Ephesians 3
1 For this cause, I Paul am the prisoner of Iesus Christ for you Gentiles,
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus, the Christ, for the sake of you Gentiles –
2 If ye haue heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is giuen me to you warde,
For you have heard, I suppose, of the responsible charge with which God entrusted me for your benefit,
3 That is, that God by reuelation hath shewed this mysterie vnto me (as I wrote aboue in fewe wordes,
and also that it was by direct revelation that the hidden purpose of God was made known to me, as I have already briefly told you.
4 Whereby when ye reade, ye may knowe mine vnderstanding in the mysterie of Christ)
And, by reading what I have written, you will be able to judge how far I understand this hidden purpose of God in Christ.
5 Which in other ages was not opened vnto the sonnes of men, as it is nowe reueiled vnto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit,
In former generations it was not made known to humanity, as fully as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to the apostles and prophets among Christ’s people –
6 That the Gentiles should be inheriters also, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel,
That, by union with Christ Jesus and through the good news, the Gentiles are coheirs with us and members of one body, and that they share with us in God’s Promise.
7 Whereof I am made a minister by the gift of the grace of God giuen vnto me through the effectuall working of his power.
Of this good news I become an assistant, in virtue of the charge with which God entrusted me in the exercise of his power –
8 Euen vnto me the least of all Saints is this grace giuen, that I should preach among the Gentiles the vnsearchable riches of Christ,
Yes, to me, who am less than the least of all Christ’s people, was this charge entrusted! – to tell the Gentiles the good news of the boundless wealth to be found in the Christ,
9 And to make cleare vnto all men what the fellowship of the mysterie is, which from the beginning of the world hath bene hid in God, who hath created all things by Iesus Christ, (aiōn g165)
and to make clear what is God’s way of working out that hidden purpose which from the first has been concealed in the mind of the Creator of all things; (aiōn g165)
10 To the intent, that nowe vnto principalities and powers in heauenly places, might be knowen by the Church the manifolde wisedome of God,
so that now to the archangels and to all the powers on high should be made known, through the church, the all-embracing wisdom of God,
in accordance with that purpose which runs through all the ages and which he has now accomplished in Jesus, the Christ, our Master. (aiōn g165)
12 By whom we haue boldenes and entrance with confidence, by faith in him.
And in union with him, and through our trust in him, we find courage to approach God with confidence.
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for your sakes, which is your glory.
Therefore I beg you not to be disheartened at the sufferings that I am undergoing for your sakes; for they redound to your honour.
14 For this cause I bowe my knees vnto the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ,
For this reason, then, I kneel before the Father –
15 (Of whom is named the whole familie in heauen and in earth)
from whom all “fatherhood” in heaven and on earth derives its name –
16 That he might graunt you according to the riches of his glorie, that ye may be strengthened by his Spirit in the inner man,
and pray that, in proportion to the wealth of his glory, he will strengthen you with his power by breathing his Spirit into your inmost soul,
17 That Christ may dwell in your heartes by faith:
so that the Christ, through your faith, may make his home within your hearts in love; and I pray that you, now firmly rooted and established, may, with all Christ’s people,
18 That ye, being rooted and grounded in loue, may be able to comprehend with al Saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height:
have the power to comprehend in all its width and length and height and depth,
19 And to knowe the loue of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with all fulnesse of God.
and to understand – though it surpasses all understanding – the love of the Christ; and so be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Vnto him therefore that is able to do exceeding aboundantly aboue all that we aske or thinke, according to the power that worketh in vs,
To him who, through his power which is at work within us, is able to do far more than anything that we can ask or conceive –
