Ephesians 4 NKJV NLT Parallel

◄ Ephesians 4 ►

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1I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

1Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

2Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

3Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;

4For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

5one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

5There is one 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, in all, and living through all.

7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

7However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.

8Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

8That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.”

9(Now this, “He ascended” —what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

9Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.

10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

10And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

11Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, 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;

13This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

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 immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

15Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

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.

16He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Living as Children of Light

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,

17With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.

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;

18Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

19They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

20But you have not so learned Christ,

20But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.

21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:

21Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,

22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,

22throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

23Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

24Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

25Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.

25So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

26“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,

26And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,

27nor give place to the devil.

27for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

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.

28If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others 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.

29Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

30And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

31Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

32Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

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