Ephesians 4

1 I, the prisoner of the LORD, then call on you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,

I summon you then, I the prisoner in the Lord, to live lives worthy of the calling to which you were called.

2 with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love,

With all humility and gentleness and long-suffering forbear with one another in love;

3 being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace;

and endeavor to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.

4 one body and one Spirit, according as you were also called in one hope of your calling;

There is one body and one spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling.

5 one Lord, one faith, one immersion,

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 one God and Father of all, who [is] over all, and through all, and in you all,

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

7 and to each one of you was given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ,

And to each one of us was grace given according to the measure of the munificence of Christ.

8 for this reason, it says, “Having gone up on high He led captive captivity, and gave gifts to men.”

Thus it is said, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.

9 And that, He went up, what is it except that He also went down first into the lower parts of the earth?

Now surely this "he ascended" implies that he also descended into the lower part of the earth.

10 He who went down is the same who also went up far above all the heavens, that He may fill all things—

He who descended is he who ascended above the highest heaven, that he might fill the universe.

11 and He gave some [as] apostles, and some [as] prophets, and some [as] proclaimers of good news, and some [as] shepherds and teachers,

It is he who made some men apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

12 to the perfecting of the holy ones, for a work of ministry, for a building up of the body of the Christ,

in order to equip the saints for the work of serving, for the building up of the Body of Christ -

13 until we may all come to the unity of faith and of the recognition of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fullness of the Christ,

till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the maturity of manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

14 that we may no longer be children, being tossed by waves and being carried around by every wind of the teaching, in the cunning of men, in craftiness, to the scheming of leading astray,

So we shall no longer be children, tossed up and down, and blown about by every wind of teaching, tricked by the craft of men in the snares of misleading error;

15 and [speaking] truth in love, we may increase to Him [in] all things, who is the head—the Christ;

but holding the truth in love we shall grow up in every part into him who is our Head, even Christ.

16 from whom the whole body, being fitly joined together and united, through the supply of every joint, according to the working in the measure of each single part, the increase of the body makes for the building up of itself in love.

From him the whole body (knit together and compacted by all its joints) makes continual growth of the body so as to build itself up in love, through the energy of his bounteous provision, according to the need of each several part.

17 This, then, I say, and I testify in the LORD: you are no longer to walk, as also the other nations walk, in the vanity of their mind,

This then I tell you and implore you in the Master’s name, to pass your lives no longer as the Gentiles do in the perverseness of their minds;

18 being darkened in the understanding, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart,

having their understanding darkened, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts.

19 who, having ceased to feel, gave themselves up to the licentiousness, for the working of all uncleanness in greediness;

These being past feeling have given themselves over to sensuality, in order to practise every form of impurity with greedy zest.

20 and you did not so learn the Christ,

But you have not so learned Christ,

21 if [it] so be [that] you heard Him, and were taught in Him, as truth is in Jesus;

if indeed you have listened to him, and in him been taught the truth as it is in Jesus.

22 concerning the former behavior you are to put off the old man, that is corrupt according to the desires of the deceit,

You have learned to lay aside, with your former manner of living, the old self who was on his way to ruin, as he followed the desires which deceive;

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

and to be made new in the spirit of your mind,

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

and to put on the new self, created after God’s likeness, in the uprightness and holiness of the truth.

25 For this reason, putting away the lying, each speak truth with his neighbor, because we are members of one another;

So then put away falseness and speak every man the truth to his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

26 be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath,

"Be angry and sin not"; let not the sun go down upon your anger.

27 neither give place to the Devil;

Give the devil no place.

28 whoever is stealing let him no longer steal, but rather let him labor, working the thing that is good with the hands, that he may have to impart to him having need.

Let him who stole steal no more, but let him work, and in honest industry toil with his hands, so that he may have something to give to the needy.

29 Let no corrupt word go forth out of your mouth, but what is good to the necessary building up, that it may give grace to the hearers;

From your lips let no evil words come forth, but such as occasion warrants, such as are good for upbuilding and give a blessing to the hearers.

30 and do not make the Holy Spirit of God sorrowful, in which you were sealed to [the] day of redemption.

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice,

Banish from among you all bitterness and passion and anger and clamor and slander, as well as all malice;

32 and become kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, according as God also forgave you in Christ.

and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you.