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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=important (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) Then we’ll no longer be like children in our faith, tossed around by waves and being blown by every wind of teaching used to trick us or by crafty people who scheme how to deceive us.![]()
OET-LV in_order_that no_longer we_may_be infants, being_tossed_by_waves and being_carried_about by_every wind of_ the _teaching in the trickery of_ the _people, in craftiness with the scheming of_ the _deception,![]()
SR-GNT ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι, κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης, ‡
(hina maʸketi ōmen naʸpioi, kludōnizomenoi kai periferomenoi panti anemōi taʸs didaskalias en taʸ kubeia tōn anthrōpōn, en panourgia pros taʸn methodeian taʸs planaʸs,)
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 so that we may no longer be children tossed back and forth by the waves and carried away by every wind of teaching through the trickery of men in cleverness for deceitful scheming.
UST Then we will no longer be spiritually immature, as little children are immature. We will no longer follow every new teaching, always changing what we believe like a boat that goes one way and then the other as the wind and waves change direction. We will not allow clever people who teach what is false to deceive us with their lies.
BSB Then {we will} no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching [and] by the clever cunning of men in [their] deceitful scheming.
MSB (Same as BSB above)
BLB so that no longer we might be infants, being tossed by waves and being carried about by every wind of teaching in the cunning, in the craftiness of men with a view to the scheming of deceit.
AICNT so that we may no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming,
OEB Then we will no longer be like infants, tossed backward and forward, blown about by every breath of human teaching and by people’s trickery and craftiness;
WEBBE that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
WMBB (Same as above)
NET So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes.
LSV that we may no longer be children, being tossed by waves and being carried around by every wind of the teaching, in the cunning of men, in craftiness, to the scheming of leading astray,
FBV We shouldn't be little children any more, tossed about and blown along by every passing breeze of doctrine, confused by human trickery, led into error by crafty people who deceitfully scheme;
TCNT So we must no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men and their craftiness in deceitful scheming.
T4T Then we will no longer be spiritually immature, like [MET] little children are immature. We will no longer be constantly changing what we believe, like [MET] waves of the sea are constantly changing as the wind blows and tosses them back and forth. We will not allow people who teach what is false and who scheme to deceive/influence us.
LEB so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with reference to the scheming of deceit.
BBE So that we may be no longer children, sent this way and that, turned about by every wind of teaching, by the twisting and tricks of men, by the deceits of error;
Moff instead of remaining immature, blown from our course and swayed by every passing wind of doctrine, by the adroitness of men who are dexterous in devising error;
Wymth So we shall no longer be babes nor shall we resemble mariners tossed on the waves and carried about with every changing wind of doctrine according to men's cleverness and unscrupulous cunning, making use of every shifting device to mislead.
ASV that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
DRA That henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive.
YLT that we may no more be babes, tossed and borne about by every wind of the teaching, in the sleight of men, in craftiness, unto the artifice of leading astray,
Drby in order that we may be no longer babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of that teaching [which is] in the sleight of men, in unprincipled cunning with a view to systematized error;
RV that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
(that we may be no longer children, tossed to and from and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; )
SLT That we be no more babes, tossed about, and carried around by every wind of doctrine, in the playing at dice of men, in craft, with the artifice of deceit;
Wbstr That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive:
KJB-1769 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
KJB-1611 That we hencefoorth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and caried about with euery winde of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftinesse, whereby they lye in waite to deceiue:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))
Bshps That we hencefoorth be no more children, wauering and caryed about with euery wynde of doctrine, in the wylynesse of men, in craftynesse, to the laying wayte of deceyte.
(That we henceforth be no more children, wavering and carried about with every wind of doctrine, in the wylyness of men, in craftyness, to the laying wait of deceyte.)
Gnva That we henceforth be no more children, wauering and caried about with euery winde of doctrine, by the deceit of men, and with craftines, whereby they lay in wait to deceiue.
(That we henceforth be no more children, wavering and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the deceit of men, and with craftines, whereby they lay in wait to deceive. )
Cvdl that we be nomore children, waueringe & caried aboute with euery wynde of doctryne thorow the wickednes of men and craftynes, wherby they laye awayte for vs to disceaue vs.
(that we be no more children, waveringe and carried about with every wind of doctrine through the wickedness of men and craftynes, whereby they lay awayte for us to deceive us.)
TNT That we hence forth be no moare chyldren wauerynge and caryed with every wynde of doctryne by the wylynes of men and craftynes wherby they laye a wayte for vs to deceave vs.
(That we henceforth be no more children wavering and carried with every wind of doctrine by the wylynes of men and craftynes whereby they lay a wait for us to deceive us. )
Wycl that we be not now litle children, mouynge as wawis, and be not borun aboute with ech wynd of teching, in the weiwardnesse of men, in sutil wit, to the disseyuyng of errour.
(that we be not now little children, moving as waves, and be not born about with each wind of teaching, in the waywardness of men, in sutil wit, to the disseyuing of error.)
Luth auf daß wir nicht mehr Kinder seien und uns wägen und wiegen lassen von allerlei Wind der Lehre durch Schalkheit der Menschen und Täuscherei, damit sie uns erschleichen zu verführen.
(on/in/to that we/us not more children be and us/to_us/ourselves wägen and as/likegen let from all_sorts_of_things wind the/of_the teaching through mischievousness the/of_the people and Täuscherei, with_it/so_that they/she/them us/to_us/ourselves ersneak to/for seduce.)
ClVg ut jam non simus parvuli fluctuantes, et circumferamur omni vento doctrinæ in nequitia hominum, in astutia ad circumventionem erroris.
(as already not/no we_are little_ones fluctuantes, and circumferamur all with_the_wind doctrines in/into/on nequitia of_men, in/into/on astutia to circumventionem error. )
UGNT ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι, κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ κυβίᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδίαν τῆς πλάνης;
(hina maʸketi ōmen naʸpioi, kludōnizomenoi kai periferomenoi panti anemōi taʸs didaskalias en taʸ kubia tōn anthrōpōn, en panourgia pros taʸn methodian taʸs planaʸs;)
SBL-GNT ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι, κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης,
(hina maʸketi ōmen naʸpioi, kludōnizomenoi kai periferomenoi panti anemōi taʸs didaskalias en taʸ kubeia tōn anthrōpōn en panourgia pros taʸn methodeian taʸs planaʸs,)
RP-GNT ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι, κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας, ἐν τῇ κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης·
(hina maʸketi ōmen naʸpioi, kludōnizomenoi kai periferomenoi panti anemōi taʸs didaskalias, en taʸ kubeia tōn anthrōpōn, en panourgia pros taʸn methodeian taʸs planaʸs;)
TC-GNT ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι, κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας, ἐν τῇ [fn]κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν [fn]μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης·
(hina maʸketi ōmen naʸpioi, kludōnizomenoi kai periferomenoi panti anemōi taʸs didaskalias, en taʸ kubeia tōn anthrōpōn, en panourgia pros taʸn methodeian taʸs planaʸs; )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
4:14 We won’t be tossed and blown about: Mature Christians, with a well-grounded knowledge of the Good News and of Christ himself, will be able to discern and resist false teaching (see Gal 1:6-7; 3:1; Col 2:8-23; 1 Tim 1:3-7; 4:1-3; 6:3-5, 20; 2 Tim 4:3-4; Titus 1:11).
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
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.
This verse describes immature Christians. They are like children who are easily influenced by false teachers. Paul compared such Christians to a boat blown about on the sea during a storm. The false teachers who try to influence believers are cunning and deceitful.
Then we will no longer be infants,
In order that we will no longer be like infants.
So that we will no longer be immature like children.
Then: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Then is sometimes translated as:
in order that (RSV)
This conjunction introduces another purpose of 4:11–12a. Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural for introducing a purpose in your language.
Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:
In order that
So that
The purpose is that
If we do that, then…
we will no longer be infants: The clause we will no longer be infants is a metaphor. It is a continuation of the figure of speech that Paul used in 4:13. It means “immature,” which is the opposite of “mature” in 4:13b. For example:
we will no longer be immature like children (NLT)
Another way to translate this is as a simile:
we will no longer be like children
tossed about by the waves
We will no longer be tossed around by the waves.
The waves will no longer toss us back and forth.
who are easily led astray, like a small boat
and carried around by every wind of teaching
We will no longer be blown around by every wind of doctrine.
The new/false teachings/ideas like wind will no longer blow us here and there.
that is sent in different directions by the waves and wind.
tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching: There are at least two issues you must consider as you translate 4:14b–c.
Issue 1—passives:
There are several passives in 4:14b–c. If it would be more natural in your language to use active clauses here, you could say:
The waves will no longer toss us about, and every wind of teaching will no longer carry us around.
Issue 2—metaphor:
4:14b–c contains another metaphor. Here Paul compared Christians to boats in the water. The NCV makes this explicit when it says:
We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. (NCV)
The waves and wind easily push boats off course. In the same way, cunning men easily deceive weak Christians and “push” them away from true doctrine.
In translating this metaphor, you have several possibilities:
You may want to translate this as a simile:
We will no longer be like boats that the waves toss back and forth and the wind blows here and there.
You may want to translate the direct meaning of the metaphor. If you live in a place where boats and travelling on the water are unknown, people who read your translation may be confused by this figure of speech. If that is true, you may need to translate the meaning with no figure of speech:
14cCunning men will no longer easily deceive us 14bto believe false teaching.
Or you may need to use another figure of speech, for example:
We will no longer be like dry leaves that the wind blows around.
by every wind of teaching: The phrase by every wind of teaching means we will no longer be easily deceived “by every type of false teaching.” The word wind is part of the figure of speech that Paul used. The word teaching helps explain the meaning of this figure of speech. Wind easily blows a boat in different directions. In the same way, false teaching easily “blows off course” a weak Christian. That is, it easily causes a weak Christian to leave the truth and follow false teaching.
and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
This means, cunning and tricky people will no longer deceive us with their false teaching.
We will no longer be influenced by people who use cunning and clever strategies to lead us astray. (GW)
by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming: The phrase by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming is also a passive. If it would be more natural in your language to translate this as an active clause, you could say:
Cunning and crafty men will no longer deceive us with their scheming.
clever cunning of men: The two words clever and cunning may be treated as a doublet. Together they add emphasis. Both words indicate men who “deceive” or who “trick” people. Some versions translate this phrase like this:
deceitful people (GNT)
deceitful scheming: The phrase deceitful scheming refers to working in an underhanded, lying way. For example:
tricks (GNT)
Paul used these words to emphasize his point. The meaning is similar to “clever” and “cunning.”
The clever and cunning men in 4:14d are the ones who do the false teaching mentioned in 4:14c, so in some languages, it will be more natural to put 4:14d before 4:14b–c. For example:
14dClever and cunning men will no longer be able to deceive us with their false teaching. 14b–cThis teaching tries to toss us back and forth like boats on the waves or like boats blown here and there by the wind.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal
ἵνα
in_order_that
The connecting phrase so that introduces a goal relationship. The goal or purpose of gifted people in the church is to bring all the believers to spiritual maturity.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι
no_longer ˱we˲_may_be infants
Paul refers to believers who have not grown spiritually as if they were children who have had very little experience in life. Alternate translation: [we may no longer be like children]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας
being_tossed_by_waves (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι κλυδωνιζόμενοι καί περιφερόμενοι παντί ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρός τήν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης)
Paul speaks of a believer who has not become mature and follows various wrong teachings as if that believer were a boat and the teachings were the wind and waves that move the boat in different directions on the water..
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἐν τῇ κυβίᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδίαν τῆς πλάνης
in the in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι κλυδωνιζόμενοι καί περιφερόμενοι παντί ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρός τήν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind the words trickery, cleverness, and scheming, you could express the same ideas with verbal forms. Alternate translation: [by crafty people who trick believers with clever lies]