Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are {Some very ancient authorities omit at Ephesus.}at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be {Or, God and the Father See Romans 15:6 margin}the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before {Or, him: having in love foreordained us}him in love:
having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace, {Or, wherewith he endued us}which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
{Or, wherewith he abounded}which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
unto a dispensation of the fulness of the {Greek: seasons.}times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things {Greek: upon.}in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say,
in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;
to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who {Or, have}had before hoped in Christ:
in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the {Or, good tidings. See marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel of your salvation,— in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory.
For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is {Or, in}among you, and {Many ancient authorities omit the love.}the love which ye show toward all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this {Greek: age.}world, but also in that which is to come:
and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Querverweise zu Epheser 1,7 Eph 1,7
{Or, And he be gracious and say ransom his flesh &c.}Then God is gracious unto him, and saith,Deliver him from going down to the pit,I have found a ransom.
keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
to the praise of the glory of his grace, {Or, wherewith he endued us}which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
O Israel, hope in Jehovah;For with Jehovah there is lovingkindness,And with him is plenteous redemption.
A Psalm of David. Maschil.Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,Whose sin is covered.
but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, {Or, to restrain}to finish {Or, the transgression}transgression, and {Another reading is, to seal up.}to make an end of sins, and to {Or, purge away }make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and {Hebrew: prophet.}prophecy, and to anoint {Or, a most holy place}the most holy.
Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto {Hebrew: Messiah.}the anointed one, the prince, shall be {Or, seven weeks: and threescore and two weeks, it shall be &c.}seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times.
And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and {Or, there shall be none belonging to him}shall have nothing: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined.
Blessed is the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity,And in whose spirit there is no guile.
that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:
As for thee also, because of the blood of thy covenant I have set free thy prisoners from the pit wherein is no water.
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive,And abundant in lovingkindness unto all them that call upon thee.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to {Greek: bring good tidings of the &c. Compare chapter 2:17.}preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
But there is forgiveness with thee,That thou mayest be feared.
that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins.
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near:
being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
for this is my blood of the {Many ancient authorities insert new.}covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins.
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
{Some ancient authorities omit and.}and that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory,
And he said unto them, This is my blood of the {Some ancient authorities insert new.}covenant, which is poured out for many.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich.
Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you {Or, overseers}bishops, to feed the church of {Some ancient authorities, including the two oldest manuscripts read God.}the Lord which he {Greek: acquired.}purchased with his own blood.
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; {Or, though}for we have rebelled against him;
And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, {Or, both rightousness and sanctification and redemption}and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I {Or, was beforehand in fleeing}hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the {Or, fulness}full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, {The ancient authorities vary much in the text of this passage.}even Christ,
in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins:
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness.
which he poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony to be borne in its own times;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his peopleIn the remission of their sins,
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works.
And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Teacher, say on.
A certain lender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred {The word in the greek denotes a coin worth about eight pence half-penny, or nearly seventeen cents,}shillings, and the other fifty.
When they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?
nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh:
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through {Or, his eternal spirit}the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse {Many ancient authorities read our.}your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
And for this cause he is the mediator of a new {The Greek word here used signifies both covenant and testament.}covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first {The Greek word here used signifies both covenant and testament.}covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
And they that {Greek: reclined.}sat at meat with him began to say {Or, among}within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins?
And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
and that repentance {Some ancient authorities read unto.}and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the {Or, nations. Beginning from Jerusalem, ye are witnesses}nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, {Psalm 11:6 ff}Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,But a body didst thou prepare for me;
In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure:
Then said I, Lo, I am come(In the roll of the book it is written of me)To do thy will, O God.
Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law),
then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
{Or, In}By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every {Some ancient authorities read high priest.}priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins:
but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for {Or, sins, for ever sat down &c.}sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers;
And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, even the blood of Christ:
Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;
who his own self {Or, carried up…to the tree Compare Colossians 2:14; 1 Macc. 4.53 (Greek:).}bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose {Greek: bruise.}stripes ye were healed.
To him bear all the prophets witness, that through his name every one that believeth on him shall receive remission of sins.
Because Christ also {Many ancient authorities read died.}suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of sins:
and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
and by him every one that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works,
saying, {Psalm 32:1 f.}Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,And whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.
Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say, To Abraham his faith was reckoned for righteousness.
And they sing a new song, saying,Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,
And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses;
These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, to be the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.
And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.