EPH 4:16 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) [ref]that integrates the entire body together and holds it together by every one of its joints. When each component does its work, the body grows and builds itself up with love.

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 from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by every supporting ligament, according to the working in measure of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for building up itself in love.

UST He is the one who joins us all together and keeps us connected to each other. He teaches us how to support each other and to work in a coordinated way as he gives the ability that is appropriate to each one of us, just as a person’s head does that for the parts of his body. In this way, as we love each other, we will grow together and make each other stronger.

BLB from whom the whole body, being joined together and being held together by every ligament of its supply, according to the working in the measure of each individual part, the increase of the body makes for itself, to the building up of itself in love.

AICNT From whom the whole body, being joined together and being held together by every supporting ligament, according to the working[fn] in the measure of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

4:16, working: The Greek word energeia pertains to metaphysical working, operation, action (BDAG, ἐνέργεια).

OEB For from him the whole body, closely joined and knit together by the contact of every part with the source of its life, derives its power to grow, in proportion to the vigour of each individual part; and so is being built up in a spirit of love.

WEBBE from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love.

LSV from whom the whole body, being fitly joined together and united, through the supply of every joint, according to the working in the measure of each single part, the increase of the body makes for the building up of itself in love.

FBV It's because of him that the whole body operates, every joint holding it together as each individual part does what it's supposed to, and the whole body grows, building itself up in love.

TCNT From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting joint, grows and builds itself up in love as each individual part does its work.

T4T He enables all those who belong to him to mature spiritually. A person’s body grows stronger, as each part of the body is joined to the others by the ligaments and as each part ◄functions properly/works as it should►. Similarly, believers will become mature spiritually by loving each other and by each of them doing the work that God wants them to do [MET].

LEB from whom the whole body, joined together and held together by every supporting ligament, according to the working by measure of each single part, the growth of the body makes for the building up of itself in love.

BBE Through whom all the body, being rightly formed and united together, by the full working of every part, is increased to the building up of itself in love.

Moff as the entire Body is welded together and compacted by every joint with which it is supplied, the due activity of each part enables the Body to grow and build itself up in love.

Wymth Dependent on Him, the whole body—its various parts closely fitting and firmly adhering to one another— grows by the aid of every contributory link, with power proportioned to the need of each individual part, so as to build itself up in a spirit of love.

ASV from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.

DRA From whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in charity.

YLT from whom the whole body, being fitly joined together and united, through the supply of every joint, according to the working in the measure of each single part, the increase of the body doth make for the building up of itself in love.

Drby from whom the whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply, according to [the] working in [its] measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love.

RV from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.
(from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh/makes the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love. )

SLT From whom all the body fitted together and joined together by every touch of the expenditure, according to the energy in measure of one of each part, makes the increase of the body to the building up of itself in love.

Wbstr From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love.

KJB-1769 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
(From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh/makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. )

KJB-1611 From whom the whole body fitly ioyned together, and compacted by that which euery ioynt supplyeth, according to the effectuall working in the measure of euery part, maketh increase of the body, vnto the edifying of it selfe in loue.
(From whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplyeth, according to the effectuall working in the measure of every part, maketh/makes increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love.)

Bshps In whom all the body beyng coupled and knit together by euery ioynt of subministration, accordyng to the effectuall power in ye measure of euery part, maketh increase of the body, vnto the edifiyng of it selfe in loue.
(In whom all the body being coupled and knit together by every joint of subministration, according to the effectuall power in ye/you_all measure of every part, maketh/makes increase of the body, unto the edifiing of itself in love.)

Gnva By whome al the body being coupled and knit together by euery ioynt, for ye furniture therof (according to the effectual power, which is in the measure of euery part) receiueth increase of the body, vnto the edifying of itselfe in loue.
(By whom all the body being coupled and knit together by every joint, for ye/you_all furniture thereof (according to the effectual power, which is in the measure of every part) receives increase of the body, unto the edifying of itselfe in love. )

Cvdl in whom all the body is coupled together, and one membre hangeth by another thorow out all ye ioyntes. Wherby one mynistreth vnto another (acordinge to the operacion as euery membre hath his measure) and maketh, that ye body groweth to the edifienge of it selfe in loue.
(in whom all the body is coupled together, and one membre hangeth/hangs by another throughout all ye/you_all joints. Wherby one mynistreth unto another (according to the operation as every membre hath/has his measure) and maketh/makes, that ye/you_all body groweth to the edifienge of itself in love.)

TNT in whom all the body ys coupled and knet togedder in every ioynt wherwith one ministreth to another (accordinge to the operacion as every parte hath his measure) and increaseth the body vnto the edyfyinge of it silfe in love.
(in whom all the body is coupled and knet together in every joint wherewith one ministreth to another (according to the operation as every part hath/has his measure) and increaseth/increases the body unto the edifying of itself in love. )

Wycl of whom alle the bodi set togidere, and boundun togidere bi ech ioynture of vnder seruyng, bi worching in to the mesure of ech membre, makith encreesyng of the bodi, in to edificacioun of it silf in charite.
(of whom all the body set together, and bound together by each jointure of under seruing, by working in to the measure of each membre, maketh/makes encreesing of the body, in to edification of itself in charity.)

Luth aus welchem der ganze Leib zusammengefüget, und ein Glied am andern hanget durch alle Gelenke, dadurch eines dem andern Handreichung tut nach dem Werk eines jeglichen Gliedes in seinem Maße und machet, daß der Leib wächset zu seiner selbst Besserung; und das alles in der Liebe:
(out_of which_one the/of_the whole/all body joined_together, and a member/element in/at/on_the change hanger through all Gelenke, through_this one/a to_him change Handreichung does after to_him work one/a anyone limbss in his mass and makes, that the/of_the body grows to/for his himself/itself Besserung; and the all/everything in the/of_the love(n):)

ClVg ex quo totum corpus compactum et connexum per omnem juncturam subministrationis, secundum operationem in mensuram uniuscujusque membri, augmentum corporis facit in ædificationem sui in caritate.
(from where whole body compactum and connexum through all yuncturam subministrationis, after/second operation in/into/on measure of_each membri, augmentum body he_does in/into/on buildsionem self in/into/on caritate. )

UGNT ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα, συναρμολογούμενον καὶ συνβιβαζόμενον διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας κατ’ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους, τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ.
(ex hou pan to sōma, sunarmologoumenon kai sunbibazomenon dia pasaʸs hafaʸs taʸs epiⱪoraʸgias kat’ energeian en metrōi henos hekastou merous, taʸn auxaʸsin tou sōmatos poieitai eis oikodomaʸn heautou en agapaʸ.)

SBL-GNT ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας κατʼ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ.
(ex hou pan to sōma sunarmologoumenon kai sumbibazomenon dia pasaʸs hafaʸs taʸs epiⱪoraʸgias katʼ energeian en metrōi henos hekastou merous taʸn auxaʸsin tou sōmatos poieitai eis oikodomaʸn heautou en agapaʸ.)

RP-GNT ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας, κατ' ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους, τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ.
(ex hou pan to sōma sunarmologoumenon kai sumbibazomenon dia pasaʸs hafaʸs taʸs epiⱪoraʸgias, kat' energeian en metrōi henos hekastou merous, taʸn auxaʸsin tou sōmatos poieitai eis oikodomaʸn heautou en agapaʸ.)

TC-GNT ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καὶ [fn]συμβιβαζόμενον διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας, κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους, τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ.
(ex hou pan to sōma sunarmologoumenon kai sumbibazomenon dia pasaʸs hafaʸs taʸs epiⱪoraʸgias, kat energeian en metrōi henos hekastou merous, taʸn auxaʸsin tou sōmatos poieitai eis oikodomaʸn heautou en agapaʸ. )

4:16 συμβιβαζομενον ¦ συνβιβαζομενον TH WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words 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

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.

4:16a

From Him the whole body,

He/Christ joins together all his people;
and all of us who believe in him are like his body.

From Him: The pronoun Him refers to Christ in 4:15b.

the whole body: Paul again used the picture of a body to describe the church. Just as the ligaments/muscles hold together the different parts of the body, so it is Christ who holds together his body, which is the church (all believers).

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

He makes the whole body (NLT)

The whole body depends on Christ (NCV)

Like the whole body depends on the head so all we believers depend on Christ

See how you translated body in 4:4a and 4:12b.

4:16b

fitted and held together by every supporting ligament,

so that we are like the ligaments that join together all the parts of the body of a person.
Just as a person’s body is joined together by all its ligaments,

fitted and held together: The phrase fitted and held together refers to the different parts of the body of Christ (members of the church) that work together just as the different parts of a body are held together by its ligaments/muscles. See the note below on “ligament” for more information.

by every supporting ligament: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as by every supporting ligament is literally “through every joint of the supply.” A ligament refers to one of the strong bands of tough fibrous tissue that joins bones or holds some part of the body in position. In this context, the word ligament includes all those things that connect the different parts of the body together, that is, joints, tendons and muscles.

Here are some other ways to translate 4:16a:

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. (NLT)

He makes the whole body fit together and unites it through the support of every joint (GW)

If the people will not understand that this is a metaphor about the group of believers then you may want to translate the meaning directly. Here is an example of how to translate the meaning directly:

He causes all the believers to work together harmoniously as they support each other.

Another option is to put in a footnote. For example:

Paul is continuing to use a metaphor here. He compares the ligaments of a person’s body that holds the body together to the individual believers helping and supporting each other by Christ’s power. The following is an example of the metaphor with its meaning. “As God causes the whole body to be held together by its ligaments so Christ causes all his believers to work together harmoniously by their support of each other.”

4:16c

grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

If each part of the body does its work, then the whole body grows and becomes strong and loves the other parts.
and, when every part of the body works properly, it grows and becomes strong; in the same way, if each of us does the work Christ has given us, we will grow strong and mature and love each other more.

grows and builds itself up: The phrase grows and builds itself up means “cause to grow large and strong” or “make complete and mature.”

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

grows and becomes strong (GNT)

in love: The phrase in love means that the members of the body will grow in their love for each other. This phrase also occurred in 4:15a.

through the work of each individual part: This is a continuation of Paul’s comparison between a human body and the church. If all the parts of a person’s body function as they should, the body will be healthy and grow. So it is with the church: if all believers use the special gifts God has given them, then the church will become strong. For example:

As each and every part does its job (GW)

General Comment on 4:16c

In your translation it may be better to reorder this clause. You could first explain the figure of speech (“If each part of a body does its work…”) and then explain how believers are compared to the body (“In the same way…”). This has been done in the second meaning line of the Display for 4:16c.

General Comment on 4:16a–c

Here is another way to translate this verse:

He would be like our head, and we would be each of his arms, legs and sinews/ligaments. And if/when we would love each other, we would grow up to be strong and each of us do our own/individual works faithfully.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα & τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται

from whom (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον διά πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας κατʼ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνός ἑκάστου μέρους τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομήν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ)

Paul continues the metaphor of the believers as a human body with Christ as the head to describe how Christ causes believers to work together in harmony as the head of a body causes the body parts to work together to grow in a healthy way.

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal

εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ

to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον διά πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας κατʼ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνός ἑκάστου μέρους τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομήν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ)

The word for indicates a purpose clause. The purpose of all of the believers working together in harmony, as the members of a human body do, is so that all believers will grow in our ability to love each other and to love God. Use a word in your language that marks this as a purpose clause.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἐν ἀγάπῃ

in in love

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind the word love, you could express the same idea with a verbal form. Alternate translation: [as the members love one another] or [to be able to love each other more]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον διά πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας κατʼ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνός ἑκάστου μέρους τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομήν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ)

Paul continues the metaphor comparing the believers to a human body. A ligament is a strong band that connects bones or holds organs in place in the body. Just as the body is held together by strong ligaments, so the believers are held together by love that grows stronger as the body parts grow and work together.