Passage

Ephesians 2.11-22

Book: Ephesians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"9. not of works, that no man should glory. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them."

"11. Wherefore remember, that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands; 12. that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13. But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ. 14. For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition, 15. having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace; 16. and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17. and he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh: 18. for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father. 19. So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 20. being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; 21. in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; 22. in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:9-22, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"9. not of works, that no one would boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them."

"11. Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision”, (in the flesh, made by hands); 12. that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. 14. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, 15. having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; 16. and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. 17. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. 18. For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 20. being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; 21. in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22. in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:9-22, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. ^{ordained: or, prepared}"

"11. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12. That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16. And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: ^{thereby: or, in himself} 17. And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21. In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22. In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:9-22, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"9. not of works, that no one may boast; 10. for of Him we are workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God did before prepare, that in them we may walk."

"11. Wherefore, remember, that ye [were] once the nations in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands, 12. that ye were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world; 13. and now, in Christ Jesus, ye being once afar off became nigh in the blood of the Christ, 14. for he is our peace, who did make both one, and the middle wall of the enclosure did break down, 15. the enmity in his flesh, the law of the commands in ordinances having done away, that the two he might create in himself into one new man, making peace, 16. and might reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity in it, 17. and having come, he did proclaim good news, peace to you, the far-off and the nigh, 18. because through him we have the access, we both, in one Spirit unto the Father. 19. Then, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of God, 20. being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being chief corner -[stone], 21. in whom all the building fitly framed together doth increase to an holy sanctuary in the Lord, 22. in whom also ye are builded together, for a habitation of God in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:9-22, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.