Ephesians · Bible in Basic English
Ephesians 2 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
BBE Bible in Basic English
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
PT1904 Patriarchal Text 1904 (accented, eBible edition)
1 And to you did he give life, when you were dead through your wrongdoing and sins,
1 You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins,
1 Καὶ ὑμᾶς ὄντας νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασι καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις,
2 In which you were living in the past, after the ways of this present world, doing the pleasure of the lord of the power of the air, the spirit who is now working in those who go against the purpose of God;
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience.
2 ἐν αἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος, τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας·
3 Among whom we all at one time were living in the pleasures of our flesh, giving way to the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and the punishment of God was waiting for us even as for the rest.
3 We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
3 ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν, ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν, καὶ ἦμεν τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς, ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί· —
4 But God, being full of mercy, through the great love which he had for us,
4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
4 ὁ δὲ Θεὸς πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ ἣν ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς,
5 Even when we were dead through our sins, gave us life together with Christ (by grace you have salvation),
5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
5 καὶ ὄντας ἡμᾶς νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασι συνεζωοποίησε τῷ Χριστῷ· χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι·
6 So that we came back from death with him, and are seated with him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus;
6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
6 καὶ συνήγειρε καὶ συνεκάθισεν ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ,
7 That in the time to come he might make clear the full wealth of his grace in his mercy to us in Christ Jesus:
7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus;
7 ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσι τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸν ὑπερβάλλοντα πλοῦτον τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.
8 Because by grace you have salvation through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is given by God:
8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
8 τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι διὰ τῆς πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, Θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον,
9 Not by works, so that no man may take glory to himself.
9 not of works, that no one would boast.
9 οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις καυχήσηται.
10 For by his act we were given existence in Christ Jesus to do those good works which God before made ready for us so that we might do them.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
10 αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν.
11 For this reason keep it in mind that in the past you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are looked on as being outside the circumcision by those who have circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;
11 Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision” (in the flesh, made by hands),
11 Διὸ μνημονεύετε ὅτι ὑμεῖς ποτε τὰ ἔθνη ἐν σαρκί, οἱ λεγόμενοι ἀκροβυστία ὑπὸ τῆς λεγομένης περιτομῆς ἐν σαρκὶ χειροποιήτου,
12 That you were at that time without Christ, being cut off from any part in Israel's rights as a nation, having no part in God's agreement, having no hope, and without God in the world.
12 that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
12 ὅτι ἦτε ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ χωρὶς Χριστοῦ, ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι τῆς πολιτείας τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ξένοι τῶν διαθηκῶν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ἐλπίδα μὴ ἔχοντες καὶ ἄθεοι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who at one time were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.
13 νυνὶ δὲ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ὑμεῖς οἱ ποτὲ ὄντες μακρὰν ἐγγὺς ἐγενήθητε ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
14 For he is our peace, who has made the two into one, and by whom the middle wall of division has been broken down,
14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation,
14 αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν, ὁ ποιήσας τὰ ἀμφότερα ἓν καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας,
15 Having in his flesh put an end to that which made the division between us, even the law with its rules and orders, so that he might make in himself, of the two, one new man, so making peace;
15 having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace,
15 τὴν ἔχθραν, ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ αὐτοῦ τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασι καταργήσας, ἵνα τοὺς δύο κτίσῃ ἐν ἑαυτῷ εἰς ἕνα καινὸν ἄνθρωπον ποιῶν εἰρήνην,
16 And that the two might come into agreement with God in one body through the cross, so putting an end to that division.
16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility through it.
16 καὶ ἀποκαταλλάξῃ τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι τῷ Θεῷ διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἀποκτείνας τὴν ἔχθραν ἐν αὐτῷ·
17 And he came preaching peace to you who were far off, and to those who were near;
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near.
17 καὶ ἐλθὼν εὐηγγελίσατο εἰρήνην ὑμῖν τοῖς μακρὰν καὶ τοῖς ἐγγύς,
18 Because through him the two of us are able to come near in one Spirit to the Father.
18 For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
18 ὅτι δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἔχομεν τὴν προσαγωγὴν οἱ ἀμφότεροι ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα.
19 So then you are no longer as those who have no part or place in the kingdom of God, but you are numbered among the saints, and of the family of God,
19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God,
19 ἄρα οὖν οὐκέτι ἐστὲ ξένοι καὶ πάροικοι, ἀλλὰ συμπολῖται τῶν ἁγίων καὶ οἰκεῖοι τοῦ Θεοῦ,
20 Resting on the base of the Apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief keystone,
20 being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;
20 ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν, ὄντος ἀκρογωνιαίου αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,
21 In whom all the building, rightly joined together, comes to be a holy house of God in the Lord;
21 in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
21 ἐν ᾧ πᾶσα οἰκοδομὴ συναρμολογουμένη αὔξει εἰς ναὸν ἅγιον ἐν Κυρίῳ·
22 In whom you, with the rest, are united together as a living-place of God in the Spirit.
22 in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
22 ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς συνοικοδομεῖσθε εἰς κατοικητήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν Πνεύματι.
Cross references (22)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Colossians 2:13; Ephesians 2:5–6; Colossians 3:1–4; Romans 8:2; Ephesians 4:18
- 2 Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 5:19; Ephesians 2:3; John 12:31; Colossians 3:6–7
- 3 Titus 3:3; Galatians 5:16–24; Ephesians 4:22; 1 Peter 1:14; Romans 13:14
- 4 1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 3:4–7; Psalm 86:15; Romans 5:8
- 5 Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 5:10; Romans 5:8; Acts 15:11
- 6 Colossians 3:1–3; Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 2:12–13; Romans 6:4–5; John 17:21–26
- 7 1 Timothy 1:16–17; Titus 3:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; Ephesians 2:4; Isaiah 60:15
- 8 Romans 3:22–26; Ephesians 2:5; Romans 4:16; John 1:12–13; Romans 10:17
- 9 2 Timothy 1:9; Romans 11:6; Titus 3:3–5; Romans 9:16; 1 Corinthians 1:29–31
- 10 Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:10; Hebrews 13:21; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Corinthians 9:8
- 11 Colossians 2:11; Colossians 2:13; Colossians 3:11; Romans 2:28–29; Galatians 6:12
- 12 Galatians 4:8; Colossians 1:21; 1 Peter 1:3; Jeremiah 31:31–34; 1 Thessalonians 4:13
- 13 Acts 2:39; Colossians 1:20–22; Colossians 1:13–14; Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Corinthians 6:11
- 14 Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:15; Colossians 3:11; Ephesians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 12:12–13
- 15 Colossians 2:14; Galatians 3:10; Colossians 1:21–22; Hebrews 8:13; Galatians 6:15
- 16 Colossians 1:20–22; Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18–21; Colossians 2:14; Galatians 2:20
- 17 Isaiah 57:19–21; Acts 10:36; Romans 5:1; Acts 2:39; Ephesians 2:13–14
- 18 Ephesians 3:12; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 5:2; Ephesians 4:4; John 14:6
- 19 Philippians 3:20; 1 John 3:1; Galatians 6:10; Galatians 3:26–28; Ephesians 2:12
- 20 1 Peter 2:4–5; Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:7–8; Psalm 118:22; Ephesians 4:11–13
- 21 1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 4:13–16; 1 Kings 6:7
- 22 1 Peter 2:4–5; 1 Corinthians 3:16; John 17:21–23; 1 John 4:16; John 14:17–23
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… dead, having loosed the bands of the grave." "In whom, though now ye see Him not, ye believe, and believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;" into which joy many desire to enter, knowing that "by grace ye are saved, not of works," but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.
… and His subjection to death, he employs the name of Christ, as in that passage: "Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died." And again: "But now, in Christ, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." And again: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a …
In Thy Church, therefore, O our God, according to Thy grace which Thou hast accorded unto it, since we are Thy workmanship created in good works, there are not only those who are spiritually set over, but those also who are spiritually subjected to those placed over them; for in this manner hast Thou made man, male and female, in …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
… a hedge; as the prophet saith: "Thou hast broken down her hedge, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck off her grapes:" and, "I have set a hedge about it:" and Paul, "Having broken down the middle wall of the hedge." But others say, that the saying, "Why was the hedge broken up for thee?" was …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
For we are His workmanship, says the Apostle, created unto good works, which God afore prepared, that we should walk in them.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)