(1:1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from Jesus Christ.

(1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every blessing of the Spirit in the high-heavens in Christ, in that he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will for praise of the glory of his grace, which he bestowed on us in his Beloved, in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight when he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in him for the plan of the fulfillment of all times to sum up all things in Christ, the things in heaven and things on earth in him, in whom also we who had hoped beforehand in Christ were apportioned to be for the praise of his glory, since we were predestined according to his plan who brings all things into effect in accordance with the counsel of his will, in whom you as well, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is a down payment of our inheritance for redemption of his prized possession for the praise of his glory.

(1:15) For this reason, when I received word of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the saints, I have not ceased giving thanks for you, and I have been making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, and that the eyes of your heart be enlightened, so that you may understand what is the hope of his calling, what is the glorious wealth of his inheritance among the saints, and what is the superabundant magnitude of his power toward us who believe in accordance with the effectiveness of the strength of his might, which he effected in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the high-heavens, far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come, and “he put everything under his feet” and gave him as head over and above everything in the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything entirely.

(2:1) And you—even though you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked in accordance with the age of this world, in accordance with the ruler of the realm of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all formerly also conducted our lives in the lusts of our flesh, performing the will of the flesh and of our rationalizations, and we were by nature children of wrath, as also the others—but God, because he is rich in mercy, on account of the abundant love with which he loved us, and even though we were dead in our transgressions—it was us he co-made alive with Christ—by grace you are saved—and co-raised us and co-seated us in the high-heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus—for by grace you are saved through faith, and this does not originate from you, it is God’s gift, not from works, so that no one may boast—for we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should start walking in them.

(2:11) Therefore recall that you, formerly fleshly Gentiles, the so-called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision, which is in the flesh, made by hands—(recall) that you were at that time apart from Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world, whereas now in Christ you who were formerly far off were brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace, who made the two one and destroyed the dividing wall, the enmity, in his flesh by invalidating the law of commandments in its ordinances, in order that he might create the two in himself into one new human race by making peace and reconcile both in one body to God through the cross by putting to death the enmity in himself, and now that he has come he has proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those nearby, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and resident aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s family, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and its cornerstone is Christ Jesus, in whom the whole building is interconnected and grows together into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you as well are being built up together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

(3:1) For this reason even I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ on behalf of you Gentiles—you have surely heard about the management of God’s grace that was given to me for your sake, this mystery was made known to me by a revelation, just as I briefly wrote about beforehand. When you read about it, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow body members, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of which I was made a servant as the gift of God’s grace, which was given me in accordance with the effectiveness of his power. This grace was given to me, the very least of all saints, to proclaim to the Gentiles the untraceable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all as to what is the design of the mystery hidden from time immemorial in God who created all things, so that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the high-heavens, according to the eternal plan that he executed in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have bold access with confidence through our faith in him.

(3:13) Wherefore, I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, which is your glory. For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth receives its name, that he may grant you to be strengthened with power in accordance with the riches of his glory through his Spirit in your inner man, so that Christ may take up his dwelling in your hearts through faith and that you may be rooted and founded in love, that you may be fully able to grasp with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and likewise to know the love of Christ that exceeds our understanding, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.

(3:20) Now to him who is able to accomplish far more exceedingly than anything we may request or imagine in accordance with his power, which is at work in us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and ever, amen.

(4:1) Therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, strongly urge you to go about living in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, accompanied with all humility and gentleness, and with patience to bear with one another in love, and to take pains to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as also you were called to the one hope from your calling—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

(4:7) Yet to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ, therefore it says, “When he ascended on high, he took captivity captive, and he distributed gifts to his people.” Now, this “he ascended,” what does it mean except that he had also descended to the nether regions of the earth? He who descended is himself also the one who ascended far beyond all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he did himself give some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as shepherds and teachers for preparation of the saints, for the task of ministry, for building up of the body of Christ until all of us attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the mature man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ, so that we may no longer be toddlers, tossed about and swept along by every wind of teaching in the trickery of men, in cunning, for their deceitful designs, but so that by speaking the truth in love we may grow in every way in him who is our head, namely, Christ, from whom the whole body, as it is joined together and united through every connection he supplies, according to the functioning capacity of each individual part, produces the growth of the body for building itself up in love.

(4:17) Therefore, this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer go about living as the Gentiles go about living, in the futility of their minds, for they are darkened in their mind-set, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart, who in their callousness have given themselves over to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity, whereas, in contrast, you did not learn Christ in that way. For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, since truth is in Jesus, that you have shed your old man, in regard to your former manner of life, which is perishing due to its deceitful desires, and that you are undergoing renewal in the spirit of your minds, and that you have donned the new man, who was created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and devotion.

(4:25) For this reason, each of you must put off falsehood and “speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members alongside one another. “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set on your vexation, nor give the Devil any opportunity. Let the thief engage in thievery no more, but rather let him engage in productive labor with his own hands, that he may have something to share with someone in need. Do not let any foul language come out of your mouth but only whatever is wholesome to edify as needed, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness and fury and anger and shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with any other kind of malice. Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as also God has forgiven you in Christ.

(5:1) Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children, and go about living in love, just as also Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God, as a pleasing aroma.

(5:3) There must not even be a hint of sexual immorality and any sort of impurity or avarice among you, as is fitting for saints, as well as obscene and foolish talk or base jesting, which practices are not proper, but instead expressions of thanks. For you know this full well, that any sexually immoral or impure or avaricious person—that is to say, an idolater—does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Do not let anyone deceive you with empty words; for it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.

(5:7) Therefore, do not be partakers with them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; go about living as children of light—for the fruit of light is found in all goodness and righteousness and truth—and discern what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not join with them in their fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For the things performed by them in secret are shameful even to mention, whereas everything that is exposed by the light comes into plain view, for everything brought into view is light. Therefore it says, “Arise, O sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

(5:15) Therefore, consider carefully how you go about living, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, for the days are evil.

(5:17) Therefore, do not be foolish. but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery, but rather, be filled in the Spirit. Address each other in psalms and hymns and songs of the Spirit, sing and make melody with your hearts to the Lord. Give thanks at all times on behalf of all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as also Christ is the head of his church, he is the Savior of his body. Accordingly, as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives should be subject in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved his church and gave himself up on her behalf, that he might sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of water with the word, so that he may himself present the church to himself resplendent, so that she may not have spot or wrinkle or any such defect but instead be holy and blameless. Thus husbands ought to love their own wives, as their own bodies. The one who loves his own wife loves himself. For no one has ever despised his own flesh, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “For this reason, a man will leave his father and his mother and will adhere to his wife, and the two will be one flesh.” This mystery is profound, for I am speaking with regard to Christ and the church. In any case, let each and every one of you love his wife as himself, let each of you love his own wife as himself, and see that the wife respects her husband. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and your mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise) “that it may go well with you and you may enjoy long life in the land.” And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but rear them in the training and reproof of the Lord. Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, not outwardly, as those who merely please people, but as slaves of Christ you must perform the will of God willingly with good intent, and serve as for the Lord and not for people, for you know that whatever good each one does, this will receive its reward from the Lord, whether he is slave or free. And masters, practice the same things for them, and give up threatening them, for you know that both their and your Lord is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him.

(6:10) From this time forward, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. Because our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic forces of this darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the high-heavens. For this reason, take up the full armor of God, in order that you can hold your ground in the evil day and when you have done all you can, to stand. Stand fast then! And belt up your waist with truth, and put on the breastplate of righteousness, and have your feet fitted with readiness from the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, by which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray with all prayer and supplication in every season in the Spirit, and with this in mind be vigilant in all persistent supplication for all the saints, and for me as well, that a message may be given to me when I open my mouth, to boldly make the mystery of the gospel known, on behalf of which I am an emissary in chains, that therein I may speak boldly as I must so speak.

(6:21) Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you as well may be informed about my affairs, namely, what I am engaged in, whom I have sent to you for this very reason, that you may learn about my condition and to comfort your hearts.

(6:23) Peace be with the brothers and love along with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ, who dwells in incorruptibility.

The majority of this translation has been taken from S.M Baugh’s Ephesians Commentary in the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary series published by Lexham Press (2015).

Any alterations have been made by Zachary Watson with use of Nestle-Aland’s Novum Testamentum Graece (28th Edition) and The Lexham Greek-English Interlinear New Testament: SBL Edition published by Lexham Press (Logos Edition)