Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. New Living Translation In 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. English Standard Version remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Berean Standard Bible remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. Berean Literal Bible that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, not having hope and without God in the world. King James Bible That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: New King James Version that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. New American Standard Bible remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. NASB 1995 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. NASB 1977 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Legacy Standard Bible remember that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Amplified Bible remember that at that time you were separated from Christ [excluded from any relationship with Him], alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise [with no share in the sacred Messianic promise and without knowledge of God’s agreements], having no hope [in His promise] and [living] in the world without God. Christian Standard Bible At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. Holman Christian Standard Bible At 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. American Standard Version that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Aramaic Bible in Plain English And you were at that time without The Messiah, and you were aliens from the government of Israel and strangers to The Covenant of The Promise and you were without hope and without God in the world. Contemporary English Version At that time you did not know about Christ. You were foreigners to the people of Israel, and you had no part in the promises God had made to them. You were living in this world without hope and without God, Douay-Rheims Bible That you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the conversation of Israel, and strangers to the testament, having no hope of the promise, and without God in this world. English Revised Version that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. GOD'S WORD® Translation Also, at that time you were without Christ. You were excluded from citizenship in Israel, and the pledges [God made in his] promise were foreign to you. You had no hope and were in the world without God. Good News Translation At that time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God's chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God's promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God. International Standard Version At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise. You had no hope and were in the world without God. Literal Standard Version that you were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; Majority Standard Bible remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. New American Bible 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. NET Bible that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. New Revised Standard Version remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. New Heart English Bible that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Webster's Bible Translation That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Weymouth New Testament At that time you were living apart from Christ, estranged from the Commonwealth of Israel, with no share by birth in the Covenants which are based on the Promises, and you had no hope and no God, in all the world. World English Bible that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Young's Literal Translation that ye were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world; Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context One in Christ11Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.… Cross References Isaiah 14:1 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob. Ezekiel 47:22 You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who dwell among you and who have children. You are to treat them as native-born Israelites; along with you, they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. Acts 2:39 This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off--to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself." Romans 9:4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. Galatians 3:17 What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise. Galatians 4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. Ephesians 2:19 Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, Treasury of Scripture That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: without. John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Colossians 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled aliens. Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Ezra 4:3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. Isaiah 61:5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. the covenants. Genesis 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: Genesis 17:7-9 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee… Exodus 24:3-11 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do… having. Jeremiah 14:8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? Jeremiah 17:13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. without. 2 Chronicles 15:3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. Isaiah 45:20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Jump to Previous Alienated Aliens Apart Based Birth Christ Citizenship Commonwealth Covenants Cut Estranged Excluded Foreigners God's Hope Israel Israel's Nation Part Promise Promises Remember Rights Separate Share Strangers Time WorldJump to Next Alienated Aliens Apart Based Birth Christ Citizenship Commonwealth Covenants Cut Estranged Excluded Foreigners God's Hope Israel Israel's Nation Part Promise Promises Remember Rights Separate Share Strangers Time WorldEphesians 2 1. By comparing what we were by nature, with what we are by grace,10. he declares that we are made for good works: and being brought near by Christ, 19. should not live as Gentiles and foreigners, but as citizens with the saints, and the family of God. (12) This verse gives a dark and terrible picture of the former heathen condition of the Ephesians, intentionally contrasted in every point with the description of Christian privilege in Ephesians 2:19-20. That condition is first summed up in one expression. They were "separate from Christ." Then from this are drawn two gloomy consequences: first (1), that they had no part in God's special covenant, "alienated from the commonwealth of Israel," and so "strangers to the (often repeated) covenants of the promise" of the Messiah; next (2), that, thus left in "the world," they had "no hope" of spiritual life and immortality, and were "godless" in thought and act. For Christ is at once the end and substance of the covenant of Israel, and the Revealer of God, and therefore of spiritual life in man, to all mankind. To be without Him is to lose both covenant and light. On (1) it is to be noted that the word used is not "aliens," but "alienated." implying--what is again and again declared to us--that the covenant with Israel, as it was held in trust for the blessing of "all families of the earth," so also was simply the true birthright of humanity, from which mankind had fallen. The first "covenant" in scripture (Genesis 9:8-17) is with the whole of the post-diluvian race, and is expressly connected with the reality of "the image of God" in man (Genesis 9:6). The succeeding covenants (as with Abraham, Moses, and David) all contain a promise concerning the whole race of man. Hence the Gentiles (as the utterances of prophecy showed more and more clearly while the ages rolled on) were exiles from what should have been their home; and their call into the Church of Christ was a restoration of God's wandering children. In relation to (2) it is impossible not to observe, even in the highest forms of heathen philosophy, how their comparative "godlessness"--the absence of any clear notion of a real spiritual tie of nature between God and man--made their "hope" of life and immortality, though still cherished, shadowy and uncertain, always stronger in itself than in its grounds. But St. Paul's description ought to be applied strictly, not to heathen life in its nobler and purer forms, but to the heathen life of Asia Minor in his days. What that was in moral degradation and in loss of all spiritual religion, ill compensated by the inevitable proneness to various superstitions, all contemporary literature testifies. From it came, as the Romans declared, the corruption which overspread the whole empire, and which St. Paul describes so terribly in Romans 1:18-32.Verse 12. - That at that time ye were without Christ. Very comprehensive description, having no knowledge of Christ, no interest in him, no life or blessing from him. Being aliens (or, alienated) from the commonwealth of Israel; the πολιτεία, or citizenship condition, including a country, a constitution, a divinely appointed and divinely administered economy, rich in blessing. And strangers to the covenants of the promise. The promise of Christ, of which circumcision was the seal. The "covenants" (plural) substantially the same, but renewed to various persons and at various times in which God promised, "I will bless him that blesseth thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." In respect of these they were strangers, not embraced in their provisions, not, therefore, in a state of encouragement to expect a great blessing. Having no hope; no ground for looking forward to better times, no reasonable expectation of improvement in your religious condition. And without God in the world; ἄθεοι, atheists; but not in the active sense of denying God, rather in the passive sense of unconnected with God; without any friendly and beneficial relation to him, without any vital nexus that would bring into their soul the fullness of God. The words "in the world" intensify "without God." It were bad enough to be without God (without his holy fellowship and blessed influence) anywhere, but it is worse to be without him in the world, in "this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4), in a world dominated by so subtle and evil a god (ver. 2 and 2 Corinthians 4:4). The fivefold negative description of this verse has a cumulative effect; the situation becomes graver and more terrible, and the last clause is the climax. Parallel Commentaries ... Greek [remember] thatὅτι (hoti) Conjunction Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because. at τῷ (tō) Article - Dative Masculine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. that ἐκείνῳ (ekeinō) Demonstrative Pronoun - Dative Masculine Singular Strong's 1565: That, that one there, yonder. From ekei; that one (neuter) thing); often intensified by the article prefixed. time καιρῷ (kairō) Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Strong's 2540: Fitting season, season, opportunity, occasion, time. Of uncertain affinity; an occasion, i.e. Set or proper time. you were ἦτε (ēte) Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist. separate from χωρὶς (chōris) Preposition Strong's 5565: Apart from, separately from; without. Adverb from chora; at a space, i.e. Separately or apart from. Christ, Χριστοῦ (Christou) Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Strong's 5547: Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus. alienated from ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι (apēllotriōmenoi) Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural Strong's 526: From apo and a derivative of allotrios; to estrange away, i.e. to be non-participant. the τῆς (tēs) Article - Genitive Feminine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. commonwealth πολιτείας (politeias) Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Strong's 4174: From polites; citizenship; concretely, a community. of Israel, Ἰσραὴλ (Israēl) Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Strong's 2474: Of Hebrew origin; Israel, the adopted name of Jacob, including his descendants. and καὶ (kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. strangers ξένοι (xenoi) Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural Strong's 3581: Apparently a primary word; foreign; by implication, a guest or entertainer. to the τῶν (tōn) Article - Genitive Feminine Plural Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. covenants διαθηκῶν (diathēkōn) Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural Strong's 1242: From diatithemai; properly, a disposition, i.e. a contract. of the τῆς (tēs) Article - Genitive Feminine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. promise, ἐπαγγελίας (epangelias) Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Strong's 1860: A promise. From epaggello; an announcement. without μὴ (mē) Adverb Strong's 3361: Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether. hope ἐλπίδα (elpida) Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Strong's 1680: Hope, expectation, trust, confidence. From a primary elpo; expectation or confidence. and καὶ (kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. without God ἄθεοι (atheoi) Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural Strong's 112: Without god, without (the only true) God, godless. Godless. in ἐν (en) Preposition Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. the τῷ (tō) Article - Dative Masculine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. world. κόσμῳ (kosmō) Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Strong's 2889: Probably from the base of komizo; orderly arrangement, i.e. Decoration; by implication, the world (morally). 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