Ephesians 4:14

4:14 So ¹  we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. ² 

Ephesians 4:17

Live in Holiness

4:17 So I say this, and insist ³  in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility ⁴  of their thinking. ⁵ 

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.

¹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

² tn While the sense of the passage is clear enough, translation in English is somewhat difficult. The Greek says: “by the trickery of men, by craftiness with the scheme of deceit.” The point is that the author is concerned about Christians growing into maturity. He is fearful that certain kinds of very cunning people, who are skilled at deceitful scheming, should come in and teach false doctrines which would in turn stunt the growth of the believers.

³ tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.

⁴ tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.

⁵ tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”