Ephesians 1:14

1:14 who is the down payment ¹  of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, ²  to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:23

1:23 Now the church is ³  his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. ⁴ 

Ephesians 2:4

2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,

Ephesians 2:16

2:16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. ⁵ 

Ephesians 2:18

2:18 so that ⁶  through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 2:20

2:20 because you have been built ⁷  on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, ⁸  with Christ Jesus himself as ⁹  the cornerstone. ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 4:10-11

4:10 He, the very one ¹¹  who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. 4:11 It was he ¹²  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹³ 

Ephesians 4:15

4:15 But practicing the truth in love, ¹⁴  we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head.

Ephesians 4:25

4:25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, ¹⁵  for we are members of one another.

Ephesians 5:23

5:23 because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church – he himself being the savior of the body.

Ephesians 6:4

6:4 Fathers, ¹⁶  do not provoke your children to anger, ¹⁷  but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:20

6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

[1:14]  ¹ tn Or “first installment,” “pledge,” “deposit.”

[1:14]  ² tn Grk “the possession.”

[1:23]  ³ tn Grk “which is.” The antecedent of “which” is easily lost in English, though in Greek it is quite clear. In the translation “church” is repeated to clarify the referent.

[1:23]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “who is filled entirely.”

[2:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “by killing the hostility in himself.”

[2:18]  ⁷ tn Or “for.” BDAG gives the consecutive ὅτι (Joti) as a possible category of NT usage (BDAG 732 s.v. 5.c).

[2:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “having been built.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰ sn Apostles and prophets. Because the prophets appear after the mention of the apostles and because they are linked together in 3:5 as recipients of revelation about the church, they are to be regarded not as Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets.

[2:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “while Christ Jesus himself is” or “Christ Jesus himself being.”

[2:20]  ¹² tn Or perhaps “capstone” (NAB). The meaning of ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogwniaio") is greatly debated. The meaning “capstone” is proposed by J. Jeremias (TDNT 1:792), but the most important text for this meaning (T. Sol. 22:7-23:4) is late and possibly not even an appropriate parallel. The only place ἀκρογωνιαῖος is used in the LXX is Isa 28:16, and there it clearly refers to a cornerstone that is part of a foundation. Furthermore, the imagery in this context has the building growing off the cornerstone upward, whereas if Christ were the capstone, he would not assume his position until the building was finished, which vv. 21-22 argue against.

[4:10]  ¹¹ tn The Greek text lays specific emphasis on “He” through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos). This is reflected in the English translation through the use of “the very one.”

[4:11]  ¹³ tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “it was he” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”

[4:11]  ¹⁴ sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.

[4:15]  ¹⁵ tn The meaning of the participle ἀληθεύοντες (alhqeuonte"; from the verb ἀληθεύω [alhqeuw]) is debated. In classical times the verb could mean “to speak the truth,” or “to be true, to prove true.” In the LXX it appears five times (Gen 20:16; 42:16; Prov 21:3; Isa 44:26; Sir 34:4) and translates four different Hebrew words; there it is an ethical term used of proving or being true, not with the idea of speaking the truth. In the NT the only other place the verb appears is in Gal 4:16 where it means “to speak the truth.” However, in Ephesians the concept of “being truthful” is the best sense of the word. In contrast to the preceding verse, where there are three prepositional phrases to denote falsehood and deceit, the present word speaks of being real or truthful in both conduct and speech. Their deceit was not only in their words but also in their conduct. In other words, the believers’ conduct should be transparent, revealing the real state of affairs, as opposed to hiding or suppressing the truth through cunning and deceit. See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 564-65, and R. Bultmann, TDNT 1:251.

[4:25]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Zech 8:16.

[6:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or perhaps “Parents” (so TEV, CEV). The plural οἱ πατέρες (Joi patere", “fathers”) can be used to refer to both the male and female parent (BDAG 786 s.v. πατήρ 1.b).

[6:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “do not make your children angry.” BDAG 780 s.v. παροργίζω states “make angry.” The Greek verb in Col 3:21 is a different one with a slightly different nuance.