EPH 3:8 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) Although I was the least of the ones dedicated to this message, I was given the grace to preach this positive message to the non-Jews, to tell them about the endless riches of the messiah

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 To me—the least of all the saints—this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

UST Although I am the least worthy of all of God’s people, God kindly gave me this gift: he appointed me to proclaim to the non-Jews the good news about the unending spiritual blessings that the Messiah has for us

BSB [Though I am] less than the least of all [the] saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

MSB [Though I am] less than the least of all [the] saints, this grace was given me: to preach among the Gentiles[fn] the unsearchable riches of Christ,

BLB To me, the very least of all saints, was given this grace: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ

AICNT To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach {to}[fn] the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ

3:8, to: Later manuscripts read “among.” BYZ TR

OEB Yes, to me, who am less than the least of all Christ’s people, was this charge entrusted! – to tell the Gentiles the good news of the boundless wealth to be found in the Christ,

WEBBE To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

WMBB To me, the very least of all holy ones, was this grace given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Messiah,

NET To me – less than the least of all the saints – this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

LSV to me—the less than the least of all the holy ones—was given this grace, among the nations to proclaim good news—the untraceable riches of the Christ,

FBV This grace was given to me, the least important of all Christians, in order to share with the foreigners the incredible value of Christ,

TCNT This grace was given to me, the very least of all the saints, to preach [fn]among the Gentiles the good news of the boundless riches of Christ,

3:8 among ¦ to CT

T4T Although I am the least worthy of all God’s people, God kindly appointed me to proclaim to the non-Jews the message about the great spiritual blessings that they can receive from Christ,

LEB To me, the least of all the saints, was given this grace: to proclaim the good news of the fathomless riches of Christ to the Gentiles,

BBE To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was this grace given, so that I might make clear to the Gentiles the good news of the unending wealth of Christ:

Moff less than the least of all saints as I am, this grace was vouchsafed me, that I should bring the Gentiles the gospel of the fathomless wealth of Christ

Wymth To me who am less than the least of all God's people has this work been graciously entrusted—to proclaim to the Gentiles the Good News of the exhaustless wealth of Christ,

ASV Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

DRA To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace, to preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ,

YLT to me — the less than the least of all the saints — was given this grace, among the nations to proclaim good news — the untraceable riches of the Christ,

Drby To me, less than the least of all saints, has this grace been given, to announce among the nations the glad tidings of the unsearchable riches of the Christ,

RV Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

SLT To me, the least of all the holy ones, was this grace given, to announce the good news in the nations, the untraceable riches of Christ.

Wbstr To me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

KJB-1769 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

KJB-1611 Unto mee, who am lesse then the least of all Saints, is this grace giuen, that I should preach among the Gentiles the vnsearchable riches of Christ,
(Unto me, who am less then the least of all Saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,)

Bshps Unto me the least of all saintes is this grace geuen, that I shoulde preache among the gentiles the vnsearchable ryches of Christe,
(Unto me the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,)

Gnva Euen vnto me the least of all Saints is this grace giuen, that I should preach among the Gentiles the vnsearchable riches of Christ,
(Even unto me the least of all Saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, )

Cvdl Vnto me the leest of all sayntes is this grace geuen, that I shulde preach amonge the Heythe ye vnsearcheable riches of Christ,
(Unto me the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Heathen ye/you_all unsearcheable riches of Christ,)

TNT Vnto me the lest of all sayntes is this grace geven that I shuld preache amonge the gentyls the unsearchable ryches of Christ
(Unto me the lest of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ )

Wycl To me, leeste of alle seyntis, this grace is youun to preche among hethene men the vnserchable richessis of Crist, and to liytne alle men,
(To me, leaste of all saints, this grace is given to preach among heathen men the unserchable riches of Christ, and to lightne all men,)

Luth mir, dem allergeringsten unter allen Heiligen, ist gegeben diese Gnade, unter den Heiden zu verkündigen den unausforschlichen Reichtum Christi
(to_me, to_him allgeringsten under all/everyone saints/holy_ones, is given this/these grace, under the heathens to/for announce the unausforschlichen wealth/abundance Christi)

ClVg Mihi omnium sanctorum minimo data est gratia hæc, in gentibus evangelizare investigabiles divitias Christi,[fn]
(Mihi of_all holy_place minimo data it_is grace these_things, in/into/on nations to_evangelise investigabiles riches Christi, )

3.8 Investigabiles. Per naturam scilicet, sed per gratiam et revelationem sancti Spiritus investigabiles sunt fidelibus.

3.8 Investigabiles. Per nature namely, but through grace and revelationem holy Spirit investigabiles are to_the_faithful.

UGNT ἐμοὶ τῷ, ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων, ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη, τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι, τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ;
(emoi tōi, elaⱪistoterōi pantōn hagiōn, edothaʸ haʸ ⱪaris hautaʸ, tois ethnesin euangelisasthai, to anexiⱪniaston ploutos tou Ⱪristou;)

SBL-GNT ἐμοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη— ⸀τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι ⸂τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος⸃ τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
(emoi tōi elaⱪistoterōi pantōn hagiōn edothaʸ haʸ ⱪaris hautaʸ— ⸀tois ethnesin euangelisasthai ⸂to anexiⱪniaston ploutos⸃ tou Ⱪristou,)

RP-GNT Ἐμοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη, ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι τὸν ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτον τοῦ χριστοῦ,
(Emoi tōi elaⱪistoterōi pantōn hagiōn edothaʸ haʸ ⱪaris hautaʸ, en tois ethnesin euangelisasthai ton anexiⱪniaston plouton tou ⱪristou,)

TC-GNT Ἐμοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων [fn]ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη, [fn]ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι [fn]τὸν ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτον τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
(Emoi tōi elaⱪistoterōi pantōn hagiōn edothaʸ haʸ ⱪaris hautaʸ, en tois ethnesin euangelisasthai ton anexiⱪniaston plouton tou Ⱪristou, )

3:8 αγιων ¦ των αγιων ANT TR

3:8 εν ¦ — CT

3:8 τον ανεξιχνιαστον πλουτον ¦ το ανεξιχνιαστον πλουτος CT

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–13: God sent Paul to preach the good news to the non-Jews

In 3:1, Paul was about to pray for the Christians. Instead, in 3:2 he stopped his sentence and began to write about the special work that God had given him. It was not until 3:14 that Paul resumed his prayer.

The special work that God had given Paul was to preach God’s message to the Gentiles. The blessings of God are for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews, but God had hidden this great truth for a long time. Then God gave Paul the task of telling people about this truth. In this way, everyone would know that God was very wise and loving because he saved both Jews and Gentiles and united them into one church.

Here are some other titles for this section:

God’s mysterious plan revealed (NLT)

Paul’s work in telling the Good News (NCV)

God’s plan to unite Jews and Gentiles in Christ is revealed to Paul

Paragraph 3:7–13

In the previous verses 3:3–6, Paul talked about God’s mystery/plan. However, beginning in 3:7, he changed topics. Here he talked about his work preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.

Even though Paul was not one of the twelve apostles, God gave him the work of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. God intended that through the church, made up of Jews and Gentiles, all the angels and evil spirits would see his wisdom. So Paul urged the Christians not to be discouraged by the fact that he was suffering in prison. He reminded them that it was for their honor that he was suffering in prison.

3:8a

Though I am less than the least of all the saints,

To me, the least deserving of all God’s people,
I am the least important of all God’s people.

Though: The BSB has supplied the word Though in order to emphasize Paul’s amazement that God would choose him to do this task. The Greek text begins 3:8a with an emphatic “To me,” as in the RSV. Try to find a natural way in the language to show this emphasis. Some other versions do this by adding “but” or “yet” at the beginning of 3:8b. For example:

I am the least of all God’s people. Yet, God showed me his kindness… (GW)

I am the least important of all God’s people. But God was kind… (CEV)

I am less than the least: The phrase less than the least is a strong statement that means “the very least” or “the most unimportant.”

Paul humbly said that he was not important. Try to find a strong expression in your language. Be careful that your translation does not mean that Paul was physically smaller or weaker than other believers. In some languages the correct idea can be expressed by an idiom, such as:

I am behind all God’s people

I am lower than all God’s people

If your language makes comparisons by contrasting one phrase with another, you may need to translate this phrase in a different way. For example:

All of God’s people might have a name, but I have no name, I am underneath everyone.

all the saints: A literal English translation of the Greek is “holy ones.” It means “people set apart for God.” This Greek word refers to every believer. See how you translated this same expression in 2:19b.

See Holy, Meaning 1, special use in the Glossary for more information.

3:8b

this grace was given me:

this special work was given.
Nevertheless, God gave me this special job/responsibility

this grace was given me: This clause is a passive. God gave this grace to Paul.

this grace: The meaning of grace here is “privilege, special work.” Here it refers to Paul’s work as an apostle and preacher of the gospel.

The phrase this grace is a short way of saying the same thing Paul just said in 3:7a: “This work of preaching the gospel that God in his grace gave me.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

he graciously gave me the privilege (NLT)

God showed me his kindness by allowing me (GW)

See grace, Meaning 4 in the Glossary for more information.

3:8c

to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

This special work is to announce to the Gentiles about the riches of Christ which are too great to understand.
of preaching to the Gentiles about the good things which Christ gives. These good things are greater than people can understand.

to preach: The word preach means to publicly tell or announce a message. See how you translated “preached” in 2:17a.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

to announce

to declare publicly

to the Gentiles: Here the word Gentiles refers to people who are not Jews. See how you translated Gentiles in 3:6c.

unsearchable riches of Christ: The word unsearchable means “too great/big to be understood or imagined.”

riches of Christ: The phrase riches of Christ refers to the spiritual blessings of Christ, not just to material wealth. These spiritual riches may refer to:

riches which Christ gives. For example:
endless treasures available to them in Christ (NLT)
riches which Christ possesses, that is, his divine glory and perfection.

Most versions use words that could be understood either way. If you must choose, follow interpretation (1).

In your translation, avoid any word that refers only to material wealth.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

immeasurable wealth of Christ (GW)

because of Christ there are blessings that cannot be measured (CEV)

the riches of Christ, which are too great to understand fully (NCV)

The unimaginable blessings of Christ

Also, see how you translated riches in 1:7c and 1:18c.

Parallel EPH 3:8

Section 3:1–13: God sent Paul to preach the good news to the non-Jews

Paragraph 3:7–13

3:8a

3:8b

3:8c