| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, | 1I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, |
| 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, | 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, |
| 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. | 3making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. |
| 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 too were called to the one hope of 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 over all and through all and in all. |
| 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. | 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. |
| 8Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” | 8Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he captured captives; he gave gifts to men." |
| 9(Now this, “He ascended” —what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? | 9Now what is the meaning of "he ascended," except that he also descended to the lower regions, namely, the earth? |
| 10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) | 10He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. |
| 11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, | 11It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, |
| 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, | 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, 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 attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God--a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ's full stature. |
| 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, | 14So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. |
| 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— | 15But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. |
| 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 grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love. |
| 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, | 17So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. |
| 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, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. |
| 19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. | 19Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. |
| 20But you have not so learned Christ, | 20But you did not learn about Christ like this, |
| 21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: | 21if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as 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 were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, |
| 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, | 23to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, |
| 24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. | 24and to put on the new man who has been created in God's image--in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. |
| 25Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. | 25Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for 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; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. |
| 27nor give place to the devil. | 27Do not 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 one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has 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. | 29You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give 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 do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. |
| 31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. | 31You must put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk. |
| 32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. | 32Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. |
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