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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 4 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32
OET (OET-LV) who having_languished, gave_ themselves _over to_ the _wantonness for the_working of_impurity all with greediness.
OET (OET-RV) They stopped caring about what’s right and wrong, and then greedily indulged themselves in their own impure lusts.
Paul urged the Christians to stop doing the evil deeds that they used to do before they knew God. He urged them to start doing the good things that people who know Christ should do. He gave examples of old (former) behavior that they must stop doing, for example: lying, theft, anger and slander. Instead they must be kind, tender and forgiving.
Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:
Live as God’s people (GW)
The old life and the new life (CEV)
Don’t live as pagans but as God’s people
Commentators and versions differ on how 4:19a and 4:19b are connected to one another. There are two main interpretations:
“Having lost all sense of shame” is the reason “they have given themselves over to sensuality.” For example:
Since they no longer have any sense of shame (GW)
(BSB, NIV, NJB, GW, NET, REB, NASB, KJV, CEV)
“Having lost all sense of shame” and “they have given themselves over to sensuality” are separate examples connected by the word “and.” For example:
They have lost all feeling of shame, and… (NCV)
(RSV, GNT, NLT, NCV, ESV, JBP)
Since there is strong support for both interpretations, either is acceptable. It is recommended that you consult your national versions and follow their example.
Having lost all sense of shame,
Since/Because they no longer feel shame,
They no longer feel guilty for doing evil things, so
Having lost all sense of shame: The phrase lost all sense of shame means that when the Gentiles do evil things, they are not ashamed of their actions. These people do evil things day after day, until their hearts (consciences) become “callous” (RSV); that is, they no longer feel ashamed or guilty.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
They no longer have any feelings about what is right (CEV)
They have no sense of shame (NLT)
they have given themselves over to sensuality
they have turned themselves over to doing immoral things
they allow themselves to do evil/shameful things.
they have given themselves over to sensuality: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as given themselves over means that “they have turned themselves over” to sensuality, or “they have handed themselves over” to sensuality.
sensuality: The Greek word for sensuality means shameful behavior, impure behavior, immoral ways, debauchery. This is talking mainly about sexual sins, but it may also include other evil behavior, such as getting drunk.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
They live for lustful pleasure (NLT)
they do nothing else but shameful deeds
they pass their time behaving in shameful ways
for the practice of every kind of impurity,
resulting in their practice of every kind of immorality,
They continually do all kinds of immoral acts/behaviours,
for the practice of every kind of impurity: The Greek word that the BSB translates as for the practice of also means “to continually do something” or “satisfy a desire.”
every kind of impurity: The word impurity means sexual immorality. It means almost the same thing as “sensuality” in 4:19b. For example:
They practice every kind of sexual perversion (GW)
with a craving for more.
and they want to do more.
and they never stop desiring even more of these things.
with a craving for more: The Greek phrase which the BSB translates as craving for more is literally “in greediness.” These people are “greedy for more sin” or they “want to sin more.” Their sinful desires are never satisfied.
Some other ways to say this are:
they do not restrain themselves
they do not hold themselves back from doing all these immoral deeds
They continually seek for more sinful pleasure
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἑαυτοὺς παρέδωκαν τῇ ἀσελγείᾳ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἵτινες ἀπηλγηκότες ἑαυτούς παρέδωκαν τῇ ἀσελγείᾳ εἰς ἐργασίαν ἀκαθαρσίας πάσης ἐν πλεονεξίᾳ)
Paul speaks of these people as if they were objects that they themselves were giving to other people, and he speaks of the way that they want to satisfy their physical desires as if the desires were the person to whom they give themselves. Alternate translation: [have given in to every physical desire] or [only want to satisfy their physical desires]
OET (OET-LV) who having_languished, gave_ themselves _over to_ the _wantonness for the_working of_impurity all with greediness.
OET (OET-RV) They stopped caring about what’s right and wrong, and then greedily indulged themselves in their own impure lusts.
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.