1 Τούτου χάριν ἐγὼ Παῦλος ὁ δέσμιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ [Ἰησοῦ] ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν | 1 It is because of this that I, Paul, a prisoner of the Lord Jesus on behalf of you gentiles. . . |
2 – εἴ γε ἠκούσατε τὴν οἰκονομίαν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς δοθείσης μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς, | 2 You have surely heard the way in which God entrusted me with the grace he gave me for your sake; |
3 [ὅτι] κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν ἐγνωρίσθη μοι τὸ μυστήριον, καθὼς προέγραψα ἐν ὀλίγῳ, | 3 he made known to me by a revelation the mystery I have just described briefly- |
4 πρὸς ὃ δύνασθε ἀναγινώσκοντες νοῆσαι τὴν σύνεσίν μου ἐν τῷ μυστηρίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, | 4 a reading of it wil enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. |
5 ὃ ἑτέραις γενεαῖς οὐκ ἐγνωρίσθη τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὡς νῦν ἀπεκαλύφθη τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ προφήταις ἐν πνεύματι, | 5 This mystery, as it is now revealed in the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, was unknown tohumanity in previous generations: |
6 εἶναι τὰ ἔθνη συγκληρονόμα καὶ σύσσωμα καὶ συμμέτοχα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, | 6 that the gentiles now have the same inheritance and form the same Body and enjoy the same promisein Christ Jesus through the gospel. |
7 οὗ ἐγενήθην διάκονος κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς δοθείσης μοι κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ. | 7 I have been made the servant of that gospel by a gift of grace from God who gave it to me by theworkings of his power. |
8 Ἐμοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη, τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ | 8 I, who am less than the least of all God's holy people, have been entrusted with this special grace, ofproclaiming to the gentiles the unfathomable treasure of Christ |
9 καὶ φωτίσαι [πάντας] τίς ἡ οἰκονομία τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ ἀποκεκρυμμένου ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων ἐν τῷ θεῷ τῷ τὰ πάντα κτίσαντι, | 9 and of throwing light on the inner workings of the mystery kept hidden through al the ages in God, theCreator of everything. |
10 ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ, | 10 The purpose of this was, that now, through the Church, the principalities and ruling forces should learnhow many-sided God's wisdom is, |
11 κατὰ πρόθεσιν τῶν αἰώνων ἣν ἐποίησεν ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, | 11 according to the plan which he had formed from al eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
12 ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ προσαγωγὴν ἐν πεποιθήσει διὰ τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ. | 12 In him we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him; |
13 διὸ αἰτοῦμαι μὴ ἐγκακεῖν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσίν μου ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, ἥτις ἐστὶν δόξα ὑμῶν. | 13 so, I beg you, do not let the hardships I go through on your account make you waver; they are yourglory. |
14 Τούτου χάριν κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, | 14 This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, |
15 ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται, | 15 from whom every fatherhood, in heaven or on earth, takes its name. |
16 ἵνα δῷ ὑμῖν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ δυνάμει κραταιωθῆναι διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, | 16 In the abundance of his glory may he, through his Spirit, enable you to grow firm in power with regardto your inner self, |
17 κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι, | 17 so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, |
18 ἵνα ἐξισχύσητε καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὕψος καὶ βάθος, | 18 with al God's holy people you wil have the strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the heightand the depth; |
19 γνῶναί τε τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς γνώσεως ἀγάπην τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἵνα πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ. | 19 so that, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond knowledge, you may be fil ed with the utterful ness of God. |
20 Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν, | 20 Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; |
21 αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν. | 21 glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.Amen. |