Ephesians 1

in love,
This translation takes the phrase “in love” to be connected to the clause that comes before it, rather than the one after (see also 1:8, 10). This phrase translates ἐν ἀγάπῃ (en agapē), and Paul usually uses the preposition ἐν (en) to refer to what had come before. The only exceptions would be the phrase “in Whom/Him,” which occurs in verses 7, 11, and 13. Paul’s use of the ἐν (en) preposition both begins and ends sections here in tight parallelism (cf. vv. 1, 6, 9).

by predestining
The phrase “by predestining” rather than “He predestined” helps to indicate that the underlying Greek word is a participle and not a main verb (προορίσας; proorisas). Participles play a supporting role to the main verb of a sentence, and are thus intentionally translated in such a way that readers can clearly recognize the main idea of a verse and how the modifying words like participles support that idea. Here, the main verb is “He chose” (ἐξελέξατο; exelexato) above in verse 4, modified by the participle “predestining” (προορίσας; proorisas). Thus the main idea of this passage is God’s sovereign choice or election of those whom He saves before the foundation of the world, and the participle here in verse 5 further elaborates on that point, communicating the means by which He accomplishes this. He chose believers by predestining them to be a part of His own family.

good pleasure
“Good pleasure” translates the Greek term εὐδοκία (eudokia), and is usually rendered as “good pleasure” or “well-pleased” in this translation. Its verbal form, εὐδοκέω (eudokeō) is used by God to communicate that He is “well-pleased” with His beloved Son (Matt 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). God is also “well-pleased” with those things which conform to His perfect will, like giving the Kingdom to His flock (Luke 12:32) and saving sinners through the “foolish” message of the gospel (1 Cor 1:21). Conversely, He was “not well-pleased” with the disobedient Israelites in the wilderness (1 Cor 10:5). Thus, in Scripture, God’s good pleasure is placed upon those things and people which are in conformity with His perfect will. The translation “good pleasure” for the nominal form of the word here helps readers to see that it comes from the same root. Here, it is God’s “good pleasure,” or in other words He is “well-pleased” to choose the elect before the foundation of the world by predestining them to adoption as sons.

graciously bestowed
While some translations have something like “freely bestowed” or “freely given” here, the phrase rendered here as “graciously bestowed” represents the Greek verb χαριτόω (charitoō), within which the common Greek term for “grace” (χάρις; charis) can be easily recognized. Thus, “graciously bestowed” more clearly brings out the emphasis on grace ingrained in this verb. This continues the theme of God’s abundant grace, which is a large theme in this epistle (cf. 1:1, 6, 7; 2:5, 7, 8; 3:2, 7, 8; 4:7, 29, 32; 6:24).

good pleasure
Refer to the discussion on verse 5 above.

administration
“Administration” translates οἰκονομία (oikonomia). Though it is translated two different ways in this epistle, the different usages indicate whether the term in context relates to God or to men. It is “administration” when used with reference to God (1:10; 3:9), and “stewardship” in reference to a man (3:2). Here, it refers to the economy over which God presides, in which He causes all things to culminate in His Son.

we…have been made an inheritance
This translation carries over the passive verb ἐκληρώθημεν (eklērōthēmen), from the root κληρόω (klēroō). In Biblical Greek literature, the word only occurs here, in the LXX/OG of 1 Samuel 14:41, and twice in the LXX/OG of Isaiah 17:11. When used in the passive voice, the word has the idea of allotting something to someone as an inheritance (e.g., the land allotted to Israel for an inheritance in Num 26:55–56). Here in Ephesians, God has given a people to Himself as an inheritance. This thus connects with verse 12, where believers themselves are appointed as an inheritance to the praise of God’s glory.

purpose of Him
In this phrase, “purpose” translates πρόθεσιν (prothesin) and “Him who works” translates the participial phrase τοῦ…ἐνεργοῦντος; tou…energountos; lit. “the One who works” or “the Worker”). Here, the translation reads, “the purpose of Him who works” rather than “His purpose who works” to best reflect the original Greek word order and phrasing (πρόθεσιν τοῦ…ἐνεργοῦντος; prothesin tou…ergountos). This provides the clearest window to the original text.

word of truth
This is rendered by some translations as “message of truth.” There is a Greek word for “message” (ἀγγελία; angelia), but the word used here is λόγος (logos; “word”). The saving message of the gospel is often called “the word” by the New Testament writers, whether “the word of God” (e.g., Phil 1:14) or “the word of Christ” (e.g., Rom 10:17) or “the word of truth” (e.g., Col 1:5). This connects the message tightly with the living Word Himself, Jesus (cf. John 1:1–18). Here, Paul describes the salvation of believers as having been accomplished by hearing the word of truth, which is perfectly consistent with Romans 10:17, where he explains that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. It is the word which has the power to save, and this literal translation helps show that emphasis more clearly.

unto
Though other translations have something like “with a view to the redemption” or “until the redemption,” the Greek word here is simply the preposition εἰς (eis; “to,” “into,” “unto”). Paul explains here that the Holy Spirit, as the pledge or guarantee of believers’ inheritance, leads unfailingly to their redemption as God’s own possession. Thus, believers will certainly be redeemed as a pledge “unto,” or ultimately leading to, their redemption.

Spirit
Though some translations leave “spirit” (πνεῦμα; pneuma) uncapitalized here, context indicates that Paul intends to reference the third person of the Trinity. He has been explaining how each Person of the Trinity is active in salvation (emphasizing the Father in 1:3–6, the Son in 1:7–13a, and the Spirit in 1:13b–14). Here also, it would be strange for Paul to pray for believers to be given a spirit of revelation if that spirit is not the Holy Spirit. Thus, “Spirit” is capitalized here to demonstrate more clearly that the Holy Spirit is intentionally in view.

so that you—the eyes of your heart having been enlightened—
While some translations convey, “I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightented,” this phrase is actually a participial phrase in Greek (πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας; pephōtismenous tous ophthalmous tēs kardias). This construction with a perfect participle (πεφωτισμένους; pephōtismenous; “having been enlightened”) conveys something that is a background precondition to Paul’s prayer, not the content of the prayer itself. Its accusative case indicates it should be read within the “so that” clause because it matches the accusative ὑμᾶς (hymas), thus modifying the “you” in “so that you will know.” Thus, Paul is praying ultimately that the Ephesians would know more of God, also pointing out that this is only possible since their eyes have already been enlighted through the salvation discribed throughout the previous part of this chapter.

according
Ephesians 1:3–14 is famous for being a single long sentence in Greek. This leads to quite a laborious reading if the entire chapter is translated as one sentence in English, and thus, a few sentence breaks are necessary (see vv. 7, 11, 13). Verses 17–21 are also one long sentence in Greek, but here, the sentence can be continued without difficulty in English, so no sentence break is shown in the middle of this verse as in some translations. This is an attempt to conform as closely to the Greek form and sentence structure as possible to give readers the clearest window to the original text.

worked
“Worked” provides a more consistent translation of the Greek verb ἐνεργέω (energeō), which also occurs in verses 11 and 19. The same power that God uses to work all things according to His will was at work in Christ to raise Him from the dead, and is part of Paul’s prayer for the believer to know and have in Christ.