1

1 From Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus,

2 grace to you, and peace, from God our father and Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the upper-heavenly places in Christ,

4 according to how he chose us in him before the overthrow of the world, for us to be holy and without blemish in his presence in love,

5 having appointed us beforehand for adoption through Jesus Christ to him, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 to the praise of his gracious glory, with which he showed us grace in the beloved,

7 in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, according to the richness of his grace,

8 with which he abounded to us in all wisdom and thoughtfulness,

9 having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, good pleasure which he planned in him,

10 with a view to the dispensation of the fulness of times, to head up all things in Christ, those above the heavens and those on the earth,

11 in him in whom we also have received an inheritance, having been appointed beforehand according to the plan of him who is active in all things according to the resolve of his will,

12 that we should be the praise of his glory, we who put our hope in Christ previously,

13 in whom you too received an inheritance after you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after you believed, you were sealed by the holy spirit of promise,

14 and he is the guarantee of our inheritance, until the redemption of the special possession, to the praise of his glory.

15 On account of this, I too, having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love towards all the saints,

16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you on the occasions of my prayers,

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in acknowledgment of him,

18 that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what the hope of his calling is, and what the wealth of the glory of his inheritance in holy places is,

19 and what the exceeding greatness of his power is in us who believe, according to the action of his strong might,

20 which he exerted in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and seated him at his right hand in the upper-heavenly places,

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name which is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come,

22 and made all things subject under his feet, and made him head over all things to the church,

23 which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all for himself.

2

1 Including you who are dead to transgressions and sins,

2 in which you once walked, according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit which is now active in the sons of disobedience,

3 among whom we all also once had our mode of life, in the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh, and of the mind, and we were children of wrath by nature, as the rest are too,

4 but God, being rich in mercy, on account of his great love with which he loved us,

5 made us, being dead to transgressions, alive together with Christ – you have been saved by grace –

6 and raised us together and seated us together in the upper-heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7 that in the ages to come he might exhibit the exceeding richness of his grace in kindness to us in Christ Jesus,

8 for you have been saved by grace, through faith, and this is not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,

9 not of works, so that no-one should boast,

10 for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, to the intent that we should walk in them.

11 Therefore remember that you who were once Gentiles in the flesh, called uncircumcision by those called circumcision in the flesh, circumcision made by hands,

12 that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, not having any hope and without God in the world,

13 but now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been made near by the blood of Christ,

14 for he is our peace, who made both one, and demolished the middle wall of partition,

15 having abolished the enmity by his flesh, the law of the commandments in ordinances, in order that he might create the two in himself into one new man, making peace,

16 and reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having eradicated the enmity by it,

17 and he came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near,

18 for through him both of us have access by one spirit to the father.

19 So then, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but joint citizens of the holy places and are God's household residents,

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the keystone,

21 in whom every building, as it is fitted together, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord,

22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

3

1 For this reason, I Paul the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you, the Gentiles, say that,

2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which has been given to me for you,

3 namely that by revelation he made the mystery known to me, as I wrote before briefly,

4 in the light of which by reading you can appreciate my understanding of the mystery of Christ,

5 which was not made known to other generations, to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by spirit,

6 that the Gentiles should be joint heirs and a joint body, and joint partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel,

7 of which I have become a minister by the gift of the grace of God which was given to me by the exertion of his power,

8 to me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given: to preach among the Gentiles the untraceable richness of Christ,

9 and to enlighten everyone as to what the dispensation of the mystery is, which was hidden from the ages in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ,

10 in order that the highly diversified wisdom of God might now be made known to the realms and the authorities in the upper-heavenly places through the church,

11 according to the purpose of the ages which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

12 in whom we have assurance and access in confidence through faith in him.

13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart in my tribulations for you, which are your glory.

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 from whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named,

16 that he may grant you according to the richness of his glory, to be strengthened by power through his spirit in the inner man,

17 that Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts,

18 that you, being rooted and founded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and depth and height are,

19 and to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled to the extent of all the fulness of God.

20 To him who is able to do superabundantly beyond everything which we ask or conceive of, according to the power exerted in us,

21 to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus in all the generations of the Age of the ages. Amen.

4

1 I, the prisoner in the Lord, appeal to you therefore to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

2 with all humility and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love,

3 making an effort to guard the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one spirit, even as you for your part have been called in one hope of your calling,

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 one God and father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.

7 To each one of us, then, grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8 Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he took captivity captive and gave gifts to men.”

9 Now the word “he ascended” – what does it mean but that he also first descended to the lowest parts of the earth?

10 He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens, in order to fill all things,

11 and he himself appointed some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,

13 until we all attain the unity of the faith and of acknowledgment of the son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,

14 in order no longer to be infants, tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of hand of men, by roguery intent on deceitful craftiness,

15 but rather that we, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in respect of all things to him who is the head, Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted together and joined up by every sustaining joint with invigoration appropriate to each individual part, brings about increase of the body to the edification of itself in love.

17 This therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

18 darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God on account of the ignorance which is within them, and on account of the hardness of their hearts,

19 who, being desensitized, have given themselves over to debauchery, intent on a pursuit of all uncleanness with greed.

20 But you have not learned Christ like that,

21 if at any rate you have heard him and been taught in accordance with him, as the truth is in Jesus,

22 that you should put away the old man of your former conduct, which is corrupt with its deceitful desires,

23 and that you should be renewed by the spirit of your mind,

24 and put on the new man, who is created in accordance with God in righteousness and true holiness.

25 Therefore, having put away the lie, speak the truth, each one with his neighbour, for we are members of one another,

26 stand in awe and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger,

27 nor give the devil any room.

28 Let him who steals steal no more, but rather labour, working at what is good with his hands, in order that he may have something to share with him who is in need.

29 Let no corrupt word come out of your mouth, but rather some good word for edification of what is needful, in order that it may give grace to those hearing it,

30 and do not grieve the holy spirit of God, with which you have been sealed for the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness and rage and anger and clamour and blasphemy be put away from you, along with all malice,

32 but be kind to each other, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has for his part forgiven us in Christ.

5

1 So be imitators of God, as beloved children,

2 and walk in love, as also Christ loved us and gave himself up on our behalf as an offering and sacrifice to God as a sweet scent.

3 But as for fornication and all uncleanness or fraud, let them not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints,

4 nor disgracefulness and foolish talk or jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks,

5 for be aware of this, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or fraudster, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

6 Let no-one deceive you with vain words, for on account of such things the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience.

7 Therefore, do not be joint partakers of these things,

8 for you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord; walk as children of light,

9 (for the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

10 as you test what is well-pleasing to the Lord.

11 And do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather censure them too.

12 For it is a shame even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

13 But all the things which are censured by the light are made manifest. For everything that makes manifest is light.

14 Therefore he says, “Awake, you who are asleep and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as unwise folk, but as wise,

16 buying up the time, because the days are evil.

17 On account of this, do not become foolish, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

18 And do not become drunk with wine, in which is wastefulness, but be filled with the spirit,

19 speaking to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing a melody in your heart to the Lord,

20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God and the father,

21 submitting to each other in the fear of Christ.

22 You wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord,

23 for a husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, as he is the saviour of the body.

24 But as the church submits to Christ, so should wives do to their own husbands in every respect.

25 Husbands, love your own wives, as also Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it,

26 in order that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the water-laver: by the word,

27 in order that he might present the church to himself as glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28 In this way husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself,

29 for no-one ever hated his own flesh, but everyone nourishes and cherishes it as the Lord for his part does the church,

30 for we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.

31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two will be one flesh.

32 This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and concerning the church.

33 But still, let each of you individually so love your wife as himself, but let the wife see that she reveres her husband.

6

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for that is right.

2 Honour your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise,

3 so that it may be well with you and so that you may live long on the earth.

4 And fathers, do not provoke your children, but bring them up in the education and admonition of the Lord.

5 Servants, obey your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in your single-mindedness, as to Christ,

6 not in the manner of eye-service as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

7 serving with good-will, as to the Lord and not to men,

8 knowing that whatever good each one does, he will receive it from the Lord, whether he is a slave or a free man.

9 And masters, act in the same way to them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your own master for his part is in the heavens, and there is no partiality with him.

10 Finally, my brothers, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of his strength.

11 Put on the full armour of God so as to be able to stand against the crafty ways of the devil,

12 for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against realms, against authorities, against the world-rulers of this dark age, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the upper-heavenly places.

13 On account of this, take up the full armour of God in order that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.

14 Stand therefore having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and with your feet shod with readiness of the gospel of peace,

16 above all having taken up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, the spirit being the word of God,

18 with all prayer and supplication, praying on every occasion in spirit, and being watchful to this very end in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints,

19 and for me, that speech be given to me when I open my mouth, to make known frankly the mystery of the gospel,

20 for which I am an ambassador in a chain, that I may speak of it frankly as I ought to speak,

21 but that you too may know my affairs – what I am doing – Tychichus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will make all known to you,

22 whom I have sent to you for this very thing, that you may know our circumstances, and so that he may encourage your hearts.

23 Peace be to the brothers and love with faith from God the father and Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.