Ephesians 4

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation by which ye are called,

I urge you, then — I who am a prisoner in the Master’s cause — to live lives worthy of the Call that you have received;

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love;

always humble and gentle, patient, bearing lovingly with one another,

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

and striving to maintain in the bond of peace the unity given by the Spirit.

4 [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

There is but one Body and one Spirit, just as there was but one hope set before you when you received your Call.

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

There is but one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.

6 One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.

There is but one God and Father of all — the God who is over all, pervades all, and is in all.

7 But to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Every one of us, however, has been entrusted with some charge, each in accordance with the extent of the gift of the Christ.

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.

That is why it is said — ‘When he went up on high, he led his captives into captivity. And gave gifts to mankind.’

9 Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

Now surely this ‘going up’ must imply that he had already gone down into the world beneath.

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.

He who went down is the same as he who went up — up beyond the highest Heaven, that he might fill all things with his presence.

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

And he it is who gave to the Church Apostles, Prophets, Missionaries, Pastors, and Teachers,

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

to fit his People for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the Body of the Christ.

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

And this shall continue, until we all attain to that unity which is given by faith and by a fuller knowledge of the Son of God; until we reach the ideal man — the full standard of the perfection of the Christ.

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive:

Then we shall no longer be like infants, tossed backward and forward, blown about by every breath of human teaching, through the trickery and the craftiness of men, towards the snares of error;

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, who is the head, [even] Christ:

but holding the truth in a spirit of love, we shall grow into complete union with him who is our Head — Christ himself.

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love.

For from him the whole Body, closely joined and knit together by the contact of every part with the source of its life, derives its power to grow, in proportion to the vigour of each individual part; and so is being built up in a spirit of love.

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

This, then, as one in union with the Lord, I say to you and urge upon you: Do not continue to live such purposeless lives as the Gentiles live,

18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

with their powers of discernment darkened, cut off from the Life of God, owing to the ignorance that prevails among them and to the hardness of their hearts.

19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Lost to all sense of shame, they have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, in order to practice every kind of impurity without restraint.

20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

But far different is the lesson you learned from the Christ — if, that is, you really listened to him,

21 If indeed ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

and through union with him were taught the Truth, as it is to be found in Jesus.

22 That ye put off concerning the former manner of life the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts:

For you learned with regard to your former way of living that you must cast off your old nature, which, yielding to deluding passions, grows corrupt;

23 And be renewed in the Spirit of your mind;

that the very spirit of your minds must be constantly renewed;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

and that you must clothe yourselves in that new nature which was created to resemble God, with the righteousness and holiness springing from the Truth.

25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.

Since, therefore, you have cast off what is false, ‘you must every one of you speak the truth to your neighbours.’ For we are united to one another like the parts of a body.

26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

‘Be angry, yet do not sin.’ Do not let the sun go down upon your anger;

27 Neither give place to the devil.

and give no opportunity to the Devil.

28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with [his] hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Let the man who steals steal no longer, but rather let him toil with his hands at honest work, so that he may have something to share with any one in want.

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers.

Never let any foul word pass your lips, but only such good words as the occasion demands, that they may be a help to those who hear them.

30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed to the day of redemption.

And do not grieve God’s Holy Spirit; for it was through that Spirit that God sealed you as his, against the Day of Redemption.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

Let all bitterness, passion, anger, brawling, and abusive language be banished from among you, as well as all malice.

32 And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ready to forgive one another, just as God, in Christ, forgave you.