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OET (OET-LV) For/Because we_are the_workmanship of_him, having_been_created in chosen_one/messiah Yaʸsous for good works, which the god previously_prepared, in_order_that we_may_walk in them.
OET (OET-RV) We are God’s workmanship and he’s created us to do good things by following Yeshua the messiah. God has already planned these things for us to do.
In this section Paul explained how the power of God, which he described in 1:19–20, changed the lives of the Ephesians. 2:1–3 describes their condition before they became believers. 2:4–10 describes the new life that God gave to them. Paul stressed that God has done many things for them because he is kind, so they should not be proud.
Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:
Made alive in Christ (NLT)
From Death to life (GNT, CEV)
God Saved Us Because of His Great Love for Us (GW)
Because God is loving and kind he saved us(incl)
Remember that in 2:1–3, Paul was talking about the way people were before they trusted in Jesus. Now that they are believers, these things are no longer true. Make sure that this is clear in your translation.
For we are God’s workmanship,
For our being made new is God’s work.
Because it is God who has made us what we now are.
For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For here introduces the basis or reason for the previous statement in 2:9. Paul clearly states again that this grace and salvation are not from us or out of any good thing we have done.
Here is another way to translate this word:
Because,
we are God’s workmanship: The expression we are God’s workmanship means that God made us what we now are. This refers to God spiritually remaking us when we became Christians. By saying this Paul again emphasizes that our salvation is all God’s work, and not ours.
Here are some other ways to translate this expression:
God has made us what we are (GNT)
we are God’s masterpiece (NLT)
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
He created us in Christ Jesus to do good deeds,
Through our union with Christ Jesus, he has remade us into new beings, so that we should habitually do good behaviors.
created in Christ Jesus: When God saved us, he remade or recreated us. We are a new creation. See translation advice in the following note.
in Christ Jesus: God gave us this new life by uniting us with Christ Jesus. See how you translated in Christ Jesus in 1:1d and 2:6b and in Christ in 1:3b, 1:9b, and 1:12a.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
In Christ Jesus, God made us… (NCV)
God made us new people through Christ Jesus
God made us new people because we are in Christ Jesus
to do good works: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as to do good works is literally “walk in good works.” Here the word works means deeds. So the phrase to do good works means that believers should be doing good behaviors or doing good deeds as a normal part of their lives.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
for a life of good deeds (GNT)
so we can do the good things (NLT)
in order that we would behave in good ways
which God prepared in advance as our way of life.
which is the way he had already planned for us to live/behave.
Even before he saved us God had already planned for us to do these good works/deeds.
which God prepared in advance as our way of life: This clause means that before God recreated us, he had already planned what good deeds he wanted us to do.
in advance: The phrase in advance refers to the time before God saved us. If it is not clear in your translation what this refers to, you can supply this information. For example:
Even before he saved us, God had already planned for us to do these good works.
as our way of life: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as as our way of life is literally “that we should walk in them” (as in the RSV). The Greek word for “walk” is a figure of speech that refers to our daily actions and our behavior.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
for us to live doing good deeds
for us to behave in good ways
For another reference to “walk,” see the note on 2:2a.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
γάρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: αὐτοῦ Γάρ ἐσμέν ποίημα κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπί ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ Θεός ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν)
The connecting word For introduces a reason-result relationship. The reason is that God is the one who created us to do any good works that we do. The result is that people cannot boast. Use a phrase in your language that connects a reason to a result.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
in Christ Jesus
The phrase in Christ Jesus and similar expressions are metaphors that frequently occur in the New Testament letters. They express the strongest kind of relationship possible between Christ and those who believe in him.
Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal
ἵνα
in_order_that
The connecting phrase so that introduces a goal relationship. The goal or purpose of God creating us as he did is that we would do the good works that he intended for us to do.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν
in in them ˱we˲_˓may˒_walk
To walk on a path is a metaphor for how a person lives his life. Here, in them refers to the good works. Alternate translation: [we would always and continually do those good deeds]
2:10 He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us: Good works are the result, not the cause, of salvation. God’s Spirit, working through a transformed heart, produces a good life (Gal 5:22-23).
OET (OET-LV) For/Because we_are the_workmanship of_him, having_been_created in chosen_one/messiah Yaʸsous for good works, which the god previously_prepared, in_order_that we_may_walk in them.
OET (OET-RV) We are God’s workmanship and he’s created us to do good things by following Yeshua the messiah. God has already planned these things for us to do.
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.