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In this section, Paul resumed his prayer for the Ephesian Christians. He asked God to strengthen them by the Holy Spirit so that Christ could live in them. He prayed that they would love each other, and that they would know how much Christ loved them, even though he loved them more than people could understand. Paul finished his prayer by praising God for his great power.
Here are some other titles for this section:
Paul prayed that God would strengthen the Ephesians
Paul’s prayer for spiritual strength and love for the Ephesians
In this paragraph Paul prayed the prayer he almost began in 3:1. (See the note at 3:1.) He began this paragraph with the words “for this reason” which are the same words he used at the beginning of 3:1. The BSB indicates this connection by using ellipses here (as it did in 3:1).
from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
He is the one who causes all families to exist, both those in heaven and also those on earth.
He created all nations/clans/orders of beings in heaven and on earth.
from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name: The phrase from whom refers back to God the Father in 3:14. God is the one from whom each family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
whom: In the BSB, whom refers to God. (See the discussion on “whole family” below.)
every family: The Greek word that the BSB translates as every generally means “all.” So there is an interpretation issue here. This phrase can mean:
each or every family. For example:
…from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named. (NET) (BSB, GNT, RSV, NET, NASB, REB, NCV, ESV) According to this interpretation, the phrase translated as every family refers to human beings as well as angels.
every family. For example:
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. (KJV) (NIV, KJV, GW) According to this interpretation, the phrase translated as every family refers to the whole family of believers: both those in heaven and those on earth.
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and the majority of versions.
family in heaven and on earth: The phrase family in heaven and on earth is a figure of speech. The phrase in heaven refers to angels (beings who are spiritual or in heaven). The phrase on earth refers to humans (beings who are on earth).
The angels and humans are referred to as belonging to families. Here the word family refers to extended families like “clans” or “races,” or even “nations” of people. (It does not refer to the more common meaning of family consisting of a father, mother and their children.)
Since angels are not normally considered to be in families, the word family may cause some problems. For examples of ways to translate the phrase family in heaven and on earth, see below.
derives its name: The phrase derives its name is a figurative way to say that God gives every heavenly being and every human being its life and character. He is the Creator of everything in heaven and earth. He causes every group to exist.
Be careful to avoid a translation that gives the impression that God has given every family its surname.
Here are some ways to translate this phrase:
the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth (NLT)
All beings in heaven and on earth receive their life from him. (CEV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται
of whom (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξ οὗ πάσα πατριά ἐν οὐρανοῖς καί ἐπί γῆς ὀνομάζεται)
The act of naming here probably also represents the act of creating. Alternate translation: [who created and named every family in heaven and on earth]
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.