Ephesians 3:9

3:9 and to enlighten ¹  everyone about God’s secret plan ²  – a secret that has been hidden for ages ³  in God ⁴  who has created all things.

Ephesians 6:18

6:18 With every prayer and petition, pray ⁵  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end ⁶  be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

[3:9]  ¹ tn There is a possible causative nuance in the Greek verb, but this is difficult to convey in the translation.

[3:9]  ² tn Grk “what is the plan of the divine secret.” Earlier the author had used οἰκονομία (oikonomia; here “plan”) to refer to his own “stewardship” (v. 2). But now he is speaking about the content of this secret, not his own activity in relation to it.

[3:9]  ³ tn Or “for eternity,” or perhaps “from the Aeons.” Cf. 2:2, 7.

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Or “by God.” It is possible that ἐν (en) plus the dative here indicates agency, that is, that God has performed the action of hiding the secret. However, this usage of the preposition ἐν is quite rare in the NT, and even though here it does follow a perfect passive verb as in the Classical idiom, it is more likely that a different nuance is intended.

[6:18]  ⁵ tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.

[6:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “and toward it.”