| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, | 1Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, |
| 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, | 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, |
| 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. | 3diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. |
| 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; | 4There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope at your calling-- |
| 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; | 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, |
| 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. | 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. |
| 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. | 7Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah's gift. |
| 8Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” | 8For it says: When He ascended on high, He took prisoners into captivity; He gave gifts to people. |
| 9(Now this, “He ascended” —what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? | 9But what does "He ascended" mean except that He descended to the lower parts of the earth? |
| 10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) | 10The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. |
| 11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, | 11And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, |
| 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, | 12for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, |
| 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; | 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ's fullness. |
| 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, | 14Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. |
| 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— | 15But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head--Christ. |
| 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. | 16From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part. |
| 17This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, | 17Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. |
| 18having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; | 18They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. |
| 19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. | 19They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. |
| 20But you have not so learned Christ, | 20But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, |
| 21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: | 21assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, because the truth is in Jesus. |
| 22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, | 22You took off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires; |
| 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, | 23you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; |
| 24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. | 24you put on the new self, the one created according to God's likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth. |
| 25Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. | 25Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. |
| 26“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, | 26Be angry and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger, |
| 27nor give place to the devil. | 27and don't give the Devil an opportunity. |
| 28Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. | 28The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. |
| 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. | 29No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. |
| 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. | 30And don't grieve God's Holy Spirit. You were sealed by Him for the day of redemption. |
| 31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. | 31All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. |
| 32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. | 32And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. |
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