| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles-- | 1When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles . . . |
| 2you have heard, haven't you, about the administration of God's grace that He gave to me for you? | 2assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. |
| 3The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. | 3As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. |
| 4By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. | 4As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. |
| 5This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: | 5God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. |
| 6The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. | 6And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. |
| 7I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace that was given to me by the working of His power. | 7By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. |
| 8This grace was given to me--the least of all the saints--to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of the Messiah, | 8Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. |
| 9and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. | 9I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. |
| 10This is so God's multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. | 10God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. |
| 11This is according to His eternal purpose accomplished in the Messiah, Jesus our Lord. | 11This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| 12In Him we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. | 12Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. |
| 13So then I ask you not to be discouraged over my afflictions on your behalf, for they are your glory. | 13So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored. Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth |
| 14For this reason I kneel before the Father | 14When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, |
| 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. | 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. |
| 16I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, | 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. |
| 17and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, | 17Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. |
| 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love, | 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. |
| 19and to know the Messiah's love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. | 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. |
| 20Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us-- | 20Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. |
| 21to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. | 21Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. |
| 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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