Ephesians 1:8

1:8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

Ephesians 2:21

2:21 In him ¹  the whole building, ²  being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

Ephesians 3:15

3:15 from ³  whom every family ⁴  in heaven and on the earth is named.

Ephesians 4:2

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ⁵  with patience, bearing with ⁶  one another in love,

Ephesians 4:19

4:19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ⁷ 

Ephesians 5:3

5:3 But ⁸  among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, ⁹  or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 5:9

5:9 for the fruit of the light ¹¹  consists in ¹²  all goodness, righteousness, and truth –

Ephesians 6:24

6:24 Grace be ¹³  with all of those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. ¹⁴ 

[2:21]  ¹ tn Grk “in whom” (v. 21 is a relative clause, subordinate to v. 20).

[2:21]  ² tc Although several important witnesses (א¹ A C P 6 81 326 1739^c 1881) have πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή (pasa Jh oikodomh), instead of πᾶσα οἰκοδομή (the reading of א* B D F G Ψ 33 1739* Ï), the article is almost surely a scribal addition intended to clarify the meaning of the text, for with the article the meaning is unambiguously “the whole building.”

[3:15]  ¹ tn Or “by.”

[3:15]  ² tn Or “the whole family.”

[4:2]  ¹ tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

[4:2]  ² tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”

[4:19]  ¹ sn Greediness refers to an increasing desire for more and more. The point is that sinful passions and desires are never satisfied.

[5:3]  ¹ tn The term “But” translates the δέ (de) in a contrastive way in light of the perfect obedience of Jesus in vv. 1-2 and the vices mentioned in v. 3.

[5:3]  ² tn Grk “all impurity.”

[5:3]  ³ tn Grk “just as is fitting for saints.” The καθώς (kaqws) was rendered with “as” and the sense is causal, i.e., “for” or “because.” The negative particle “not” (“for these are not proper for the saints”) in this clause was supplied in English so as to make the sense very clear, i.e., that these vices are not befitting of those who name the name of Christ.

[5:9]  ¹ tc Several mss (Ì⁴⁶ D² Ψ Ï) have πνεύματος (pneumatos, “Spirit”) instead of φωτός (fwtos, “light”). Although most today regard φωτός as obviously original (UBS⁴ gives it an “A” rating), a case could be made that πνεύματος is what the author wrote. First, although this is largely a Byzantine reading (D² often, if not normally, assimilates to the Byzantine text), Ì⁴⁶ gives the reading much greater credibility. Internally, the φωτός at the end of v. 8 could have lined up above the πνεύματος in v. 9 in a scribe’s exemplar, thus occasioning dittography. (It is interesting to note that in both Ì⁴⁹ and א the two instances of φωτός line up.) However, written in a contracted form, as a nomen sacrum (pMnMs) – a practice found even in the earliest mss – πνεύματος would not have been easily confused with fwtos (there being only the last letter to occasion homoioteleuton rather than the last three). Further, the external evidence for φωτός is quite compelling (Ì⁴⁹ א A B D* F G P 33 81 1739 1881 2464 pc latt co); it is rather doubtful that the early and widespread witnesses all mistook πνεύματος for φωτός. In addition, πνεύματος can be readily explained as harking back to Gal 5:22 (“the fruit of the Spirit”). Thus, on balance, φωτός appears to be original, giving rise to the reading πνεύματος.

[5:9]  ² tn Grk “in.” The idea is that the fruit of the light is “expressed in” or “consists of.”

[6:24]  ¹ tn Or “is.”

[6:24]  ² tc Most witnesses (א² D Ψ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of the letter. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. The earliest and best witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B F G 0278 6 33 81 1175 1241 1739* 1881 sa) lack the particle, giving firm evidence that Ephesians did not originally conclude with ἀμήν.