Προς Εφεσιους 3
1 Τούτου χάριν ἐγὼ Παῦλος ὁ δέσμιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν
Because [God has done all this for] you non-Jews, I, Paul, [pray for you. I want you to know that it is because I serve] Christ Jesus for your sake that I am in prison.
2 εἴγε ἠκούσατε τὴν οἰκονομίαν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς δοθείσης μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς,
I (assume that/think that probably) someone has told you how God acted very kindly toward me, appointing me [so that I would proclaim the gospel to you non-Jews].
3 ὅτι κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν ἐγνωρίσθη μοι τὸ μυστήριον, καθὼς προέγραψα ἐν ὀλίγῳ,
God revealed to me the message that he had not revealed to others. When you read what I have already written briefly about that,
4 πρὸς ὃ δύνασθε ἀναγινώσκοντες νοῆσαι τὴν σύνεσίν μου ἐν τῷ μυστηρίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
you will be able to understand that I understand clearly that message about Christ.
5 ὃ ἑτέραις γενεαῖς οὐκ ἐγνωρίσθη τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὡς νῦν ἀπεκαλύφθη τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ προφήταις ἐν πνεύματι,
Formerly, [God] did not reveal that message to anyone, but now his Spirit has revealed that message to (his holy apostles and prophets/people who tell messages that come directly from God).
6 εἶναι τὰ ἔθνη συνκληρονόμα καὶ σύνσωμα καὶ συνμέτοχα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου,
That message, which he has now revealed, is that because of our [(inc)] relationship with Christ Jesus, [all of us], non-Jews as well as Jews [MTY], will receive the [great spiritual blessings that God has] promised as we all form one group [MET] [as a result of our believing] the good news [about Christ].
7 οὗ ἐγενήθην διάκονος κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς δοθείσης μοι κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ.
By God powerfully enabling me, and because God acted kindly toward me, doing what I did not deserve, and chose me [to do that work], I became someone who tells others this good message.
8 ἐμοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη, τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
Although I am the least [worthy] of all God’s people, God kindly [appointed] me to proclaim to the non-Jews the message about the great spiritual blessings that [they can receive] from Christ,
9 καὶ φωτίσαι τίς ἡ οἰκονομία τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ ἀποκεκρυμμένου ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων ἐν τῷ θεῷ τῷ τὰ πάντα κτίσαντι, (aiōn g165)
and to enable everyone to understand clearly how God accomplished what he planned. God, who created everything, [has now revealed] this message, which he never revealed to anyone before. (aiōn g165)
10 ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ,
[What he planned] was that all (believers/people who belong to Christ) would be the ones who would reveal to all the ranks [DOU] of spiritual beings in heaven that what God had planned is wise in every way.
That is what God had always planned, and it is what he accomplished by what our Lord Jesus [has done]. (aiōn g165)
12 ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγὴν ἐν πεποιθήσει διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ.
Because of what he has done and because of our relationship with him, [when we pray] we can approach God confidently and without being afraid.
13 Διὸ αἰτοῦμαι μὴ ἐνκακεῖν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσίν μου ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, ἥτις ἐστὶν δόξα ὑμῶν.
So I ask that you do not be discouraged because of my suffering many things for you [here in prison]. You should feel honored that I am [willing to] suffer [these things for your sake].
14 τούτου χάριν κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα,
Because [God has done all this for you], I kneel [and pray] [MTY] to [God our] Father.
15 ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται,
He is the one who is [like] a father of all [the believers who are now in] heaven and those who are still on the earth.
16 ἵνα δῷ ὑμῖν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ δυνάμει κραταιωθῆναι διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον,
I pray that, using his unlimited resources, he will cause you to be strengthened by his Spirit {cause his Spirit to strengthen you} in your (inner beings/hearts) with all [God’s] power.
17 κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν,
That is, I pray that because of your trusting in Christ, his [Spirit] may live in your (inner beings/hearts) (OR, he may live in your hearts). And I pray that because you love [Christ] firmly and faithfully/continually [MET], you,
18 ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι, ἵνα ἐξισχύσητε καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ βάθος καὶ ὕψος,
along with all other believers, may be able to know how very [DOU] much Christ loves [us(inc)].
19 γνῶναί τε τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς γνώσεως ἀγάπην τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἵνα πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ.
I want you to experience how very deeply he loves us, even though it is not possible for us to understand fully [how much he loves us]. And I pray that God will enable you to be filled with {have a full measure of} all the [qualities of his character that] he himself has.
20 Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν,
[God] is able to do much (greater things/more) than we could ask him to do, or even that we might think that he can do, by his power that is working within us.
