Acts 18:3

18:3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them ¹  (for they were tentmakers ²  by trade). ³ 

Acts 20:35

20:35 By all these things, ⁴  I have shown you that by working in this way we must help ⁵  the weak, ⁶  and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ⁷ 

Ephesians 4:28

4:28 The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need.

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁸  urge you to live ⁹  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 2:9

2:9 it is not from ¹¹  works, so that no one can boast. ¹² 

Ephesians 2:2

2:2 in which ¹³  you formerly lived ¹⁴  according to this world’s present path, ¹⁵  according to the ruler of the kingdom ¹⁶  of the air, the ruler of ¹⁷  the spirit ¹⁸  that is now energizing ¹⁹  the sons of disobedience, ²⁰ 

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ²¹  – this grace was given, ²²  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

¹ tn The prepositional phrase “with them” occurs only once in the Greek text, but since it occurs between the two finite verbs (ἔμενεν, emenen, and ἠργάζετο, hrgazeto) it relates (by implication) to both of them.

² tn On the term translated “tentmakers,” see BDAG 928-29 s.v. σκνηοποιός. Paul apparently manufactured tents. In contrast to the Cynic philosophers, Paul at times labored to support himself (see also v. 5).

³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁴ sn The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”

⁵ tn Or “must assist.”

⁶ tn Or “the sick.” See Eph 4:28.

⁷ sn The saying is similar to Matt 10:8. Service and generosity should be abundant. Interestingly, these exact words are not found in the gospels. Paul must have known of this saying from some other source.

⁸ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

⁹ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

¹⁰ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

¹¹ tn Or “not as a result of.”

¹² tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”

¹³ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

¹⁴ tn Grk “walked.”

¹⁵ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

¹⁸ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

¹⁹ tn Grk “working in.”

²⁰ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

²¹ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

²² sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).