EPH 4:22 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, 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 You are to put aside what belongs to your former manner of life, the old man being corrupted according to its deceitful desires,

UST Your teachers taught you to stop living the way that you used to live. Because you desired to do evil things, you deceived yourselves into thinking that those things were good. Living like that was destroying you spiritually.

BSB to put off your former way of life, [your] old self, which is being corrupted by [its] deceitful desires;

BLB You are to have put off, concerning the former way of life, the old man, which is being corrupted according to its desires of deceit,

AICNT To put off, according to the former way of life, the old man,[fn] who is being corrupted according to the desires of deceit,

4:22, old man: Later manuscripts read “darkened.”

OEB For you learned with regard to your former way of living that you must cast off your old nature, which, yielding to deluding passions, grows corrupt;

WEBBE that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires,

LSV concerning the former behavior you are to put off the old man, that is corrupt according to the desires of the deceit,

FBV So get rid of your former lifestyle, that old nature that ruins you through deceptive desires!

TCNT to put off your old self, which belongs to your former way of life and is being corrupted by its deceitful desires,

T4T You were taught {They taught you} that you must put aside [MET] your evil nature; that is, that you must not behave like you formerly did. Your evil desires deceived you, making you want to do evil things and causing you to think that doing that was good for you; and your thinking like that was destroying you spiritually.

LEB that you take off, according to your former way of life, the old man, who is being destroyed according to deceitful desires,

BBE That you are to put away, in relation to your earlier way of life, the old man, which has become evil by love of deceit;

Moff you must lay aside the old nature which belonged to your former course of life, that nature which crumbles to ruin under the passions of moral deceit,

Wymth to put away, in regard to your former mode of life, your original evil nature which is doomed to perish as befits its misleading impulses,

ASV that ye put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit;

DRA To put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error.

YLT ye are to put off concerning the former behaviour the old man, that is corrupt according to the desires of the deceit,

Drby [namely] your having put off according to the former conversation the old man which corrupts itself according to the deceitful lusts;

RV that ye put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man, which waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit;
(that ye/you_all put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man, which waxeth/waxes/grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit; )

SLT For you to put away according to the former mode of life the old man, corrupted according to the eager desires of deceit;

Wbstr That ye put off concerning the former manner of life the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts:

KJB-1769 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
(That ye/you_all put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; )

KJB-1611 That yee put off concerning the former conuersation, the olde man, which is corrupt according to the deceitfull lusts:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps To lay downe, accordyng to the former conuersation, ye olde man, which is corrupt, accordyng to the lustes of error:
(To lay down, according to the former conversation, ye/you_all old man, which is corrupt, according to the lusts of error:)

Gnva That is, that yee cast off, concerning the conuersation in time past, that olde man, which is corrupt through the deceiueable lustes,
(That is, that ye/you_all cast off, concerning the conversation in time past, that old man, which is corrupt through the deceiveable lusts, )

Cvdl So then as concernynge the conuersacion in tyme past laye from you that olde man which marreth himselfe thorow disceauable lustes:
(So then as concerning the conversacion in time past lay from you that old man which marreth himself through disceauable lusts:)

TNT So then as concernynge the coversacion in tyme past laye from you that olde man which is corrupte thorow the deceavable lustes
(So then as concerning the coversacion in time past lay from you that old man which is corrupt through the deceavable lusts )

Wycl Do ye awey bi the elde lyuyng the elde man, that is corrupt bi the desiris of errour;
(Do ye/you_all away by the old living the old man, that is corrupt by the desires of error;)

Luth So leget nun von euch ab nach dem vorigen Wandel den alten Menschen, der durch Lüste in Irrtum sich verderbet.
(So lays now from you ab after to_him previous change(n) the old people, the/of_the through desires(n) in Irrtum itself/yourself/themselves corrupted.)

ClVg deponere vos secundum pristinam conversationem veterem hominem, qui corrumpitur secundum desideria erroris.[fn]
(deponere you(pl) after/second ancientm conversation old man, who/which corrumpitur after/second desires error. )

4.22 Deponite. Non jubet ut corpus deponatur, sed ut vita in melius mutetur. Veterem. Nonnulli putant quod vetus homo corpus sit, et novus anima; sed corpus exterior homo est, anima interior: et in interiori agitur hæc vetustas et novitas

4.22 Deponite. Not/No commands as body deponatur, but as life in/into/on better mutetur. Veterem. Nonnulli they_think that old/aged human body be, and novus soul; but body exterior human it_is, the_soul interior: and in/into/on interiori is_being_done these_things old/agedtas and he_knowsas

UGNT ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφὴν τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον, τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης;
(apothesthai humas kata taʸn proteran anastrofaʸn ton palaion anthrōpon, ton ftheiromenon kata tas epithumias taʸs apataʸs;)

SBL-GNT ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφὴν τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης,
(apothesthai humas kata taʸn proteran anastrofaʸn ton palaion anthrōpon ton ftheiromenon kata tas epithumias taʸs apataʸs,)

RP-GNT ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς, κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφήν, τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον, τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης·
(apothesthai humas, kata taʸn proteran anastrofaʸn, ton palaion anthrōpon, ton ftheiromenon kata tas epithumias taʸs apataʸs;)

TC-GNT ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς, κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφήν, τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον, τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης·
(apothesthai humas, kata taʸn proteran anastrofaʸn, ton palaion anthrōpon, ton ftheiromenon kata tas epithumias taʸs apataʸs; )

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:17–32: We should change our behavior

Paul urged the Christians to stop doing the evil deeds that they used to do before they knew God. He urged them to start doing the good things that people who know Christ should do. He gave examples of old (former) behavior that they must stop doing, for example: lying, theft, anger and slander. Instead they must be kind, tender and forgiving.

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

Live as God’s people (GW)

The old life and the new life (CEV)

Don’t live as pagans but as God’s people

4:22–24

In these verses, Paul listed some of the things that the Ephesians were taught. Some English versions repeat the verb “You were taught…” (from 4:21a) at the beginning of 4:22. The BSB does not do this, but continues the sentence on from 4:21b. If, in your translation, you follow the example of those English versions that begin a new sentence here (like the NIV), you may also want to repeat “You were taught…” at the beginning of 4:23.

Here is another way to translate 4:22–24 is as a direct command:

(4:22a) Stop behaving like you used to…

(4:24a) Let God make you a new person

4:22a

to put off your former way of life,

Your teachers taught you
This is what you were taught:

4:22b

your old self,

to leave/abandon the way you used to behave.
Stop behaving as you previously did.

4:22a–b

to put off your former way of life, your old self: The phrase your former way of life means “the way you used to live” or “the way you previously behaved when you did not yet know Christ.” The clause your old self is a figure of speech. It means “your former character” or “the behavior you used to do.” This is contrasted with “your new self” in 4:24.

The words put off in 4:22a and “put on” in 4:24 are words usually used to mean take off and put on clothes. A person can take off old, dirty clothes and put on new, clean clothes. In the same way, the Ephesian Christians should “take off” (stop doing) the dirty behavior they used to do, and “put on” (start doing) clean, Christian behavior.

your old self: The phrase your old self refers to “your former/previous character” or “the way you used to behave.” Paul was telling the Ephesians to no longer live the way they did before they became Christians. When a person becomes a Christian, it is as if he becomes a new person (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).

In translating this clause, it may be necessary to translate this figure of speech directly. For example:

change the way you were living (GW)

give up your old way of life (CEV)

4:22c

which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

Your evil desires deceived you and spoiled/ruined your lives.
At that time, you desired to do all kinds of evil things. Those things were leading you astray and were destroying your life.

which is being corrupted: The word which refers back to “old self” in 4:22b.

is being corrupted: The word corrupted can mean to “rot away,” “decay,” “ruin” or “destroy.” To say that a person is being corrupted means he is becoming controlled by evil, until finally he is destroyed. He is like a tree that gets more and more rotten on the inside until it dies and is destroyed.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

being destroyed (GNT)

being ruined

by its deceitful desires: The phrase deceitful desires refers to evil things the Ephesians wanted to do that led them away from the truth/Christ. In many languages it will probably be clearer to translate deceitful and desires as verbs, for example:

You desired to do evil things, and these things deceived you.

Paul meant that the evil desires in people’s hearts caused them to believe the wrong things and follow their own way instead of following God’s way. 4:22c can be translated:

The things you wanted to do were wrong and deceived you, and so they ruined/spoiled your hearts.

General Comment on 4:22a–c

You may want to translate 4:22c as a new sentence. For example:

The way you used to live at that time was ruining your life…

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφὴν

˓to˒_put_away you_all (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς κατά τήν προτέραν ἀναστροφήν τόν παλαιόν ἄνθρωπον τόν φθειρόμενον κατά τάς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης)

Paul is speaking of moral qualities as if they were pieces of clothing. Alternate translation: [You must stop living according to your former manner of life]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφὴν τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον

Paul is speaking of a way of living as if it were a person. Alternate translation: [You must stop doing the things that your former self did] or [Stop doing the things that you used to do]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς κατά τήν προτέραν ἀναστροφήν τόν παλαιόν ἄνθρωπον τόν φθειρόμενον κατά τάς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης)

The old man refers to the “old nature” or “former self,” the way that the person was before the person became a believer in Christ

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης

Paul is continuing to speak of a sinful way of living as if it were a person who does evil things. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [when you fooled yourself into thinking that it was good to do whatever evil thing that you wanted to do]