Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ¹  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Ephesians 5:8

5:8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are ²  light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light –

Ephesians 6:1

6:1 Children, ³  obey your parents in the Lord ⁴  for this is right.

Ephesians 6:4

6:4 Fathers, ⁵  do not provoke your children to anger, ⁶  but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 2:3

2:3 among whom ⁷  all of us ⁸  also ⁹  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 ¹⁰  even as the rest… ¹¹ 

[5:1]  ¹ tn Or “become.”

[5:8]  ² tn The verb “you are” is implied in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to make it clear.

[6:1]  ³ tn The use of the article τά (ta) with τέκνα (tekna) functions in a generic way to distinguish this group from husbands, wives, fathers and slaves and is left, therefore, untranslated. The generic article is used with γύναῖκες (gunaikes) in 5:22, ἄνδρες (andres) in 5:25, δοῦλοι (douloi) in 6:5, and κύριοι (kurioi) in 6:9.

[6:1]  ⁴ tc B D* F G as well as a few versional and patristic representatives lack “in the Lord” (ἐν κυρίῳ, en kuriw), while the phrase is well represented in Ì⁴⁶ א A D¹ I^vid Ψ 0278 0285 33 1739 1881 Ï sy co. Scribes may have thought that the phrase could be regarded a qualifier on the kind of parents a child should obey (viz., only Christian parents), and would thus be tempted to delete the phrase to counter such an interpretation. It is unlikely that the phrase would have been added, since the form used to express such sentiment in this Haustafel is ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ/Χριστῷ (Jw" tw kuriw/Cristw, “as to the Lord/Christ”; see 5:22; 6:5). Even though the witnesses for the omission are impressive, it is more likely that the phrase was deleted than added by scribal activity.

[6:4]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[2:3]  ⁵ 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).

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “we all.”

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Or “even.”

[2:3]  ⁸ sn Children of wrath is a Semitic idiom which may mean either “people characterized by wrath” or “people destined for wrath.”

[2:3]  ⁹ 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.