Ephesians 4

1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, call on you to walk worthily of the calling in which ye were called,

I then, the prisoner in the Lord, make this request from my heart, that you will see that your behaviour is a credit to the position which God's purpose has given you,

2 with all humility and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing each other in love.

With all gentle and quiet behaviour, taking whatever comes, putting up with one another in love;

3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,

Taking care to keep the harmony of the Spirit in the yoke of peace.

4 one body, and one Spirit. Just as also ye were called in one hope of your calling,

There is one body and one Spirit, even as you have been marked out by God in the one hope of his purpose for you;

5 one Lord, one faith, one immersion,

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 one God and Father of all. He is over all, and through all, and in us all.

One God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

7 But the grace was given to each of us, according to the measure of the gift of the Christ.

But to every one of us has grace been given in the measure of the giving of Christ.

8 Therefore he says, Having ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.

For this reason he says, He went up on high, taking his prisoners with him, and gave freely to men.

9 And what is the ascended, except that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

(Now this, He went up, what is it but that he first went down into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He who descended is also the same man who ascended high above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.

He who went down is the same who went up far over all the heavens so that he might make all things complete.)

11 And indeed he gave the apostles, and the prophets, and the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers

And he gave some as Apostles, and some, prophets; and some, preachers of the good news; and some to give care and teaching;

12 for the perfecting of the sanctified, for the work of ministry, for edification of the body of the Christ.

For the training of the saints as servants in the church, for the building up of the body of Christ:

13 Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a standard of stature of the fullness of the Christ.

Till we all come to the harmony of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to full growth, to the full measure of Christ:

14 So that we may no longer be childish, tossed about and carried about by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in craftiness with the methodology of error.

So that we may be no longer children, sent this way and that, turned about by every wind of teaching, by the twisting and tricks of men, by the deceits of error;

15 But being truthful in love, we may cause all things to grow for him who is the head-the Christ-

But saying true words in love, may come to full growth in him, who is the head, even Christ;

16 from whom the whole body, joined together and united together through every connection of the supply, according to the working of each one part within a standard, makes the growth of the body for the construction of itself by love.

Through whom all the body, being rightly formed and united together, by the full working of every part, is increased to the building up of itself in love.

17 This I say therefore, and solemnly declare in the Lord, for you to walk no longer as also the other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

This I say, then, and give witness in the Lord, that you are to go no longer in the way of the Gentiles whose minds are turned to that which has no profit,

18 darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the callousness of their heart.

Whose thoughts are dark, to whom the life of God is strange because they are without knowledge, and their hearts have been made hard;

19 Who, having become callous, gave themselves over to licentiousness for the work of all uncleanness in greed.

Who having no more power of feeling, have given themselves up to evil passions, to do all unclean things with overmuch desire.

20 But ye did not so learn the Christ,

For this was not the teaching of Christ which was given to you;

21 if indeed ye heard him, and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus,

If in fact you gave ear to him, and were given teaching in him, even as what is true is made clear in Jesus:

22 for you to put off the old man according to your former conduct, the man who is corrupt according to the desires of deceitfulness,

That you are to put away, in relation to your earlier way of life, the old man, which has become evil by love of deceit;

23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

And be made new in the spirit of your mind,

24 and to put on the new man according to God, the man who was created in righteousness and piety of the truth.

And put on the new man, to which God has given life, in righteousness and a true and holy way of living.

25 Therefore having put off falsehood, let each man speak truth with his neighbor, because we are body-parts of each other.

And so, putting away false words, let everyone say what is true to his neighbour: for we are parts one of another.

26 Be ye angry, and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath,

Be angry without doing wrong; let not the sun go down on your wrath;

27 neither give a place to the devil.

And do not give way to the Evil One.

28 Let the man who steals steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the good, so that he may have to give to him who has need.

Let him who was a thief be so no longer, but let him do good work with his hands, so that he may have something to give to him who is in need.

29 Let no corrupt speech go out of your mouth, rather if there is any good word for edification of a need, so that it may give grace to those who hear.

Let no evil talk come out of your mouth, but only what is good for giving necessary teaching, and for grace to those who give ear.

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in which ye are sealed for a day of redemption.

And do not give grief to the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were marked for the day of salvation.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and reviling be taken away from you, with all evil.

Let all bitter, sharp and angry feeling, and noise, and evil words, be put away from you, with all unkind acts;

32 And become good toward each other, compassionate, forgiving each other, even as also God in Christ forgave us.

And be kind to one another, full of pity, having forgiveness for one another, even as God in Christ had forgiveness for you.