Bible Engagement Project App + Resources

  

                                                                    Robert R. Crawford

NGRK 505: Greek Language Tools

March 2025

Ephesians 2:1-10 Literary Context
Block Diagram: Clauses and Verbals
Comparing translations

Ephesians 2:1-10 Literary Context 
500 word limit on literary context assignment

Analyzing literary context in a biblical passage is necessary because the words by themselves do not have much meaning at all.[1] Starting in Ephesians 2:1-10, English Standard Version, Paul repeats words reinforcing ideas, “you”, “we”, “us”, “grace”, “Christ”, “with him”, “dead”, and “trespasses” each provide substance to Paul’s intended meaning alluding to external ties. For example, Paul changes the subject “you” in 2:1-2 using “we” in 2:3, 5, and 10. “We” repeats four times; first, in verses three and five “we” indicates Paul and the believers, Gentiles included (2:11), “… were by nature children of wrath … dead in our trespasses (Eph. 2:3, 5).” Next, Paul uses “you” in verses five and eight along with “we” in verse ten twice. This indicates Paul is including himself in the entire context. Similarly, the word “us” repeats five times, and Paul uses “together” and “with” to indicate inclusiveness linking believers, Paul included, with Christ.

In 2:1, Paul uses “and” connecting it to the external context of chapter one where he uses “grace”, “us”, and “we” with the word saints. Jumping to verse 2:11 provides a connection to Gentiles, who are believers, clearly he considers them saints. Paul is of Jewish descent; by using “we” and “us”, he is stating Jews and Gentiles are one under Christ. Paul does not use the term Jews at all in Ephesians, these connecting words imply all who believe are saints. Paul continues to repeat the two become one under Christ in verses 2:14-22. Furthermore, the first word “therefore” in 2:11-13, supports inclusiveness by tying these sections together. Paul first uses Gentiles in 2:11 (also in 3:1, 6, 8, and 4:17), expanding the meaning of 2:1-10 providing clarification that “Gentiles” are together with the believers “bought near” by Christ’s blood. Looking at the “big picture”, Paul uses “grace” 12 times in Ephesians, three times in the passage under observation 2:1-10, with the subject being “you” twice and “us” one time.[2] One obtains salvation by God’s gift of grace, through faith and repentance. However, the unity of Christ’s body and Paul’s use of “grace” later demonstrates God is using Paul to reveal the “mystery of Christ”, and the uniting of the church (Eph. 3:2-8, 4:1-7).

Grace in 4:7 is of particular interest because grace is the gift from Christ that provides the church with “…the apostles, the prophets…to equip the saints for the work of, ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:7-13).” The gift of these gifts (gift is grace; gifts is people positions) given by Christ to the entire body makes all believers grow into maturity under Christ. This short examination conveys Paul’s overarching meaning of repentance, unity, and the building up of the church body all under Christ.

[1] A. Chadwick Thornhill, Greek for Everyone: Introductory Greek for Bible Study and Application (Gran Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2016), 13.

[2] A. Chadwick Thornhill, Greek for Everyone: Introductory Greek for Bible Study and Application (Gran Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2016), 14.

Block Diagram: Clauses and Verbals - Ephesians 2:1–10 (ESV)

¹And you were dead

in the trespasses and sins ²in which you once walked,

following the course of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work

in the sons of disobedience—

³among whom we all once lived

in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath,

like the rest of mankind.

⁴But God, being rich in mercy,

because of the great love with which he loved us,

⁵even when we were dead

in our trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ—

by grace you have been saved—

⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him

in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace

in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

¹⁰For we are his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand,

that we should walk in them.

Comparing translations

Scripture Reference:	Ephesians 2:1-10
Formal Equivalent:	ESV	Dynamic Equivalent:	NIV	Paraphrase:	NLT
Enter Text in the Box Below		Enter Text in the Box Below		Enter Text in the Box Below
2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins     2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—     3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.     4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,   5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—     6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,     7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.       8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,     9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.       10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.   The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 2:1–10.		2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.   3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.   6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,   7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.   8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.   10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.   The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Eph 2:1–10.		2 It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin.   You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.     We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.   Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us.   He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us!   Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.       7–10  Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work.   All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!     We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing!   No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), Eph 2:1–10.

In a thread of at least 400 words, respond to these questions:

 

1.      What are the general differences between the translational strategies of the three translations, and where are the specific places in your passage where these differences are most evident?

 

From formal to functional lies the spectrum of translation. First, formal attempts to adhere to the original grammatical format and syntax while likely being more difficult to read or comprehend. Second, functional is more concerned with conveying the intent of meaning and not as concerned with the structure of the text. Some translations attempt to take the best of both worlds formal/functional. However, as stated in our Thornhill text, there is no way “grammar, syntax and meaning” can be exactly reproduced when translating from one language to another. As for paraphrasing, we can use these translations to gain insight, but in my opinion, we should avoid them. This is especially important when we see things like the “LOL Cat Bible”. God’s Word is holy, and it is hard to keep it that way with slang.
Immediately in verse 2:1, we see a drastic difference when examining the formal to functional. The farther right on the spectrum we go, the wordier it gets. We see NIV using more commas to break up structure. The MSG just seems like grandma preaching on the front porch, the word dead is completely absent and it seems to have less impact. Furthermore, I see the word sin is singular; this is interesting considering one sin condemns us. In 2:3, we see syntax issues between ESV and NIV; the MSG goes off in a weird direction with wording. In 2:6, we see him instead of Christ used, in 2:9-10, the ESV and NIV seem to match up until the end where the ESV becomes wordier and with the words handiwork vs workmanship differing. Again, the MSG is in left field with its word choice, more on that in question two below. 

Note: For some reason, I cannot add footnotes in these text boxes in MS Word. I utilized the Thornhill text chapters 4 and 15 throughout this post.

 

2.      Although some differences might not impact the meaning or clarity of the passage, others might. What are the significant differences between the three translations? How could these differences impact one’s interpretation of the passage?

 

As I attempt to perform triage, I see the MSG in 2:2, refers to filling lungs with air, which lessens the impact Satan can have on a life. The interpretation seems to overlook the presence of evil with the word spirit being absent as well. In verse 2:6, we see the ESV leaving us to ask the question; who is the word him? Whereas in the NIV and even in the MSG it is much clearer, portraying Christ as him. Verses 2:9-10, seem relatively close in the ESV and NIV translations except at the end of 10 where the EVS is wordier. Furthermore, the wordiness of the MSG seems to attempt to increase the impact and simplify. However, once again, the MSG also seems to distract from the holiness of God’s Word, which is something I do not care for, I tend to get lost in the mess.

 

3.      For one of the significant differences you noted in the previous question, find the Greek text in an interlinear that is giving rise to the English translations/differences. Write the Greek word(s) in your response below, and then look up the potential meaning of the word(s) in a lexicon. Based on the rest of your selected passage, which of the options for the word(s) listed in the lexicon fits best in this particular context? Why?

 

Verse 2:6 – The word him was the one I was concerned with in both cases but it is part of a phrase.

- συνήγειρεν - Strong's Lexicon 4981 sunegeiró: To raise together, to awaken together
Original Word: συνεγείρω
Word Origin: From the Greek words σύν (syn, meaning "with" or "together") and ἐγείρω (egeiró, meaning "to raise" or "to awaken"). Usage: The verb "sunegeiró" is used in the New Testament to describe the act of being raised together with Christ. It conveys the idea of a spiritual resurrection or awakening that believers experience through their union with Jesus Christ. This term emphasizes the transformative power of the believer's new life in Christ, symbolizing both a present spiritual reality and a future physical resurrection.
The best option is “to raise together” because of the context
https://biblehub.com/

- συνεκάθισεν - Strong's Lexicon 4776 sugkathizó: To sit together, to sit down with
Original Word: συγκαθίζω
Word Origin: From the Greek words σύν (sun, meaning "with" or "together") and καθίζω (kathizó, meaning "to sit" or "to seat"). Usage: The verb συγκαθίζω (sugkathizó) is used to describe the act of sitting down together with others. It implies a sense of companionship, fellowship, or shared experience. In the New Testament, it often conveys the idea of communal or joint participation, whether in a physical or metaphorical sense.
The best option is “to sit down with” once again do to the context
https://biblehub.com/

While this does not resolve the question presented in question two (who is him?), the issue is addressed with my suggestion in question four.

 

1.      If you had to recommend one change to the translation committees of each of the three translations, what would you recommend and why?

ESV verse 2:6, change him to Christ so it is clear the reader knows God raised and seated Christ, not someone else.
NIV verse 2:10, change handiwork to workmanship. It has a similar meaning and seems to be more aligned with the 4161 definition of workmanship, creation, and work, and is less informal.
In the MSG, I suggest reducing the amount of words in the entire translation because it convolutes the meaning and comprehension of the text.