| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins | 1Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. |
| 2in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. | 2You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. |
| 3We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. | 3All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. |
| 4But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, | 4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, |
| 5made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! | 5that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) |
| 6Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, | 6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. |
| 7so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. | 7So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. |
| 8For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift-- | 8God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. |
| 9not from works, so that no one can boast. | 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. |
| 10For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. | 10For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Oneness and Peace in Christ |
| 11So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh--called "the uncircumcised" by those called "the circumcised," which is done in the flesh by human hands. | 11Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. |
| 12At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. | 12In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. |
| 13But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. | 13But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. |
| 14For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, | 14For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. |
| 15He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. | 15He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. |
| 16He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it. | 16Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. |
| 17When the Messiah came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. | 17He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. |
| 18For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. | 18Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. A Temple for the Lord |
| 19So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God's household, | 19So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. |
| 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. | 20Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. |
| 21The whole building, being put together by Him, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. | 21We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. |
| 22You also are being built together for God's dwelling in the Spirit. | 22Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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