Ephesians 1

Translator Notes

1. The phrase 'in Ephesus' (en Ephesō) is absent from several of the earliest and best manuscripts, suggesting this may have been a circular letter with a blank space for the destination. The SBLGNT includes it. The word hagiois ('saints, holy ones') does not mean morally perfect people but those 'set apart' — consecrated to God's purposes. The qualifier pistois ('faithful, believing') further identifies them as the believing community.

Translator Notes

1. Paul's standard greeting combining charis ('grace') and eirēnē ('peace'). The single preposition apo ('from') governs both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, presenting them as coordinate sources of grace and peace.

Translator Notes

1. The opening eulogētos ('blessed') begins a Jewish-style berakah (blessing formula) that extends through verse 14 in a single Greek sentence. The phrase en tois epouraniois ('in the heavenly places') is distinctive to Ephesians (1:20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12) — it designates the spiritual dimension where believers already exist 'in Christ.' The triple use of eulog- words (blessed, blessed, blessing) creates emphasis: God is blessed because he has blessed us with blessings. The phrase en Christō ('in Christ') is the letter's keynote — appearing about thirty-five times in Ephesians.

Translator Notes

1. The verb exelexato ('chose, elected') is aorist middle — God chose for himself. The temporal marker pro katabolēs kosmou ('before the foundation of the world') places the election in eternity past, before creation itself. The purpose of election is holiness: einai hēmas hagious kai amōmous ('that we should be holy and blameless'). The word amōmos ('without blemish') is sacrificial language — a sacrificial animal had to be without defect. The phrase en agapē ('in love') is grammatically ambiguous — it could modify 'blameless before him in love' (describing the believer's character) or 'in love he predestined us' (describing God's motive). We punctuate it with verse 5 (God's love as the motive for predestination), though noting the ambiguity.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The verb proorisas ('having predestined, having determined beforehand') is from pro ('before') + horizō ('to set a boundary, to determine'). God established the boundary of his people before time. The goal of predestination is huiothesia ('adoption') — the same Roman legal concept Paul used in Galatians 4:5. The phrase kata tēn eudokian tou thelēmatos autou ('according to the good pleasure of his will') grounds predestination in God's sovereign delight, not in human merit or foreseen faith.

Translator Notes

1. The first refrain: eis epainon doxēs tēs charitos autou ('to the praise of the glory of his grace'). The chain of genitives piles glory upon glory. The verb echaritōsen ('graced, favored, freely bestowed grace') is from the same root as charis ('grace') — God 'graced us with grace.' The title ho ēgapēmenos ('the Beloved') for Christ echoes the baptismal voice: 'This is my beloved Son' (Matthew 3:17). This refrain closes the first movement (the Father's election).

Translator Notes

1. The second movement begins: the Son's redemption. The word apolytrōsis ('redemption, release through ransom') echoes the Old Testament go'el concept — ransom of a kinsman from bondage. The phrase dia tou haimatos autou ('through his blood') specifies the ransom price. The appositive tēn aphesin tōn paraptōmatōn ('the forgiveness of trespasses') defines redemption's content: release from guilt. The phrase to ploutos tēs charitos ('the riches of grace') — grace is not meager but lavish.

Translator Notes

1. The verb eperisseusen ('caused to abound, lavished, poured out in excess') indicates overflowing abundance — God does not meter grace but floods it. The phrase en pasē sophia kai phronēsei ('with all wisdom and understanding') can modify either God (he lavished grace wisely) or the believers (he gave us wisdom and insight along with grace). Both readings are theologically sound; the latter connects to the revelation in verse 9.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The word mystērion ('mystery') in Paul does not mean 'mysterious' or 'unknowable' but refers to a divine plan once hidden but now revealed. The content of this mystery is disclosed in verse 10. The verb proetheto ('set forth, planned beforehand, purposed') indicates a deliberate, prior decision. The phrase en autō could refer to God himself ('in himself') or to Christ ('in him'). Given Ephesians' persistent en Christō theme, the christological reading is preferred.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The word oikonomia ('administration, plan, management of a household') pictures God as a master steward implementing his cosmic household plan. The phrase tou plērōmatos tōn kairōn ('of the fullness of the times') echoes Galatians 4:4 but extends it cosmically. The verb anakephalaiōsasthai ('to sum up, to bring together under one head, to recapitulate') is the theological center of Ephesians. It combines ana ('again') + kephalē ('head') — literally 'to re-head,' to bring everything back under its proper headship. God's plan is the reunification of a fractured cosmos under Christ's authority. The scope is total: ta panta ('all things'), ta epi tois ouranois kai ta epi tēs gēs ('things in heaven and things on earth').

Translator Notes

1. The verb eklērōthēmen is debated: it could mean 'we obtained an inheritance' (active sense) or 'we were made an inheritance' (passive sense — God claimed us as his possession). The passive reading aligns with Deuteronomy 32:9 ('the LORD's portion is his people') and is preferred here. The phrase tou ta panta energountos ('the one who works all things') asserts God's comprehensive sovereignty. The phrase kata tēn boulēn tou thelēmatos autou ('according to the counsel of his will') layers purpose upon purpose — God's actions are deliberate, not arbitrary.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Deuteronomy 32:9. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.

Translator Notes

1. The second refrain: eis epainon doxēs autou ('for the praise of his glory'). The participle proēlpikotas ('having hoped beforehand, having been the first to hope') likely distinguishes Jewish believers (who hoped in the Messiah before his coming) from Gentile believers (addressed in v. 13). This closes the second movement (the Son's redemption).

Translator Notes

1. The third movement begins: the Spirit's sealing. The sequence is hear → believe → be sealed. The 'word of truth' is defined as 'the gospel of your salvation' — two phrases in apposition. The verb esphragisthēte ('you were sealed') uses the image of a seal (sphragis) pressed into wax — marking ownership, authenticity, and security. In the ancient world, a seal guaranteed that a document or container had not been tampered with. The Spirit is the seal that marks believers as God's property. The phrase tō pneumati tēs epangelias tō hagiō ('with the Holy Spirit of the promise') identifies the Spirit as the fulfillment of God's promise (cf. Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:33).
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] References Joel 2:28-29 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The word arrabōn ('down payment, deposit, guarantee') is a commercial term — a first installment that guarantees the full payment to come. The Spirit is not the complete inheritance but the preview that guarantees the rest. The phrase eis apolytrōsin tēs peripoiēseōs ('until the redemption of the possession') likely means 'until God fully redeems those he has acquired as his own.' The third refrain closes the doxology: eis epainon tēs doxēs autou ('to the praise of his glory'). The Trinitarian structure is complete: Father (vv. 3-6), Son (vv. 7-12), Spirit (vv. 13-14), each section ending in praise.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase dia touto ('for this reason') links the prayer to the doxology: because of everything God has done (vv. 3-14), Paul prays. The mention of 'hearing about' their faith (akousas) may support the circular letter theory — Paul would not need to hear about the faith of a church he founded. Some manuscripts omit 'love' (agapēn), but the SBLGNT includes it.

Translator Notes

1. The present tense ou pauomai ('I do not cease') indicates continuous, habitual prayer. The phrase mneian poioumenos ('making mention, remembering') is a standard epistolary convention, but Paul's extended prayer (vv. 17-23) shows it is more than formula.

Translator Notes

1. The title ho patēr tēs doxēs ('the Father of glory') is unique — God is the source and origin of all glory. The phrase pneuma sophias kai apokalypseōs ('a spirit of wisdom and revelation') could refer to the Holy Spirit or to a disposition of wisdom — the lowercase 'spirit' is deliberately ambiguous. The word epignōsis ('full knowledge, deep recognition') is stronger than gnōsis ('knowledge') — it implies experiential, relational knowledge, not merely intellectual.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase tous ophthalmous tēs kardias ('the eyes of the heart') combines seeing and feeling — the heart in Hebrew/biblical thought is the center of understanding and will, not merely emotion. Paul prays for illumination of their deepest perception. Three 'what' (tis) clauses follow, each more expansive: (1) the hope of his calling, (2) the riches of his inheritance, (3) the greatness of his power (v. 19). The phrase 'his inheritance among the saints' is ambiguous: either the inheritance God gives to the saints or God's own inheritance in the saints (i.e., the saints themselves are God's treasured possession).

Translator Notes

1. Paul piles four power-words: dynamis ('power, ability'), energeia ('working, effective operation'), kratos ('might, dominion, ruling power'), ischys ('strength, force'). The accumulation is deliberate — no single word can capture the magnitude of God's power directed toward believers. The participle hyperballon ('surpassing, exceeding, going beyond') suggests that this power overflows every container. This is not theoretical power but power 'toward us who believe' (eis hēmas tous pisteuontas).

Translator Notes

1. The power Paul prays about is not abstract — it has a specific historical demonstration: the resurrection and exaltation of Christ. The verb enērgēsen ('exerted, worked, put into operation') is the verbal form of the noun energeia from verse 19. The phrase kathisas en dexia autou ('having seated at his right hand') echoes Psalm 110:1, the most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. The right hand is the position of authority, honor, and power.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Psalm 110:1 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

Translator Notes

1. The four terms — archē ('ruler, principality'), exousia ('authority'), dynamis ('power'), kyriotēs ('dominion, lordship') — likely refer to ranks of spiritual beings in first-century Jewish angelology. Christ is exalted hyperanō ('far above') all of them. The phrase pantos onomatos onomazomenou ('every name that is named') extends the scope beyond known categories — whatever power exists, named or unnamed, in any era, Christ is above it. The temporal extension 'not only in this age but also in the one to come' closes every loophole: Christ's supremacy is permanent.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase panta hypetaxen hypo tous podas autou ('put all things under his feet') quotes Psalm 8:6, applied to Christ as the true human who fulfills humanity's intended dominion over creation. The phrase kephalēn hyper panta ('head over all things') establishes Christ's universal lordship. But this cosmic head is 'given to the church' (edōken tē ekklēsia) — the church receives Christ as its head. The implication: the church is the community under Christ's direct authority, benefiting from his cosmic rule.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Psalm 8:6. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.

Translator Notes

1. The church is identified as Christ's sōma ('body') — not merely an organization but an organic extension of Christ's presence. The word plērōma ('fullness, completeness') is a dense theological term: the church is the plērōma of Christ. This could mean the church fills up Christ (the church is what completes Christ's presence in the world) or Christ fills the church (the church is full of Christ). The participle plēroumenou can be middle ('who fills') or passive ('who is being filled'). The active sense — Christ fills all things in every way — best fits the context's emphasis on Christ's cosmic authority. The church is where the cosmos-filling Christ is most fully present.