things.(T) 11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,(U) 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,(V) growing into maturity with a stature(W) measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,(X) by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head(Y) – Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together(Z) by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth(AA) of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Living the New Life
17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because[e] of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity(AB) with a desire for more and more.[f]
20 But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth(AC) is in Jesus, 22 to take off[g](AD) your former way of life,(AE) the old self(AF) that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed[h] in the spirit(AG) of your minds, 24 and to put on[i](AH) the new self, the one created(AI) according to God’s likeness(AJ) in righteousness and purity of the truth.
25 Therefore, putting away(AK) lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbour,[j](AL) because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin.[k](AM) Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share(AN) with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need,[l] so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit.(AO) You were sealed by him[m] for the day of redemption.(AP) 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind(AQ) and compassionate(AR) to one another, forgiving(AS) one another, just as God also forgave you[n] in Christ.
Footnotes
- 4:4 Lit called in one hope
- 4:8 Ps 68:18
- 4:9 Other mss add first
- 4:9 Or the lower parts, namely, the earth
- 4:18 Or in them because
- 4:19 Lit with greediness
- 4:21–22 Or Jesus. This means: take off (as a command)
- 4:22–23 Or desires; renew (as a command)
- 4:23–24 Or minds; and put on (as a command)
- 4:25 Zch 8:16
- 4:26 Ps 4:4
- 4:29 Lit for the building up of the need
- 4:30 Or Spirit, by whom you were sealed
- 4:32 Other mss read us
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
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