Ephesians 2

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 And you were dead, through the crimes and the sins	1 You were dead in your transgressions and sins
2 which used to make up your way of life when you were living by the principles of this world, obeying theruler who dominates the air, the spirit who is at work in those who rebel.	2 in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
3 We too were al among them once, living only by our natural inclinations, obeying the demands ofhuman self-indulgence and our own whim; our nature made us no less liable to God's retribution than the rest ofthe world.	3 All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.
4 But God, being rich in faithful love, through the great love with which he loved us,	4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,
5 even when we were dead in our sins, brought us to life with Christ -- it is through grace that you havebeen saved-	5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.	6 raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
7 This was to show for al ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, howextraordinarily rich he is in grace.	7 that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8 Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by agift from God;	8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
9 not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit.	9 it is not from works, so no one may boast.
10 We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has alreadydesignated to make up our way of life.	10 For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
11 Do not forget, then, that there was a time when you who were gentiles by physical descent, termed theuncircumcised by those who speak of themselves as the circumcised by reason of a physical operation,	11 Therefore, remember that at one time you, Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by those called the circumcision, which is done in the flesh by human hands,
12 do not forget, I say, that you were at that time separate from Christ and excluded from membership ofIsrael, aliens with no part in the covenants of the Promise, limited to this world, without hope and without God.	12 were at that time without Christ, alienated from the community of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far off have been brought close, by the blood of Christ.	13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one entity and broken down the barrierwhich used to keep them apart, by destroying in his own person the hostility,	14 For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
15 that is, the Law of commandments with its decrees. His purpose in this was, by restoring peace, tocreate a single New Man out of the two of them,	15 abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace,
16 and through the cross, to reconcile them both to God in one Body; in his own person he kil ed thehostility.	16 and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.
17 He came to bring the good news of peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.	17 He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near,
18 Through him, then, we both in the one Spirit have free access to the Father.	18 for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
19 So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors; you are fel ow-citizens with the holy people of God andpart of God's household.	19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God,
20 You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is thecornerstone.	20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
21 Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord;	21 Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
22 and you too, in him, are being built up into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit.	22 in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.