EPH 4:13 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=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 until we all reach to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

UST This work will continue until all of us together become what God wants us to be: united as we together fully trust in the Son of God and experience his working in us, and completely mature as a group of believers—as fully mature in trusting and knowing God as the Messiah himself.

BLB until we all may attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a complete man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

AICNT until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

OEB And this will continue, until we all attain to that unity which is given by faith and by a fuller knowledge of the Son of God; until we reach maturity – the full standard of the perfection of the Christ.

WEBBE until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

WMBB until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah,

NET until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature.

LSV until we may all come to the unity of faith and of the recognition of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fullness of the Christ,

FBV We grow together until we all reach the state of being one in our trust in and knowledge of the Son of God, completely grown up, measuring up to full maturity in Christ.

TCNT until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ's fullness.

T4T He wants all of us believers to be united because we all believe in the Son of God (OR, the man who was also God) and because we all know him. He wants us to become spiritually mature; that is, he wants us to be ◄perfect/all that God wants us to be►, just like Christ was ◄perfect/all that God wanted him to be►.

LEB until we all reach the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to a measure of the maturity of the fullness of Christ,

BBE Till we all come to the harmony of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to full growth, to the full measure of Christ:

Moff till we should all attain the unity of the faith and knowledge of God's Son, reaching maturity, reaching the full measure of development which belongs to the fulness of Christ —

Wymth till we all of us arrive at oneness in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and at mature manhood and the stature of full-grown men in Christ.

ASV till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

DRA Until we all meet into the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ;

YLT till we may all come to the unity of the faith and of the recognition of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fulness of the Christ,

Drby until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of [fn]God, at [the] full-grown man, at [the] measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ;

4.13 Elohim

RV till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
(till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: )

SLT Until we all arrive to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the perfect man, to the measure of age of the filling up of Christ.

Wbstr Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

KJB-1769 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
(Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: )

KJB-1611 Till we all come [fn]in the vnitie of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Sonne of God, vnto a perfect man, vnto the measure of the [fn]stature of the fulnesse of Christ:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

4:13 Or, into the vnitie.

4:13 Or, age.

Bshps Tyll we all meete together into the vnitie of fayth, and knowledge of the sonne of God, vnto a perfect man, vnto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of Christe:
(Tyll we all meet together into the unity of faith, and knowledge of the son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ:)

Gnva Till we all meete together (in the vnitie of faith and that acknowledging of the Sonne of God) vnto a perfite man, and vnto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of Christ,
(Till we all meet together (in the unity of faith and that acknowledging of the Son of God) unto a perfite man, and unto the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ, )

Cvdl tyll we all come vnto one maner of faith and knowlege of the sonne of God, and become a perfecte man in to the measure of the perfecte age of Christ
(till we all come unto one manner of faith and knowledge of the son of God, and become a perfecte man in to the measure of the perfecte age of Christ)

TNT tyll we every one (in the vnitie of fayth and knowledge of the sonne of god) growe vp vnto a parfayte man after the measure of age of the fulnes of Christ.
(till we every one (in the unity of faith and knowledge of the son of god) grow up unto a parfayte man after the measure of age of the fullness of Christ. )

Wycl til we rennen alle, in to vnyte of feith and of knowyng of Goddis sone, in to a parfit man, aftir the mesure of age of the plente of Crist;
(till we rennen all, in to unyte of faith and of knowing of God’s son, in to a parfit man, after the measure of age of the plenty of Christ;)

Luth bis daß wir alle hinankommen zu einerlei Glauben und Erkenntnis des Sohnes Gottes und ein vollkommener Mann werden, der da sei im Maße des vollkommenen Alters Christi,
(until that we/us all hinarrive to/for no_matter faith and knowledge the son God’s and a completely/perfectlyer man become, the/of_the there be in_the mass the completely/perfectlyen age(n)s Christi,)

ClVg donec occurramus omnes in unitatem fidei, et agnitionis Filii Dei, in virum perfectum, in mensuram ætatis plenitudinis Christi:[fn]
(until occurramus everyone in/into/on unity of_faith, and of_recognition Children of_God, in/into/on husband perfect, in/into/on measure age fulltudinis Christi: )

4.13 Donec. Id est in die judicii. Omnes. Qui sumus in una et non discrepanti fide: et in una et non differenti unitate agnitionis Filii Dei; vel in virtutibus quibus agnoscitur Filius Dei in nobis; vel quibus agnoscemus eum in futuro. Occurramus. Nobis invicem de diversis mundi partibus, vel ipsi Christo, quasi desiderio currentes ad gaudium. In virum perfectum. Ut unusquisque sit vir perfectus et habens eamdem ætatem, quæ est mensura et meta ætatis, ultra quam non accrescit aliquid naturaliter homini: in qua ætate Christus habuit plenitudinem annorum et corporis, in qua de hoc mundo transivit. Omnes enim in eadem resurgent, in qua Christus mortuus est et resurrexit, cujuscunque ætatis mortui fuerint.

4.13 Until. That it_is in/into/on day judgement. Everythings. Who we_are in/into/on together and not/no discrepanti with_faith: and in/into/on together and not/no differenti unity of_recognition Children of_God; or in/into/on virtues to_whom lambscitur Son of_God in/into/on us; or to_whom acknowledgemus him in/into/on future. Occurramus. Nobis each_other from/about different world parts, or themselves to_Christ/Messiah, as_if desire currentes to joy. In husband perfect. As each_one/everybody be man perfect and having the_same age, which it_is measure and meta age, beyond/besides how not/no accrescit something naturally to_man: in/into/on which age Christ/Messiah had fullnessm of_years and body, in/into/on which from/about this to_the_world he_passed. All_of_them because in/into/on the_same resurgent, in/into/on which Christ/Messiah dead it_is and rose_again, whosecunque age dead they_have_been.

UGNT μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ;
(meⱪri katantaʸsōmen hoi pantes eis taʸn henotaʸta taʸs pisteōs, kai taʸs epignōseōs tou Huiou tou Theou, eis andra teleion, eis metron haʸlikias tou plaʸrōmatos tou Ⱪristou;)

SBL-GNT μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
(meⱪri katantaʸsōmen hoi pantes eis taʸn henotaʸta taʸs pisteōs kai taʸs epignōseōs tou huiou tou theou, eis andra teleion, eis metron haʸlikias tou plaʸrōmatos tou Ⱪristou,)

RP-GNT μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ χριστοῦ·
(meⱪri katantaʸsōmen hoi pantes eis taʸn henotaʸta taʸs pisteōs kai taʸs epignōseōs tou huiou tou theou, eis andra teleion, eis metron haʸlikias tou plaʸrōmatos tou ⱪristou;)

TC-GNT μέχρι [fn]καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ·
(meⱪri katantaʸsōmen hoi pantes eis taʸn henotaʸta taʸs pisteōs kai taʸs epignōseōs tou huiou tou Theou, eis andra teleion, eis metron haʸlikias tou plaʸrōmatos tou Ⱪristou; )

4:13 καταντησωμεν ¦ καταντησομεν PCK

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (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

Paragraph 4:7–16

In 4:4–6 Paul talked about the things that unite Christians. These are things that we have in common. But in 4:7 he talked about special abilities that some Christians have and that others do not have. We all have the same Spirit, we all worship the same Lord, and so on. But to each of us, Christ has given different special abilities.

4:13a-d

In the Greek text, 4:13 contains three phrases each of which start with the same preposition eis, “to”:

to become unified…
to become mature…
to become perfect like Christ…

Commentators connect these phrases in many ways. The two main interpretations are:

all three phrases are separate goals. For example:
^13aThis is to continue
^13b until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God’s Son,
^13c until we become mature,
^13d until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard. (GW) (RSV, NASB, CEV, GW)
the first two phrases are separate goals, and the third phrase further describes the second. For example:
^13aThis work must continue
^13buntil we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God.
^13cWe must become like a mature person, ^13dgrowing until we become like Christ and have his perfection. (NCV) (BSB, NIV, GNT, NJB, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The three goals for the church are that they shall:

be united in their faith and knowledge of Christ (4:13b),
become mature believers (4:13c) and
become completely like Christ (4:13d).

4:13a

until we all

The goal is for all of us
This will continue so that we all

until: The word until here means that this is the goal of what Paul said in 4:11–12. Christ gave special abilities to some believers (4:11) in order to prepare all believers to work for him (4:12a) and to make us all united (4:12b). This will continue until we all become united (4:13b), mature (4:13c) and like Christ (4:13d).

we all: The words we all refer to all of us who are believers.

4:13b

reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God,

to become united/one by means of the faith about Christ and in our knowledge of the Son of God,
become joined as one in the faith/teaching about Christ and by knowing Christ, the Son of God

reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God: Here, faith and knowledge are the means of our coming to unity. We become united because we believe in the Son of God and know him. In some languages, it will be clearer to translate these three abstract nouns (unity, faith, knowledge) as verbs. These are discussed below.

reach unity in the faith: Here, reach unity means “to come together like one,” “to become joined together as one” or “to become united.”

the faith: Here the faith refers to a general belief or trust in something or someone. There are two main interpretations.

This refers to belief in the true Christian teachings. If you follow this interpretation, you could say:
by believing in the truth/teaching about Christ and knowing the Son of God
This refers to belief in the Son of God. Some commentators say that “Son of God” is the object of both “knowledge” and faith. If you follow this interpretation, you could say:
by believing in the Son of God and knowing him

In 4:5a, Paul listed “one faith” and its meaning was “belief in the true Christian teachings.” The context suggested that the faith has the same meaning here. So, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

See faith, Meaning 1 in the Glossary for more information.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. (CEV)

are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. (NCV)

the Son of God: The phrase the Son of God is a title for Jesus. This title was often used to refer to a savior who would be a descendant of King David. God would send this savior to rescue his people. This person was often referred to as the “Messiah” or “Christ.”

The title the Son of God also indicates that Jesus has the same nature and character as God. The relationship between God the Father and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship between human fathers and sons. God the Father does not have a physical body. He did not have a sexual relationship with Mary that resulted in her becoming pregnant and giving birth to Jesus. The Son of God existed eternally as the Son with his Father.

In areas where people do not understand the title the Son of God in this way, you may want to include a footnote that explains the correct meaning. Here is a suggested footnote:

This title refers to Jesus. It indicates that Jesus has the same nature and character as God. It does not mean that God the Father had a sexual relationship with Mary that resulted in her becoming pregnant and giving birth to Jesus. Mary became pregnant with Jesus in a miraculous way by the Holy Spirit of God.

In some languages, it is natural to speak of a son as a “child,” without specifying male or female. If that is true in your language, you may use a more general term, such as:

the Child of GodA translation of the title “the Son of God” must include a familial term such as “son” or “child.” Translations such as “the man who is God,” “the divine man,” or “the God man” are not acceptable, since they do not retain familial language. Examples of acceptable translation options include “the Son who comes from God,” and “the divine/unique/eternal Son of God.”

Other verses will usually make clear that Jesus was a male child. If you use a phrase such as “the male child of God,” be sure that it does not imply that God had another child who was female.

4:13c

as we mature

to become mature believers,
until we become fully grown/developed believers

as we mature: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as as we mature is literally “to a mature man.” The second goal of the church is to mature. Here, this refers to becoming fully grown, fully developed, like adults in our faith (in contrast to children in 4:14). The meaning is “mature as Christians.” For example:

mature in the Lord (NLT)

4:13d

to the full measure of the stature of Christ.

and to become completely like Christ, who is perfect.
and until we become completely mature/perfect, just like Christ is.

to the full measure of the stature of Christ: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as to the full measure of the stature of Christ is literally “at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” It means “to become exactly like Christ, who is perfect.”

Paul is using a metaphor here, comparing the physical maturity of children to the spiritual maturity of Christians. Just as a child grows up until he becomes an adult like his parents, so we Christians are to grow up in our faith until we are like Christ.

In some languages people may not understand the meaning of the metaphor. If that is true in your language, consider translating the meaning directly. For example:

and become completely mature, just as Christ is

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (NLT)

until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard (GW)

grow up and be strong the way Christ is strong

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ

˱we˲_˓may˒_attain ¬which all to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τήν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καί τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ)

The implication is that the believers need to know Jesus as the Son of God if they are to be united in faith and become mature as believers. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. [we all join together in our belief and relationship with Jesus the Christ]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind the word unity, you could express the same idea with a verbal form. Alternate translation: [we all become equally strong in faith] or [we all become united together in faith]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind the word faith, you could express the same idea with a verbal form. Alternate translation: [become united together as believers]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ

˱of˲_the ˱of˲_the knowledge ˱of˲_the Son ¬the ˱of˲_God

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind the word knowledge, you could express the same idea with a verbal form. Alternate translation: [all know well the Son of God]

Note 5 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples

τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ

˱of˲_the Son ¬the ˱of˲_God

Son of God is an important title for Jesus.

εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον

to to ˓a˒_man mature

Alternate translation: [to a mature believer]

τέλειον

mature

Alternate translation: [fully developed] or [grown up] or [complete]