EPH 5:14 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) That’s why it says:
⇔ You who are asleep get up,
⇔ You who are dead come back to life,
⇔ The messiah will shine his light on you.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, magenta:vocative.
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 it says,
⇔  “Awake, O sleeper,
⇔  and arise from the dead,
⇔  and Christ will shine on you.”

UST Before you knew God you were like someone asleep or dead in a dark place. This is what believers are talking about when they say,
⇔ “You who are asleep, wake up!
⇔ You who are dead, come out of the darkness and live!
⇔ The Messiah will show you what is true,
⇔ just as a light that shines shows people what was in the darkness.”

BSB So it is said:
⇔ “Wake up, O sleeper,
⇔ rise up from the dead,
⇔ and Christ will shine on you.”

BLB Therefore it says: "Awake you, the one sleeping, and rise up out from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you."

AICNT for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

OEB For everything that has its true character made manifest is clear as light. And that is why it is said –
⇔ “Sleeper, awake!
⇔ Arise from the dead,
⇔ and the Christ will give you light!”

WEBBE Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

WMBB Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Messiah will shine on you.”

NET For everything made evident is light, and for this reason it says:
⇔ “Awake, O sleeper!
⇔ Rise from the dead,
⇔ and Christ will shine on you!”

LSV for this reason it says, “Arouse yourself, you who are sleeping, and arise out of the dead, and the Christ will shine on you.”

FBV That's why it's said, “Wake up, those of you who are sleeping, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

TCNT Therefore it says,
⇔ “Awake, O sleeper,
⇔ and arise from the dead,
⇔ and Christ will shine upon yoʋ.”

T4T Just like something on which a light shines reflects that light [MET], whoever has learned God’s truth reveals that truth to others. That is why we believers say this:
⇔ You who are not aware of your sins, become aware of them [MET]!
⇔ It is as though you are sound asleep, so wake up!
⇔ Be like dead people who are becoming alive again!
⇔ Christ will cause you to know God’s truth, just like a light [MET]
¶ that shines causes people to know what is in the darkness.

LEB for everything made visible is light. Therefore it says,
• Wake up, sleeper,
• and rise from the dead,
• and Christ will shine on you.[fn]

5:14 A quotation of unknown origin with possible allusions to Isa 26:19|link-href="None", 51:17 , 52:1 , 60:1

BBE For this reason he says, Be awake, you who are sleeping, and come up from among the dead, and Christ will be your light.

Moff Thus it is said,
⇔ "Wake up, O sleeper, and rise from the dead;
⇔ so Christ will shine upon you."

Wymth For this reason it is said, "Rise, sleeper; rise from among the dead, and Christ will shed light upon you."

ASV Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.

DRA Wherefore he saith: Rise thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead: and Christ shall enlighten thee.

YLT wherefore he saith, 'Arouse thyself, thou who art sleeping, and arise out of the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.'

Drby Wherefore he says, Wake up, [thou] that sleepest, and arise up from among the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.

RV Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.
(Wherefore he saith/says, Awake, thou/you that sleepest/sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee/you. )

SLT Wherefore he says, Awake, who sleeping, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten thee.

Wbstr Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give thee light.

KJB-1769 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
(Wherefore he saith/says, Awake thou/you that sleepest/sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee/you light. )

KJB-1611 Wherfore hee saith: Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall giue thee light.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Wherefore he sayth: Awake thou that sleepest, and stande vp from the dead, and Christe shall geue thee lyght.
(Wherefore he saith/says: Awake thou/you that sleepest/sleep, and stand up from the dead, and Christ shall give thee/you light.)

Gnva Wherefore hee sayeth, Awake thou that sleepest, and stande vp from the deade, and Christ shall giue thee light.
(Wherefore he saith/says, Awake thou/you that sleepest/sleep, and stand up from the deade, and Christ shall give thee/you light. )

Cvdl Therfore sayeth he: Awake thou that slepest, and stonde vp fro the deed, and Christ shal geue the lighte.
(Therefore saith/says he: Awake thou/you that sleepest/sleep, and stand up from the deed, and Christ shall give the lighte.)

TNT Wherfore he sayth: awake thou that slepest and stond vp from deeth and Christ shall geve the light.
(Wherefore he saith/says: awake thou/you that sleepest/sleep and stond up from death and Christ shall give the light. )

Wycl For which thing he seith, Rise thou that slepist, and rise vp fro deth, and Crist schal liytne thee.
(For which thing he saith/says, Rise thou/you that sleepest/sleep, and rise up from death, and Christ shall lightne thee/you.)

Luth Darum spricht er: Wache auf, der du schläfest, und stehe auf von den Toten, so wird dich Christus erleuchten.
(Therefore speaks/says he: watch(n) on/in/to, the/of_the you(sg) sleep, and stand on/in/to from the killing(n), so becomes you/yourself Christ ershine/glow.)

ClVg Propter quod dicit: Surge qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Christus.[fn]
(Because that he_says: Get_up who/which sleeps, and get_up from dead, and will_illuminate you(sg) Christ/Messiah. )

5.14 Surge. Per confessionem. Et exsurge. Per satisfactionem.

5.14 Get_up. Per confession. And get_up. Per satisfactionem.

UGNT διὸ λέγει, ἔγειρε, ὁ καθεύδων, καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός.
(dio legei, egeire, ho katheudōn, kai anasta ek tōn nekrōn, kai epifausei soi ho Ⱪristos.)

SBL-GNT πᾶν γὰρ τὸ φανερούμενον φῶς ἐστιν. διὸ λέγει· Ἔγειρε, ὁ καθεύδων, καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός.
(pan gar to faneroumenon fōs estin. dio legei; Egeire, ho katheudōn, kai anasta ek tōn nekrōn, kai epifausei soi ho Ⱪristos.)

RP-GNT Διὸ λέγει, Ἔγειρε ὁ καθεύδων καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ χριστός.
(Dio legei, Egeire ho katheudōn kai anasta ek tōn nekrōn, kai epifausei soi ho ⱪristos.)

TC-GNT Διὸ λέγει,
⇔ [fn]Ἔγειρε ὁ καθεύδων
⇔ καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν,
⇔ καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός.
(Dio legei,
⇔ Egeire ho katheudōn
⇔ kai anasta ek tōn nekrōn,
⇔ kai epifausei soi ho Ⱪristos. )

5:14 εγειρε ¦ εγειραι PCK TR

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:1–20: Paul described behavior which is fitting for believers

In chapter 5, Paul continued with the subject of Christian behavior, which he had begun in the last section of chapter 4. So it is not necessary to start a new section here. One reason to start a new section here is to help the reader, as the previous section is already long. Some English versions begin a new section at 5:1 (BSB, GNT, NLT, NET, GW, NCV, ESV, NASB, NKJV), and some do not (NIV, RSV, NRSV, NJB, CEV, REB, KJV). You may want to consult your national translation and follow their example.

In this section, Paul exhorted the Christians to imitate God and avoid the sins of the pagan people surrounding them.

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

Living in the light (GNT, NLT, NCV)

Imitate God (GW)

Paragraph 5:6–14

Some English versions begin a new paragraph at 5:6. Others begin a new paragraph at 5:8.

In this paragraph, Paul used the words “darkness” and “light” in a metaphorical sense. These words will be discussed further below.

5:14a

So it is said:

And for this reason it says: (NET)
That is why people say:

5:14b

“Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead,

“You^(sing) sleeper, wake up, rise up from death,
“You^(sing) who are asleep, wake up! Do not remain dead from your sins, become alive!

5:14c

and Christ will shine on you.”

and the light of Christ will shine on you^(sing).”
Then Christ will make his light of truth and goodness/righteousness shine in your heart.”

5:14a–c

The words in 5:14b–c are probably from an early Christian hymn. It is not a direct quotation from the OT. Paul quoted these words because they speak about the same things he has just said: we must expose the evil deeds of people so they will come to the light.

So it is said: This is a passive clause. If you need to translate this with an active verb, you can translate it as “people say.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

This is why people say:

This is the reason there is a song/poem with these words:

And so there is a saying which sounds like this:

In the words that Paul quotes, there are three metaphors for turning to God:

waking from sleep,
being raised from death,
going from darkness into light.

You should try to translate all three of these metaphors as literally as possible. Add only as much of the implicit meaning as is necessary.

Wake up, O sleeper: The clause Wake up, O sleeper is a metaphor. The meaning of this metaphor is: “You are like a person who is asleep, because you are not aware of your sins. Become aware of your sins!”

O sleeper: The word O is not in the Greek text, but the BSB and some other English versions have included it. It is sometimes used in English poetry to add emphasis to what follows it.

He is speaking about someone who isn’t aware of his sin and needs to be forgiven. He is not speaking about someone who is actually asleep.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

Get up you sleeping ones!

You who are asleep, wake up!

If people would think that this is speaking of a person who is actually asleep then you may want to add some of the meaning in the text to make the meaning clear. For example:

You who are asleep spiritually, wake up!

You who are like a sleeping person, Get up!

You who are unaware of your sins are like a person who is asleep. Wake up!

rise up from the dead: The clause rise up from the dead is also a metaphor. The meaning of this metaphor is: “You are like a person who is dead, because you are separated from God and do not have the new life that God gives. Come to God and get this new life!” (In 2:1 Paul also used the word “dead” as a metaphor.) He is not speaking to people who are literally dead.

In some languages a literal translation of this metaphor may be difficult to understand.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
You who are like dead people, rise up!
Change the metaphor to a simile and make explicit the meaning. For example:
You who are separated from God like dead people, rise up and be saved
Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
You who are separated from God, be saved
You who do not know God, accept Him!

and Christ will shine on you: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as Christ will shine on you is yet another metaphor. Christ is like the sun. The idea is that Christ’s goodness and truth will be given to them (shine on them) giving them new life.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Christ will make his light shine in your heart.

…the light of Christ will shine on you.

Christ will give his light of truth and goodness to you and change you.

and: The Greek word that the BSB translates as and here introduces a result of doing what 14b says.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

If you do these things, then as a result Christ will shine on you.

As a result of doing this Christ will give you his light of truth and goodness

General Comment on 5:14b–c

The person being spoken to in 5:14b–c (“Wake up, O sleeper…”) is an unbeliever. In the Greek, the commands in 5:14b and the “you” in 5:14c are singular, as if one person is being spoken to. But these words are good for all people who are still “in the darkness.” If it is more natural in your language, you can translate these words as plural:

Wake up, O sleepers…Christ will shine on you^(plur).

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

διὸ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό λέγει Ἔγειρε ὁ καθεύδων καί ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν καί ἐπιφαύσει σοί ὁ Χριστός)

The connecting word Therefore introduces a reason-result relationship. The reason is that their sins will be revealed by the light. The result is that sinners should allow Christ to shine on them. Use a phrase in your language that connects a reason to a result. It is unknown if this quotation is a combination of quotations from the prophet Isaiah or a quotation from a hymn sung by the believers.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἔγειρε, ὁ καθεύδων, καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό λέγει Ἔγειρε ὁ καθεύδων καί ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν καί ἐπιφαύσει σοί ὁ Χριστός)

This could mean: (1) Paul is addressing the believers and using death as a metaphor for the areas of spiritual weakness that they need to become aware of and reject. (2) Paul is addressing unbelievers who need to wake up from being dead spiritually, just as a person who has died must come alive again in order to respond.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / apostrophe

ὁ καθεύδων

you sleeping

This could mean: (1 )Paul is addressing this comment directly to unbelievers who are not reading or hearing the letter. (2) Paul is addressing this comment directly to the believers who are reading or hearing the letter.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν

from the dead

This expression describes all dead people together in the underworld. To arise from among them speaks of becoming alive again and is a metaphor for becoming alive spiritually and living for God. Alternate translation: [from among all those who have died] or [from among those who are spiritually dead]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

ἐπιφαύσει σοι

˓will_be˒_shining_upon (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό λέγει Ἔγειρε ὁ καθεύδων καί ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν καί ἐπιφαύσει σοί ὁ Χριστός)

Here, you refers to the “sleeper” and is singular.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός

Christ will enable an unbeliever to understand how evil his deeds are and how Christ will forgive him and give him new life, just as light shows what actually is there that the darkness had hid. This aso applies to anything that a believer has not yet recognized as sinful. Alternate translation: [Christ will show you what is right]

Parallel EPH 5:14

Section 5:1–20: Paul described behavior which is fitting for believers

Paragraph 5:6–14

5:14a

5:14b

5:14c

5:14a–c

General Comment on 5:14b–c