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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Eph 1 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23
OET (OET-LV) the eyes of_the heart of_you_all having_been_enlightened in_order that to_have_known you_all, what is the hope of_the calling of_him, what are the riches of_the glory of_the inheritance of_him, in the holy ones,
OET (OET-RV) I ask that your inner thoughts will be enlightened so that you’ll all know the expectation of what he’s calling you to—the riches of the greatness of his inheritance for the believers
Paul started the next section by thanking God for the faith and love of the Christians in Ephesus. Then he prayed that they might know God better. Specifically, he prayed that they might know the good things that they can hope for in the future, the blessings that God has promised to his people and the greatness of God’s power. This is the power that raised Jesus from death and put him in the place of highest honor in heaven.
In Greek this whole section is one very long sentence. You will probably need to break it into several shorter sentences in your translation.
Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:
Paul’s prayer (GNT, CEV, NCV)
Paul’s prayer for spiritual wisdom (NLT)
Thanksgiving and prayer (NIV)
In 1:18–19a Paul prayed that the Christians in Ephesus would come to know three things. In the Display these are marked by repeating “I also pray that…”
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
I also pray that he will open your hearts/minds,
I also pray that he will cause/help you to understand the truth,
that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened: This is a figure of speech. In Jewish culture, the heart of a person represented his ability to think and understand. It also represented the person himself. The clause that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened means “that you may be enabled to understand.”
Here are some ways to translate figure of speech:
Use a figure of speech that communicates this in your language:
I pray also that you will have greater understanding in your heart (NCV)
I pray that God will cause you to see his light
Translate the meaning directly. For example:
that you may be enabled to understand
that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened is a passive clause. In some languages it may be more natural for you to use an active clause and supply God as the agent. For example:
that God will help you to understand
that God will give you special insight
In some languages a verb like “understand” may require an object. 1:18b indicates what God wanted them to know and understand. Consider how you can connect 1:18a and 1:18b in a natural way in your language. For example:
That God would help you understand the hope…
so that you may know the hope of His calling,
in order that you may understand the hope which he promised to you when he called you.
so that you will know the good things he has for you. You can confidently expect to receive these good things because he has chosen you to be his people.
so that: The phrase so that introduces the reason why Paul prayed for the Ephesians to have greater understanding. It was so that they would understand “the hope to which he had called them.”
the hope of His calling: The phrase the hope of His calling refers to the blessings that God promised to give to us. We can hope to receive these blessings, which He promised to give us when he called us to be his people.
hope: The Greek word which the BSB translates as hope means “to confidently expect and wait for something that we know will happen.” Christian hope includes the ideas that God is actively working in the lives of all believers and that they will live forever with him in heaven. The Greek meaning of hope is different from the modern English meaning. In modern English, hope means little more than “wish.” This is not the Greek meaning.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
confidence (GW)
confidently expect
calling: The word calling here means that “God called (invited, summoned) us to be his people.” In some languages, it is clearer to make this explicit. For example:
he chose us to be his own people
the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
And I pray that you will also know how great are the blessings that he promises to give to his people. -or- I also pray that you will know how wonderful and glorious are the spiritual blessings God has promised to his holy people.
the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints: This is the second thing that Paul prayed that the Ephesians would know.
riches: Paul used the word riches in a figurative sense to mean “abundant” or “great.”
glorious inheritance: The words glorious inheritance refer to all the spiritual blessings that God will give to us.
One translation model to follow for 1:18c is the GNT, which says:
how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people (GNT)
See how you translated glorious in 1:17a and 1:14a for inheritance.
Also see glory, Meaning 4 in the Glossary for more information.
in the saints: The phrase in the saints means that God has given the glorious inheritance “to” or “for” the people set apart for God.” For example:
how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people (GNT)
For more information on the word “saints,” see the note on 1:15c and Holy, Meaning 1, special use, in the Glossary for more information.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας
˓having_been˒_enlightened (Some words not found in SR-GNT: πεφωτισμένους τούς ὀφθαλμούς τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν εἰς τό εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς τίς ἐστίν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ τίς ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις)
Here, heart refers to a person’s mind or thinking. Alternate translation: [that you may gain understanding]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας
˓having_been˒_enlightened (Some words not found in SR-GNT: πεφωτισμένους τούς ὀφθαλμούς τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν εἰς τό εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς τίς ἐστίν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ τίς ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις)
If your language does not use this passive form, you can state this in active form. Alternate translation: [that God may give you understanding] or [that God may enlighten your mind]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: πεφωτισμένους τούς ὀφθαλμούς τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν εἰς τό εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς τίς ἐστίν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ τίς ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις)
The phrase eyes of your heart is a metaphor for one’s ability to gain understanding. Alternate translation: [that you may gain understanding and be enlightened]
πεφωτισμένους
˓having_been˒_enlightened
Alternate translation: [may be made to see]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ
˱of˲_the ˱of˲_the calling ˱of˲_him
Paul assumes that his readers will understand that the calling of God refers to his choosing people to believe in him. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [that you have because he chose you to be his people]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ
˱of˲_the ˱of˲_the ˱of˲_the ˱of˲_the inheritance ˱of˲_him
Receiving what God has promised to believers is spoken of as if one were inheriting property and wealth from a family member.
τοῖς ἁγίοις
the holy_‹ones›
Alternate translation: [those whom he has set apart for himself] or [those who belong completely to him]
1:18 Confident hope for believers is the anticipation of Christ’s return and his future blessings that they will share. Joined with Christ, believers become joint heirs with him of all God’s promised blessings.
OET (OET-LV) the eyes of_the heart of_you_all having_been_enlightened in_order that to_have_known you_all, what is the hope of_the calling of_him, what are the riches of_the glory of_the inheritance of_him, in the holy ones,
OET (OET-RV) I ask that your inner thoughts will be enlightened so that you’ll all know the expectation of what he’s calling you to—the riches of the greatness of his inheritance for the believers
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.