EPH 4:1 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.)

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 Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthily of the calling by which you were called,

UST Because of all this, as someone who is in prison because I serve the Lord Jesus, I appeal to you to live in a way that honors Jesus, who called you to live for him.

BLB Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the calling to which you were called,

AICNT Therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,

OEB I beg you, then – I who am a prisoner in the Master’s cause – to live lives worthy of the call that you have received;

WEBBE I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,

LSV I, the prisoner of the LORD, then call on you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,

FBV So I—this prisoner in the Lord—am encouraging you to make sure you live according to the principles to which you were called.

TCNT Therefore I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received,

T4T Therefore I, who am in prison because I serve the Lord Jesus, urge you, whom God has chosen to be his people, to do these things: Conduct your lives as God’s people should.

LEB Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to live in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called:

BBE I then, the prisoner in the Lord, make this request from my heart, that you will see that your behaviour is a credit to the position which God's purpose has given you,

Moff As the Lord's prisoner, then, I beg of you to live a life worthy of your calling,

Wymth I, then, the prisoner for the Master's sake, entreat you to live and act as becomes those who have received the call that you have received—

ASV I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,

DRA I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called,

YLT Call upon you, then, do I — the prisoner of the Lord — to walk worthily of the calling with which ye were called,

Drby I, the prisoner in [the] Lord, exhort you therefore to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called,

RV I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,
(I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech/implore you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye/you_all were called, )

SLT Therefore I, the imprisoned in the Lord, beseech you to walk Worthy of the calling which ye were called,

Wbstr I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation by which ye are called,

KJB-1769 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
(I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech/implore you that ye/you_all walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye/you_all are called, )

KJB-1611 ¶ I therefore the prisoner [fn]of the Lord, beseech you that yee walke worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

4:1 Or, in the Lord.

Bshps I therfore, a prisoner in the Lorde, exhorte you, that ye walke worthy of the vocatio wherewith ye are called,
(I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, exhorte you, that ye/you_all walk worthy of the vocatio wherewith ye/you_all are called,)

Gnva I therefore, being prisoner in the Lord, praie you that yee walke worthie of the vocation whereunto yee are called,
(I therefore, being prisoner in the Lord, praie you that ye/you_all walk worthy of the vocation whereunto ye/you_all are called, )

Cvdl I therfore which am presoner in the LORDE, exhorte you, that ye walke as it becometh yor callinge wherin ye are called,
(I therefore which am prisoner in the LORD, exhorte you, that ye/you_all walk as it becometh/becomes your calling wherein ye/you_all are called,)

TNT I therfore which am in bondes for the lordes sake exhorte you that ye walke worthy of the vocacion wherwith ye are called
(I therefore which am in bonds for the lords sake exhorte you that ye/you_all walk worthy of the vocacion wherewith ye/you_all are called )

Wycl Therfor Y boundun for the Lord biseche you, that ye walke worthili in the clepyng,
(Therefore I bound for the Lord beseech/implore you, that ye/you_all walk worthili in the cleping,)

Luth So ermahne nun euch ich Gefangener in dem HErr’s, daß ihr wandelt, wie sich‘s gebührt eurer Berufung, darinnen ihr berufen seid,
(So admonish/rebuke now you I Gefangener in to_him LORD’s, that you(pl)/their/her transforms, as/like itself deserves yours(pl) vocation/calling, therein you(pl)/their/her appointed are,)

ClVg Obsecro itaque vos ego vinctus in Domino, ut digne ambuletis vocatione, qua vocati estis,[fn]
(Please therefore you(pl) I prisoner in/into/on Master, as worthily walk callingne, which called you_are, )

4.1 Obsecro. Hactenus ostendit omnia gratiæ attribuenda, hinc de moribus monet, prius omnes communiter, post per singulos ordines.

4.1 Please. Hactenus he_showed everything thanks attribuenda, from_here from/about manners advises, first/before everyone communiter, after through each_one in_orders.

UGNT παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς, ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε;
(parakalō oun humas, egō ho desmios en Kuriōi, axiōs peripataʸsai taʸs klaʸseōs haʸs eklaʸthaʸte;)

SBL-GNT Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε,
(Parakalō oun humas egō ho desmios en kuriōi axiōs peripataʸsai taʸs klaʸseōs haʸs eklaʸthaʸte,)

RP-GNT Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγώ, ὁ δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ, ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε,
(Parakalō oun humas egō, ho desmios en kuriōi, axiōs peripataʸsai taʸs klaʸseōs haʸs eklaʸthaʸte,)

TC-GNT Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγώ, ὁ δέσμιος ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε,
(Parakalō oun humas egō, ho desmios en Kuriōi, axiōs peripataʸsai taʸs klaʸseōs haʸs eklaʸthaʸte, )

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–16: Believers are united in Christ

In the previous sections, Paul taught the important truths of the Christian faith. In this section, Paul showed how those truths should affect the way we live. He urged the Ephesian Christians to behave in the way that would keep their unity. He explained in detail the basis of this unity. He also explained that Christ gives believers power to do different tasks so that the church may become strong and mature. Mature believers should no longer be influenced by false teaching. Instead, they will proclaim the truth, and the church, with Christ as its head, will grow as it should and become strong.

Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:

Unity of the body of Christ

Christ’s gifts to the church

Live in unity, using God’s gifting to strengthen believers

Paul urges the Ephesians to live a life of unity in Christ

Believers in Christ should live in unity, strengthening each other

4:1a

As a prisoner in the Lord, then,

¶ Because of all this, therefore, I, who am a prisoner for serving the Lord,
¶ Because of all that God has done for you, now I, who am in prison because I serve the Lord Jesus,

prisoner in the Lord: The phrase prisoner in the Lord means that Paul was in prison for serving the Lord.

This phrase is the same as the phrase “prisoner of Christ Jesus” in 3:1b, though the Greek is not exactly the same. Here are some other ways to translate this:

I am imprisoned because I serve the Lord

People put me in prison for serving my Master Jesus

the Lord: Here the phrase the Lord refers to Jesus. The Greek word that the BSB translates as Lord means “master” or “one who has authority over others.” People used this word as a polite title when they spoke to an elder or someone in authority. However, the Jews also used this same title to refer to God. Paul here recognizes Jesus as his sovereign Master who had authority from God and is the Son of God. Use a term in your language that could also be used in this way.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Master

Chief

Owner

Sovereign God

In some languages it may be necessary to add a word like “my” before such a term of address. For example:

my Chief/Sovereign

then: The Greek word that the BSB translates as then connects all that Paul had taught in chapters 1–3 to the advice that he gave in chapters 4–6. This is not a time word. Paul began his advice by urging the Ephesians to behave like Christians should because of all that God had done for them.

Here are some other ways to translate the main idea here:

Because of all this therefore…

Because of all that God has done for you, I urge you…

The BSB has placed the conjunction then after the phrase “prisoner for the Lord” because it is good English style. In Greek, this conjunction occurs before the phrase “prisoner for the Lord.” For example:

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord… (NLT)

In some languages, it may not be necessary to explicitly show a connection here. In such cases, you may leave this conjunction untranslated.

General Comment on 4:1a–b

The Greek text of 4:1a–b is literally “I encourage therefore you, I, the prisoner of the Lord…” Paul repeats the pronoun “I” when he adds that he is a prisoner in the Lord. He does this to emphasize that he is in prison for the Lord, and this gives added authority to the advice he is going to give to the Ephesians in the following sections. As you translate 4:1a–c, try to include this emphasis in your translation in a natural way.

4:1b

I urge you to walk in a manner worthy

I encourage you to live/behave in a way that is worthy
I beg you to live in a way that is fitting for believers. Your life should demonstrate

I urge you to walk in a manner worthy: The Greek word that the BSB translates as urge can also mean “beg,” “plead,” “request” and “encourage.”

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

encourage (GW)

beg (RSV)

to walk in a manner worthy: The Greek word that the BSB translates as to walk refers to our daily actions and our behavior.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

to live

to behave

(For other references to “walk,” see notes on 2:2a, 2:10c.)

worthy: The Greek word that the BSB translates as worthy also means “fitting,” or “proper.”

Here are some other ways to translate “to walk in a manner worthy”:

to live the kind of life which proves that God has called you (GW)

behave in a way that is proper for God’s people to behave

to live in a way which agrees/conforms to the way God wants his people to live

When God called the Ephesians to be his people, he expected them to behave in a way that pleased him.

4:1c

of the calling you have received:

of the way God called you to live/behave.
the fact that God called you to be his people.

of the calling you have received: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as of the calling you have received is literally “of the calling to which you were called” (as in the RSV). This is a passive construction. God is the one who calls us. He calls us to be his people.

received: Some other ways to translate the word received are “invited” and “chosen.”

Here are some other ways to translate the phrase “of the calling you have received”:

(worthy) of the fact that God called you to be his people

of the invitation that God gave you to belong to him

The word “calling” is the same as the word “called” in 1:18b. See how you translated this word there.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

οὖν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: παρακαλῶ Οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγώ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν Κυρίῳ ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε)

The connecting word Therefore introduces a reason-result relationship. The reason is that God will be glorified in the church for all generations. The result is that believers should walk in a way that is worthy of the Lord. Use a phrase in your language that connects a reason to a result.

ὁ δέσμιος ἐν Κυρίῳ

the prisoner in ˓the˒_Lord

Alternate translation: [someone who is in prison because he serves the Lord]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως

worthily ˓to˒_walk ˱of˲_the calling

The phrase to walk is a common way to express the idea of living one’s life. Because of what Paul has been writing to the Ephesians, he now tells them how they should live their lives as believers, reemphasizing that believers are to agree with each other.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε

˱of˲_the calling ˱to˲_which ˱you_all˲_˓were˒_called

Here, the calling refers to the fact that God chose them to be his people. Alternate translation: [because God chose you to be his people]

Parallel EPH 4:1

Section 4:1–16: Believers are united in Christ

4:1a

General Comment on 4:1a–b

4:1b

4:1c