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OET interlinear EPH 1:4

← EPH 1:4 ↓ → ► ║ ≡ ©

SR Greek word order

    1. Greek word
    2. Greek lemma
    3. OET-LV words
    4. OET-RV words
    5. Strongs
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. καθώς
    2. kathōs
    3. as
    4. -
    5. 25310
    6. C·······
    7. as
    8. as
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128055
    1. ἐξελέξατο
    2. eklegō
    3. he chose
    4. He chose
    5. 15860
    6. VIAM3··S
    7. ˱he˲ chose
    8. ˱he˲ chose
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128056
    1. ἡμάς
    2. egō
    3. us
    4. us
    5. 14730
    6. R···1A·P
    7. us
    8. us
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128057
    1. ἐν
    2. en
    3. in
    4. -
    5. 17220
    6. P·······
    7. in
    8. in
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128058
    1. αὐτῷ
    2. autos
    3. him
    4. -
    5. 8460
    6. R···3DMS
    7. him
    8. him
    9. -
    10. Y64; R128054; Person=Jesus
    11. 128059
    1. πρό
    2. pro
    3. before
    4. before
    5. 42530
    6. P·······
    7. before
    8. before
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128060
    1. καταβολῆς
    2. katabolē
    3. +the foundation
    4. the
    5. 26020
    6. N····GFS
    7. ˓the˒ foundation
    8. ˓the˒ foundation
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128061
    1. κόσμου
    2. kosmos
    3. of +the world
    4. of the world
    5. 28890
    6. N····GMS
    7. ˱of˲ ˓the˒ world
    8. ˱of˲ ˓the˒ world
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128062
    1. εἶναι
    2. eimi
    3. to be
    4. to
    5. 15100
    6. VNPA····
    7. to_be
    8. to_be
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128063
    1. ἡμάς
    2. egō
    3. us
    4. -
    5. 14730
    6. R···1A·P
    7. us
    8. us
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128064
    1. ἁγίους
    2. hagios
    3. holy
    4. pure
    5. 400
    6. S····AMP
    7. holy
    8. holy
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128065
    1. καί
    2. kai
    3. and
    4. and
    5. 25320
    6. C·······
    7. and
    8. and
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128066
    1. ἀμώμους
    2. amōmos
    3. blameless
    4. blameless
    5. 2990
    6. S····AMP
    7. blameless
    8. blameless
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128067
    1. κατενώπιον
    2. katenōpion
    3. in front of
    4. in front his
    5. 27140
    6. P·······
    7. in_front_of
    8. in_front_of
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128068
    1. αὐτοῦ
    2. autos
    3. him
    4. -
    5. 8460
    6. R···3GMS
    7. him
    8. him
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128069
    1. ἐν
    2. en
    3. in
    4. -
    5. 17220
    6. P·······
    7. in
    8. in
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128070
    1. ἀγάπῃ
    2. agapē
    3. love
    4. love
    5. 260
    6. N····DFS
    7. love
    8. love
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128071

OET (OET-LV) as he_chose us in him before the_foundation of_the_world, us to_be holy and blameless in_front_of him in love,

OET (OET-RV) He chose us to follow him even before the creation of the world, so that we could become pure and blameless in front of him. Because of his love

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:3–14: God has done good things for us by means of Christ

Paul praised God for all the blessings that come to his people through Christ. Before God created the world, he chose us and then he redeemed us through Christ. God also revealed his plan to us. His plan is to unite everything in the world in the future with Christ as the Head. To show that we are his people, God gave us the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the guarantee that God will give us all the good things he has promised us.

In Greek, 1:3–14 is all one long sentence. Most translations break this sentence into several shorter sentences. In your translation, you can use a few long sentences or many shorter sentences, whichever sounds best.

Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:

Spiritual blessings in Christ

God blesses us because we are joined to Christ

Paragraph 1:3–6

Paul praised God for all the blessings that come to us believers through Christ. Long ago before God created the world, he chose us to be his people, because he wanted to adopt us as his children. He did all this because he loved us, because he wanted to show us favor (help us), in order that we might become holy people.

1:4a

For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world

For: There is an issue with the Greek word that the BSB translates as For. Scholars have various views about the way in which this Greek word connects 1:3 and 1:4. Here are the three main interpretations:

  1. The Greek word introduces some of the specific blessings that God has given us. In 1:3, Paul made the general statement that God has blessed us with every blessing. Beginning with 1:4, he tells specifically what some of these blessings are. An example of this interpretation is the NCV, which says:

    3bGod has given us every spiritual blessing…. 4That is, in Christ, he chose us before the world was made…. (NCV) (NCV, NJB footnote)

  2. The Greek word indicates the reason that God blessed us. All the blessings in 1:3 come to us because God chose us before he made the world. So according to this interpretation, the Greek word should be translated as “for” or “because.” For example:

    For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world… (NET) (BSB, NIV, NET, JBP)

  3. The Greek word indicates that the manner in which God has blessed us is the same as the manner in which he chose us. God has blessed us in Christ just as he chose us in Christ. According to this interpretation, the Greek word should be translated as “just as” or “even as.” For example:

    …just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world… (NASB) (RSV, KJV, NASB, ESV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

Here are some other ways to translate following interpretation (1):

The Display gives an example of each.

He chose us in Him: The pronoun He refers to God. The pronoun Him refers to Christ.

In order to make the meaning of He chose us clear you may need to say:

he chose us to be his people.

in Him: Most commentators agree that the phrase in Him indicates the reason God chose us.

Here is one way to translate:

God chose us because of Christ.

before the foundation of the world: In some languages, the meaning of before the foundation of the world will be clearer if you change the noun foundation into a verb and add the agent, who is God. For example:

before God created the world

Also consider whether it would be more natural in your language to put this clause at the beginning rather than at the end of the sentence. For example:

Before God created the world, he chose us…

world: Here the word world refers to the entire universe. It includes both the heavens and the earth. See world, Meaning 2 in the Glossary for more information.

1:4b

to be holy and blameless in His presence.

to be holy and blameless in His presence: Because this sentence that began in 1:4a is already long, you could break it and start a new sentence here by saying:

He did this so that we should be holy and blameless in his presence.

to be: The verb to be indicates the purpose God chose us.

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

He chose us in order that we should be holy and blameless.

He chose us so that we should be holy and blameless.

holy: Here holy “means pure, clean and without any sin.” See holy, Meaning 2 in the Glossary.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

without sin

pure spiritually

blameless: The word blameless means that there is nothing bad in a person’s behavior that God (or other people) could find fault with.Moore in his article “Doublets in the New Testament” rejects holy and blameless as a near-synonymous doublet.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

without blame (NCV

without fault (GNT, NLT)

innocent (CEV)

in His presence: The pronoun His refers to God. This is literally “before him.”

Here are some other ways to translate 1:4b:

that he will consider us to be holy and innocent

holy and blameless when we stand before him

he will see us as holy and innocent

1:4c

In love

In love: There are different views as to whether the phrase In love relates to what precedes or what follows:

  1. In love goes with 1:5. According to this interpretation, In love gives the reason why God decided to adopt us. One way to translate this phrase is, “because of his love” or “because he loves us.” For example:

    Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us… (GW) (BSB, NIV, RSV, GNT, NASB, NCV, GW, ESV)

  2. In love goes with 1:4. According to this interpretation, In love further describes the life for which God has chosen us, that is, we should be full of love. The REB follows this interpretation:

    he chose us in Christ to be his people, to be without blemish in his sight, to be full of love (REB) (NJB, NRSV, KJV, REB, CEV, NLT, NET)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

love: The word love here refers to God’s great affection and concern for his people. See love, Meaning 1 in the Glossary for more information.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους

holy (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καθώς ἐξελέξατο ἡμάς ἐν αὐτῷ πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου εἶναι ἡμάς ἁγίους καί ἀμώμους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ)

Paul uses the two similar words holy and blameless to emphasize moral goodness. If your language does not have two similar words, you can use one word for both, as in the UST.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives

ἀμώμους

blameless

The word blameless contains two negative ideas: “blame” or “fault,” and “-less,” which means “without.” If it would be helpful in your language, the two negative ideas can be replaced with the corresponding positive idea, “perfect.”

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Greek word
    5. Greek lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. as
    2. -
    3. 25310
    5. kathōs
    6. C-·······
    7. as
    8. as
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128055
    1. he chose
    2. He chose
    3. 15860
    5. eklegō
    6. V-IAM3··S
    7. ˱he˲ chose
    8. ˱he˲ chose
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128056
    1. us
    2. us
    3. 14730
    5. egō
    6. R-···1A·P
    7. us
    8. us
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128057
    1. in
    2. -
    3. 17220
    5. en
    6. P-·······
    7. in
    8. in
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128058
    1. him
    2. -
    3. 8460
    5. autos
    6. R-···3DMS
    7. him
    8. him
    9. -
    10. Y64; R128054; Person=Jesus
    11. 128059
    1. before
    2. before
    3. 42530
    5. pro
    6. P-·······
    7. before
    8. before
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128060
    1. +the foundation
    2. the
    3. 26020
    5. katabolē
    6. N-····GFS
    7. ˓the˒ foundation
    8. ˓the˒ foundation
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128061
    1. of +the world
    2. of the world
    3. 28890
    5. kosmos
    6. N-····GMS
    7. ˱of˲ ˓the˒ world
    8. ˱of˲ ˓the˒ world
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128062
    1. us
    2. -
    3. 14730
    5. egō
    6. R-···1A·P
    7. us
    8. us
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128064
    1. to be
    2. to
    3. 15100
    5. eimi
    6. V-NPA····
    7. to_be
    8. to_be
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128063
    1. holy
    2. pure
    3. 400
    5. hagios
    6. S-····AMP
    7. holy
    8. holy
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128065
    1. and
    2. and
    3. 25320
    5. kai
    6. C-·······
    7. and
    8. and
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128066
    1. blameless
    2. blameless
    3. 2990
    5. amōmos
    6. S-····AMP
    7. blameless
    8. blameless
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128067
    1. in front of
    2. in front his
    3. 27140
    5. katenōpion
    6. P-·······
    7. in_front_of
    8. in_front_of
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128068
    1. him
    2. -
    3. 8460
    5. autos
    6. R-···3GMS
    7. him
    8. him
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128069
    1. in
    2. -
    3. 17220
    5. en
    6. P-·······
    7. in
    8. in
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128070
    1. love
    2. love
    3. 260
    5. agapē
    6. N-····DFS
    7. love
    8. love
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 128071

OET (OET-LV) as he_chose us in him before the_foundation of_the_world, us to_be holy and blameless in_front_of him in love,

OET (OET-RV) He chose us to follow him even before the creation of the world, so that we could become pure and blameless in front of him. Because of his love

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.

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← EPH 1:4 ↑ → ► ║ ≡ ©