EPH 1:3 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) We praise God, the father of our master Yeshua the messiah.[fn] He is the one who’s blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places—blessings that come from the messiah.

1:3 Verses 3-14 seem to be just one long, rambling sentence in the Greek, and it’s not totally clear what each part means, or how they all connect logically together in sequence. We have split it into smaller sentence chunks to try to help our readers extract some meaning out of it.

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 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one having blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

UST Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah! He has blessed us with every kind of spiritual blessing that comes from heaven because we belong to the Messiah.

BSB Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

BLB Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One having blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms,

AICNT Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

OEB ¶ Blessed is the God and Father of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has blessed us on high with every spiritual blessing, in Christ.

WEBBE Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

WMBB Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah,

NET Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.

LSV Blessed [is] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us in every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ,

FBV Praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with all that's spiritually good in the heavenly world,

TCNT Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

T4T Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of our relationship with Christ, he has blessed us spiritually in every way by giving us blessings that come from heaven.

LEB ¶ Blessed is[fn] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

1:3 Or “blessed be”

BBE Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us every blessing of the Spirit in the heavens in Christ:

Moff Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who in Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly sphere!

Wymth Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has crowned us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ;

ASV ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:

DRA Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ:

YLT Blessed [is] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who did bless us in every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Drby Blessed [be] the [fn]God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ;

1.3 Elohim

RV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:
(Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath/has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: )

SLT Praised be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he having praised us in every spiritual praise in heavenly things in Christ:

Wbstr Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

KJB-1769 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
(Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath/has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: )

KJB-1611 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ, who hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessings in heauenly [fn]places in Christ:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

1:3 Or, things

Bshps Blessed be God, the father of our Lorde Iesus Christe, whiche hath blessed vs in all spirituall blessyng, in heauenly thynges by Christe:
(Blessed be God, the father of our Lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ, which hath/has blessed us in all spiritual blessing, in heavenly things by Christ:)

Gnva Blessed be God, and the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ, which hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessing in heauenly thinges in Christ,
(Blessed be God, and the Father of our Lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ, which hath/has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly things in Christ, )

Cvdl Blessed be God the father of oure LORDE Iesus Christ, which hath blessed vs wt all maner of spirituall blessynge in heauenly thynges by Christ
(Blessed be God the father of our LORD Yesus/Yeshua Christ, which hath/has blessed us with all manner of spiritual blessing in heavenly things by Christ)

TNT Blessed be God the father of oure lorde Iesus Christ which hath blessed vs with all maner of spirituall blessinges in hevely thynges by Chryst
(Blessed be God the father of our lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ which hath/has blessed us with all manner of spiritual blessings in hevely things by Chryst )

Wycl Blessid be God and the fadir of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, that hath blessid vs in al spiritual blessing in heuenli thingis in Crist,
(Blessed be God and the father of our Lord Yhesu Christ, that hath/has blessed us in all spiritual blessing in heavenly things in Christ,)

Luth Gelobet sei GOtt und der Vater unsers HErr’s JEsu Christi, der uns gesegnet hat mit allerlei geistlichem Segen in himmlischen Gütern durch Christum;
(Praised be God and the/of_the father ours LORD’s Yesu Christi, the/of_the us/to_us/ourselves blessed has with all_sorts_of_things spiritualem blessing in heavenly goods through Christum;)

ClVg Benedictus Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui benedixit nos in omni benedictione spirituali in cælestibus in Christo,[fn]
(Blessed God and Pater Master our Yesu Christi, who/which blessed us in/into/on all blessing spiritual in/into/on cælestibus in/into/on to_Christ/Messiah, )

1.3 Benedictus. Præmissa salutatione, incipit ab actione gratiarum, innuens omnia esse ex Deo. Benedixit. Unum quidem benedictionis verbum, sed per congruentia personæ varie debet intelligi. Benedicitur ab homine Deus, cum laudibus dignis extollitur. Homo autem a Deo, cum Deus ei gratiæ suæ dona impartitur, non meritis illius, sed misericordia sua.

1.3 Blessed. Præmissa salutatione, begins away action thanks, hinting everything to_be from to_God. Welldixit. Unum indeed blessingnis the_word/saying, but through congruentia personæ varie must to_be_understood. Welldicitur away man God, when/with praises dignis extollitur. Man however from to_God, when/with God to_him thanks his/her_own gifts impartitur, not/no merits of_that, but mercy his_own.

UGNT εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ;
(eulogaʸtos ho Theos kai Pataʸr tou Kuriou haʸmōn, Yaʸsou Ⱪristou, ho eulogaʸsas haʸmas en pasaʸ eulogia pneumatikaʸ en tois epouraniois en Ⱪristōi;)

SBL-GNT Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ,
(Eulogaʸtos ho theos kai pataʸr tou kuriou haʸmōn Yaʸsou Ⱪristou, ho eulogaʸsas haʸmas en pasaʸ eulogia pneumatikaʸ en tois epouraniois en Ⱪristōi,)

RP-GNT Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ, ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν χριστῷ·
(Eulogaʸtos ho theos kai pataʸr tou kuriou haʸmōn Yaʸsou ⱪristou, ho eulogaʸsas haʸmas en pasaʸ eulogia pneumatikaʸ en tois epouraniois en ⱪristōi;)

TC-GNT Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις [fn]ἐν Χριστῷ·
(Eulogaʸtos ho Theos kai pataʸr tou Kuriou haʸmōn Yaʸsou Ⱪristou, ho eulogaʸsas haʸmas en pasaʸ eulogia pneumatikaʸ en tois epouraniois en Ⱪristōi; )

1:3 εν ¦ — ST

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

SOTN SIL Open Translation 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.

1:3a

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¶ Let us praise/thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
¶ God is worthy of our praise. He is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is also Christ’s Father.

Blessed be: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Blessed be is literally “blessed.” It was common for the Jews to use a phrase like this as a formal way to “bless” God. In such contexts, the word “bless” means “praise.” It indicates that people should praise God by telling others how wonderful and excellent he is.

In the Greek text there is no verb (be) after the word “blessed.” See the note on “blessed” in 1:3b below for more information. Most English versions have added a verb to make the phrase more natural.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

as an exhortation for the Ephesians to praise God. For example:
Praise (CEV)
Let us praise/thank
as a statement about God. For example:
God is worthy of our praise/blessing
As a blessing to God. For example:
May God be praised/blessed

See bless, Meaning 1 in the Glossary.

the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Paul was saying that God is both:

the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In order to make this meaning clear you may need to say something like:

Let us praise God. He is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is also Christ’s Father.

He is both the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

1:3b

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

Through our union with Christ, God has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings that are in the heavenly world.
It is he who has given us all good things which come from the heavens to help our spirits. He did this by our union/identification with Christ.

who has blessed us: The word who refers to God. When Paul said God has blessed us, it means “God has done good things for us” or “God has given good things to us.” See bless, Meaning 2 in the Glossary for more information.

in Christ: There are two ways to interpret this phrase:

It tells us the means/way by which God gave us these blessings: he blessed us “by uniting us with Christ.” For example:
Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing… (GW) (GNT, GW, JBP, CEV)
It tells us the reason he gave us these blessings. For example:
…who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…because we are united with Christ. (NLT)

While many English versions leave the phrase in Christ ambiguous, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Also, see how you translated “in Christ Jesus” in 1:1d.

with every spiritual blessing: There are two ways to interpret the phrase spiritual blessing:

It may mean that the blessings are spiritual, not physical or material. In other words, Paul was not talking about things like food or money. Rather he was talking about things like eternal life and forgiveness, which he discussed in the next verses.
It may mean blessings from the Holy Spirit.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

Here are some ways to translate this phrase:

Translate it literally like most English versions.
Translate it as:
with blessings that help our spirit
with blessings from heaven
God-given help

blessing: Here blessing refers to the good things that God does for his people. See bless, Meaning 3 in the Glossary.

in the heavenly realms: The phrase in the heavenly realms means “in the spiritual world.” It is a general term, which includes all that exists in the invisible world. This includes heaven where God reigns, but it also includes the realms where all types of spirits live.

This expression occurs only five times in the New Testament, and all of them are in Ephesians (see also 1:20b, 2:6b, 3:10a–b, 6:12c).

In many languages, it will be best to follow the order of the Greek and put the phrase in the heavenly realms after the phrase “every spiritual blessing.” For example:

…he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. (GNT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

In this book, unless otherwise stated, the words “us” and “we” refer to Paul, the believers in Ephesus, and all believers.

Note 2 topic: writing-background

This verse provides background information about the Ephesians to help readers understand their spiritual condition. Paul opens his letter by talking about the believers’ position and their safety before God.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εὐλογητός ὁ Θεός καί Πατήρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμάς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ)

If your language does not use this passive form, you can state this in active form. Alternate translation: [Let us praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ]

ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς

the the_‹one› ˓having˒_blessed (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εὐλογητός ὁ Θεός καί Πατήρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμάς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ)

Alternate translation: [for God has blessed us]

πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ

every blessing spiritual

Alternate translation: [every blessing coming from the Spirit of God]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις

with in the heavenly_‹realms›

Paul assumes that his readers will understand that the word heavenly refers to the place where God is. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [in the supernatural world]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐν Χριστῷ

with in in Christ

Here, in Christ could mean: (1) a metaphor referring to our close relationship with Christ. Alternate translation: [by uniting us with Christ] or [because we are united with Christ] (2) what Christ has done. Alternate translation: [through Christ] or [through what Christ has done]

Parallel EPH 1:3

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

Paragraph 1:3–6

1:3a

1:3b