8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 11
1:1 From Paul, 12 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2:1 And although you were 13 dead 14 in your transgressions and sins, 2:2 in which 15 you formerly lived 16 according to this world’s present path, 17 according to the ruler of the kingdom 18 of the air, the ruler of 19 the spirit 20 that is now energizing 21 the sons of disobedience, 22 2:3 among whom 23 all of us 24 also 25 formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath 26 even as the rest… 27
2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 2:5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! 28 –
1 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
2 tn Grk “an hour.”
3 tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”
4 tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”
5 tn That is, will come to life.
6 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
7 tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”
8 tn Grk “Yet a little while, and.”
9 tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”
10 tc Most
11 tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D1 Ψ 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א2 D2 33vid Ï) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in Ï.
12 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
13 tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.
14 sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.
15 sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.
16 tn Grk “walked.”
17 tn Or possibly “Aeon.”
18 tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”
19 tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).
20 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).
21 tn Grk “working in.”
22 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.
23 sn Among whom. The relative pronoun phrase that begins v. 3 is identical, except for gender, to the one that begins v. 2 (ἐν αἵς [en Jais], ἐν οἵς [en Jois]). By the structure, the author is building an argument for our hopeless condition: We lived in sin and we lived among sinful people. Our doom looked to be sealed as well in v. 2: Both the external environment (kingdom of the air) and our internal motivation and attitude (the spirit that is now energizing) were under the devil’s thumb (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).
24 tn Grk “we all.”
25 tn Or “even.”
26 sn Children of wrath is a Semitic idiom which may mean either “people characterized by wrath” or “people destined for wrath.”
27 sn Eph 2:1-3. The translation of vv. 1-3 is very literal, even to the point of retaining the awkward syntax of the original. See note on the word dead in 2:1.
28 tn Or “by grace you have been saved.” The perfect tense in Greek connotes both completed action (“you have been saved”) and continuing results (“you are saved”).