Ephesians 5:17
Context5:17 For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise 1 by understanding 2 what the Lord’s will is.
Ephesians 6:1
Context6:1 Children, 3 obey your parents in the Lord 4 for this is right.
Ephesians 2:8
Context2:8 For by grace you are saved 5 through faith, 6 and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Ephesians 5:32
Context5:32 This mystery is great – but I am actually 7 speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Ephesians 6:8
Context6:8 because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this 8 will be rewarded by the Lord.
Ephesians 1:15
Context1:15 For this reason, 9 because I 10 have heard 11 of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love 12 for all the saints,
Ephesians 4:17
Context4:17 So I say this, and insist 13 in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility 14 of their thinking. 15
Ephesians 6:13
Context6:13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground 16 on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:22
Context6:22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances 17 and that he may encourage your hearts.
Ephesians 5:5
Context5:5 For you can be confident of this one thing: 18 that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.


[5:17] 1 tn “become wise by understanding”; Grk “understanding.” The imperative “be wise” is apparently implied by the construction of vv. 15-21. See the following text-critical note for discussion.
[5:17] 2 tc ‡ The best witnesses read the imperative here (so Ì46 א A B P 0278 33 81 1739 pc). The participle is found primarily in the Western and Byzantine texttypes (D2 Ψ 1881 Ï latt [D* F G are slightly different, but support the participial reading]). But the participle is superior on internal grounds: The structure of v. 17 almost requires an imperative after ἀλλά (alla), for this gives balance to the clause: “Do not become foolish, but understand…” If the participle is original, it may be imperatival (and thus should be translated just like an imperative), but such is quite rare in the NT. More likely, there is an implied imperative as follows: “Do not become foolish, but become wise, understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Either way, the participle is the harder reading and ought therefore to be considered original. It is significant that seeing an implied imperative in this verse affords a certain symmetry to the author’s thought in vv. 15-21: There are three main sections (vv. 15-16, v. 17, vv. 18-21), each of which provides a negative injunction, followed by a positive injunction, followed by a present adverbial participle. If συνίετε (suniete) is original, this symmetry is lost. Thus, even though the external evidence for συνιέντες (sunientes) is not nearly as weighty as for the imperative, both the transcriptional and intrinsic evidence support it.
[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 Ivid 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.
[2:8] 5 tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.
[2:8] 6 tc The feminine article is found before πίστεως (pistews, “faith”) in the Byzantine text as well as in A Ψ 1881 pc. Perhaps for some scribes the article was intended to imply creedal fidelity as a necessary condition of salvation (“you are saved through the faith”), although elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum the phrase διὰ τῆς πίστεως (dia th" pistew") is used for the act of believing rather than the content of faith (cf. Rom 3:30, 31; Gal 3:14; Eph 3:17; Col 2:12). On the other side, strong representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א B D* F G P 0278 6 33 1739 al bo) lack the article. Hence, both text-critically and exegetically, the meaning of the text here is most likely “saved through faith” as opposed to “saved through the faith.” Regarding the textual problem, the lack of the article is the preferred reading.
[5:32] 7 tn The term “actually” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to bring out the heightened sense of the statement.
[6:8] 9 sn The pronoun “this” (τοῦτο, touto) stands first in its clause for emphasis, and stresses the fact that God will reward those, who in seeking him, do good.
[1:15] 11 sn The conjunctive phrase For this reason points back to the preceding section, vv. 3-14, which is also summed up in this verse in the expression because I have heard of your faith. In other words, the author’s prayer can be made for his audience because he knows that they are true believers.
[1:15] 13 tn Grk “having also heard.”
[1:15] 14 tc Ì46 א* A B P 33 1739 1881 2464 Hier lack “your love” (τὴν ἀγάπην, thn agaphn), while various other groups of
[4:17] 13 tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.
[4:17] 14 tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.
[4:17] 15 tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”
[6:13] 15 tn The term ἀνθίστημι (anqisthmi) carries the idea of resisting or opposing something or someone (BDAG 80 s.v.). In Eph 6:13, when used in combination with στῆναι (sthnai; cf. also στῆτε [sthte] in v. 14) and in a context of battle imagery, it seems to have the idea of resisting, standing firm, and being able to stand your ground.
[6:22] 17 tn Grk “the things concerning us.”
[5:5] 19 tn Grk “be knowing this.” See also 2 Pet 1:20 for a similar phrase: τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες (touto prwton ginwskonte").