EPH 1:13 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) And you people also, after hearing the message of truth, the good message about being saved, were confirmed by receiving the spirit of pure promise after you believed.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT In him, you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and having believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

UST Then you non-Jews also heard the true message, the good news of how God saves you, and you believed in the Messiah. When you did that, God marked you as belonging to the Messiah by giving you the Holy Spirit, as he had promised to do.

BSB And in [Him], having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

MSB [And] in [Him] you also—having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—believed and were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

BLB in whom you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel your of salvation, in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

AICNT In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,[fn]

1:13, Spirit: The Greek word for Spirit is given the following definitions by BDAG: (1) air in movement, blowing, breathing, (2) that which animates or gives life to the body, breath , (life-)spirit, (3) a part of human personality, spirit, (4) an independent noncorporeal being, in contrast to a being that can be perceived by the physical senses, spirit, or (5) God's being as controlling influence, with focus on association with humans, Spirit, spirit ... (c) Because of its heavenly origin and nature this Spirit is called (the) Holy Spirit. (BDAG, πνεῦμα)

OEB And you, too, by your union with him, after you had heard the message of the truth, the good news of your salvation – you believed in him and were sealed as his by receiving the holy Spirit, which he had promised.

WEBBE In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) – when you believed in Christ – you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,

LSV in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth—the good news of your salvation—in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise,

FBV In him—you[fn] too have heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation. In him—because you trusted in him you were stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit's promise,

1:13 “You” meaning Gentile Christians.

TCNT [fn]And when you heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Christ, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

1:13 And when you heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Christ, ¦ We also heard the word of the truth about Christ, the gospel of your salvation; by whom, when you believed, PCK

T4T You Ephesians also heard the true message, the good message about how God saves you. People put their seal on something to show that it belongs to them. Similarly, when you believed in Christ, God showed that you also belong to him by sending you the Holy Spirit as he promised to do [MET].

LEB in whom also you, when you heard[fn] the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

1:13 *This participle (“hearing”) and the following one (“believing”) are understood as temporal

BBE In whom you, having been given the true word, the good news of your salvation, and through your faith in him, were given the sign of the Holy Spirit of hope,

Moff You also have heard the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and in him you also by your faith have been stamped with the seal of the long-promised holy Spirit

Wymth And in Him you Gentiles also, after listening to the Message of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—having believed in Him—were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit;

ASV in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,—in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

DRA In whom you also, after you had heard the word of truth, (the gospel of your salvation;) in whom also believing, you were signed with the holy Spirit of promise,

YLT in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth — the good news of your salvation — in whom also having believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise,

Drby in whom ye also [have trusted], having heard the word of the truth, the glad tidings of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, ye have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

RV in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,—in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
(in whom ye/you_all also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,—in whom, having also believed, ye/you_all were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, )

SLT In whom ye also, having heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation: in whom also having believed, ye were sealed by the holy Spirit of solemn promise,

Wbstr In whom ye also trusted , after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

KJB-1769 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
(In whom ye/you_all also trusted, after that ye/you_all heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye/you_all believed, ye/you_all were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, )

KJB-1611 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of trueth, the Gospel of your saluation: in whom also after that yee beleeued, yee were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps In whom also ye, after that ye heard the worde of trueth, the Gospell of your saluation, wherin also after that ye beleued, were sealed with the holy spirite of promyse,
(In whom also ye/you_all, after that ye/you_all heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, wherein also after that ye/you_all believed, were sealed with the holy spirit of promise,)

Gnva In whom also ye haue trusted, after that ye heard the worde of trueth, euen the Gospel of your saluation, wherein also after that ye beleeued, ye were sealed with the holy Spirite of promise,
(In whom also ye/you_all have trusted, after that ye/you_all heard the word of truth, even the Gospel of your salvation, wherein also after that ye/you_all believed, ye/you_all were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise, )

Cvdl on who also ye beleued, after that ye herde the worde of trueth, namely ye Gospell of youre saluacion: wherin whan ye beleued, ye were sealed with the holy sprete of promes,
(on who also ye/you_all believed, after that ye/you_all herd/heard the word of truth, namely ye/you_all Gospel of your(pl) salvation: wherein when ye/you_all believed, ye/you_all were sealed with the holy spirit of promes,)

TNT In whom also ye (after that ye hearde the worde of trueth I meane the gospell of youre saluacion wherin ye beleved) were sealed with the holy sprete of promes
(In whom also ye/you_all (after that ye/you_all heard the word of truth I mean the gospel of your(pl) salvation wherein ye/you_all believed) were sealed with the holy spirit of promes )

Wycl In whom also ye weren clepid, whanne ye herden the word of treuthe, the gospel of youre heelthe, in whom ye bileuynge ben merkid with the Hooli Goost of biheest, which is the ernes of oure eritage,
(In whom also ye/you_all were called, when ye/you_all heard the word of truth, the gospel of your(pl) health, in whom ye/you_all believing been merkid with the Holy Ghost of biheest, which is the ernes of our heritage,)

Luth durch welchen auch ihr gehöret habt das Wort der Wahrheit, nämlich das Evangelium von eurer Seligkeit; durch welchen ihr auch, da ihr glaubetet, versiegelt worden seid mit dem Heiligen Geist der Verheißung,
(through which_(ones) also you(pl)/their/her belongs/pertains have the word the/of_the truth, namely the gospel from yours(pl) Blessedkeit; through which_(ones) you(pl)/their/her also, there you(pl)/their/her believeset, sealed been are with to_him saints/holy_ones spirit the/of_the promise(n),)

ClVg in quo et vos, cum audissetis verbum veritatis, Evangelium salutis vestræ, in quo et credentes signati estis Spiritu promissionis Sancto,[fn]
(in/into/on where and you(pl), when/with would_have_heardis the_word/saying to_the_truths, the_Gospel health yours, in/into/on where and believers sealed you_are By_Spirit of_promise Holy, )

1.13 In quo vos. Modo venit ad ea quæ dedit Ephesiis. Cum audissetis. Cum causam notat hic, et tempus.

1.13 In where you(pl). Modo he_came to them which he_gave Ephesiis. Since would_have_heardis. Cum cause notes this/here, and time/season.

UGNT ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας ὑμῶν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ πιστεύσαντες, ἐσφραγίσθητε τῷ Πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, τῷ Ἁγίῳ;
(en hō kai humeis akousantes ton logon taʸs alaʸtheias, to euangelion taʸs sōtaʸrias humōn, en hō kai pisteusantes, esfragisthaʸte tōi Pneumati taʸs epangelias, tōi Hagiōi;)

SBL-GNT ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας ὑμῶν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἐσφραγίσθητε τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῷ ἁγίῳ,
(en hō kai humeis akousantes ton logon taʸs alaʸtheias, to euangelion taʸs sōtaʸrias humōn, en hō kai pisteusantes esfragisthaʸte tōi pneumati taʸs epangelias tōi hagiōi,)

RP-GNT ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς, ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας ὑμῶν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἐσφραγίσθητε τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῷ ἁγίῳ,
(en hō kai humeis, akousantes ton logon taʸs alaʸtheias, to euangelion taʸs sōtaʸrias humōn, en hō kai pisteusantes esfragisthaʸte tōi pneumati taʸs epangelias tōi hagiōi,)

TC-GNT ἐν ᾧ καὶ [fn]ὑμεῖς, ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας ὑμῶν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἐσφραγίσθητε τῷ Πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῷ Ἁγίῳ,
(en hō kai humeis, akousantes ton logon taʸs alaʸtheias, to euangelion taʸs sōtaʸrias humōn, en hō kai pisteusantes esfragisthaʸte tōi Pneumati taʸs epangelias tōi Hagiōi, )

1:13 υμεις ¦ ημεις PCK

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN 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 1:11–14

God makes everything happen in the way in which he has decided. He chose the Jews to be the first to believe in Christ, so that they should bring him praise. But the Gentiles were also united with Christ when they believed the gospel and God gave them the Holy Spirit to show they were his people. So we should all praise God for his greatness.

1:13a, c

And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—

When you also heard and believed the true word
And the same thing happened to you non-Jews also. You heard and believed the true message.

And …you: The word And here indicates that the same thing that happened to the Jews also happened to the Gentiles. Just as the Jews became Christ’s people, the Gentiles also became Christ’s people.

Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

You as well

And you also (NIV)

And in Him: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as And in Him is literally “in whom.” This is the first phrase in the verse and is repeated later in it. Scholars have different views about how these two occurrences of “in whom” are related to the other words in the context. See how you have translated the phrase “in him” or “in Christ” in other verses in this chapter (1:4a, 1:7a, 1:9b, 1:11a, 1:12a). Scholars have different views about how this phrase is connected to the rest of the sentence. The main views are:Some scholars have suggested other verbs that may be implied here, for example, “were chosen,” obtained an inheritance,” or “were made an inheritance.” See the Exegetical Summary of Ephesians.

The phrase in Him is connected to the main verb (literally “sealed”) in 1:13c. It is repeated twice in Greek because other clauses come between the subject “you” and the main verb. (Notice that the GW does not repeat “in him.”.) For example:
you were sealed in Him (NASB) (BSB, RSV, NASB, REB, ESV, GW, NCV)
The phrase in Him is connected to an implied form of the verb “to be,” that is, “you also (are) in him.” English versions that follow this interpretation express it in different ways. For example:
were included in Christ (NIV)
became God’s people (GNT)
The phrase in Him is connected to the verb “believed/trusted” in 1:13a. For example:
In whom ye also [trusted] (KJV) (KJV, JBP, NET, NLT)
The phrase in Him is connected to the verb “heard.” For example:
Now you too, in him, have heard the message (NJB) (NJB, probably CEV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This fits the structure of the Greek text and does not require a translator to supply another verb. However, it may be more natural in many languages to translate the phrase “in him” only once.

If this is true in your language, you may be able to follow an example like the GW as you translate this verse:

^13a–eYou heard and believed the message of truth, the Good News that he has saved you. In him you were sealed with the Holy Spirit whom he promised. (GW)

having heard and believed: In some languages it may be necessary to specify what the Gentiles had hear and believed. In this context there are two possibilities:

They heard and believed in the true message, the gospel of their salvation.
They heard and believed in Christ.

The meaning of (a) and (b) are almost the same, because the gospel is about Christ. Both options have good support. If you must make one of these options explicit, you may use whichever is more natural in your language in this context.

the word of truth: The phrase that the BSB translates as the word of truth is literally “message of truth.” It is the first part of a parallelism with “the gospel of your salvation in 1:13b. It means “the word that is true” or “the true message from God” and refers to the gospel or Good News. See the note below in 1:13b on “the gospel of your salvation” for examples of how the word of truth has been translated.

1:13b

the gospel of your salvation—

which is the gospel about how God saves you,
This true message is the good news that can save you.

the gospel of your salvation: The phrase the gospel of your salvation means “the good news that saved you.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase along with “word of truth” in 1:13a:

the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation (GNT)

the truth, the Good News that God saves you (NLT)

the truth, which is the good news about how you can be saved (CEV)

For more information, see gospel and save, Word 2, in the Glossary.

1:13c

you were sealed

and in Christ, God put his seal/mark on you.
and by means of your union with Christ, God gave you the Holy Spirit which he had promised/agreed to give to his people.

you were sealed: The phrase you were sealed is the translation of one Greek verb. This verb is passive. In some languages it may be necessary to make it active and supply the agent “God.” For example:

God marked you with a seal

In NT times a person used a special symbol to mark something that belonged to him. That was called his “seal.” Here Paul uses “seal” as a metaphor to describe the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit that God gives his people is the seal to show they belong to him.

Here are some ways to translate this word:

Use a verb or noun in your language that means seal. For example:
tribal mark
mark (put on animals) to show ownership
Use a simile. If a metaphor is not clear (“God sealed you with the Holy Spirit”), you can say:
When in Christ God gave you the Holy Spirit, it was like he put his seal/mark on you.
If this figure of speech is confusing, you may have to translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example you could say:
In Christ God gave you the Holy Spirit to show that you belong to him.

you: Here, the pronoun you refers to the Gentiles. To make clear the contrast with the Jews in 1:12, you could say:

you non-Jews

you foreigners

1:13d

with the promised Holy Spirit,

This seal/mark is the Holy Spirit which he gave to you as he promised.
The Spirit is like a mark which shows that you belong to God.

the promised Holy Spirit: The phrase the promised Holy Spirit means “the Holy Spirit that God had promised to give to his people.” See Holy, Meaning 3 in the Glossary for more information.

General Comment on 1:13e

There is implied information here. The purpose of the believers being marked with the seal (the promised Holy Spirit) was to show themselves and/or other people that they belonged to God. If this purpose is not clear, you may want to make it explicit. For example:

were given the promised Holy Spirit to show that you belong to God (CEV)