I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,
with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.
But unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Wherefore he saith,
{Psalm 68:18.}When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive,
And gave gifts unto men.
(Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended {Some ancient authorities insert first.}into the lower parts of the earth?
He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:
till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
but {Or, dealing, truly}speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ;
from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together {Greek: through every joint of the supply.}through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of their mind,
being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;
who being past feeling gave themselves up to lasciviousness, {Or, to make a trade of}to work all uncleanness with {Or, covetousness Compare chapter 5:3; Colossians 3:5.}greediness.
But ye did not so learn Christ;
if so be that ye heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:
that ye put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit;
and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and put on the new man, {Or, that is after God, created & c.}that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Wherefore, putting away falsehood, {Zechariah 8:16.}speak ye truth each one with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.
{Psalm 4:4.}Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your {Greek: provocation.}wrath:
neither give place to the devil.
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need.
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for {Greek: the building up of the need.}edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice:
and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave {Many ancient authorities read us.}you.
Querverweise zu Epheser 4,29 Eph 4,29
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints;
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.
for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:
Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting: but rather giving of thanks.
The mouth of the righteous talketh of wisdom,And his tongue speaketh justice.
from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together {Greek: through every joint of the supply.}through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.
having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
For there is no {Or, stedfastness}faithfulness in their mouth;Their inward part is {Or, a yawning gulf}very wickedness;Their throat is an open sepulchre;They {Hebrew: make smooth with tongue}flatter with their tongue.
The law of his God is in his heart;None of his steps shall slide.
In like manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the {Or, manner of life verse 16}behavior of their wives;
Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness,Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Thou art fairer than the children of men;Grace is poured {Or, upon}into thy lips:Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
Their eyes stand out with fatness: {Or, The imagination of their heart overflow}They have more than heart could wish.
They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression:They speak {Or, from on high}loftily.
They have set their mouth {Or, against}in the heavens,And their tongue walketh through the earth.
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth;And hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
The good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth good things: and the evil man out of his evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Yea, even {Hebrew: unto old age and gray hairs.}when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not,Until I have declared {Hebrew: thine arm.}thy strength unto the next generation,Thy might to every one that is to come.
{Psalm 5:9}Their throat is an open sepulchre;With their tongues they have used deceit: {Psalm 140:3}The poison of asps is under their lips:
My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long;For they are put to shame, for they are confounded, that seek my hurt.
{Psalm 10:7}Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
We will not hide them from their children,Telling to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah,And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath done.
If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, {Or, what doth it profit me, if the dead are not raised? Let us eat &c.}what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.
For he established a testimony in Jacob,And appointed a law in Israel,Which he commanded our fathers,That they should make them known to their children;
Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.
The mouth of the righteous {Or, buddeth with}bringeth forth wisdom;But the perverse tongue shall be cut off.
but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth:
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable;But the mouth of the wicked {Or, is}speaketh perverseness.
lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings,
In the transgression of the lips is {Or, an evil snare}a snare to the evil man;But the righteous shall come out of trouble.
Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one.
The tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright;But the mouth of fools poureth out folly.
The eyes of Jehovah are in every place,Keeping watch upon the evil and the good.
{Hebrew: The healing of the tongue.}A gentle tongue is a tree of life;But perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit.
For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.
Now if we put the horses' bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body also.
Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, are yet turned about by a very small rudder, whither the impulse of the steersman willeth.
So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, {Or, how great a forest}how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!
And the tongue is {Or, a fire, that world of iniquity: the tongue is among our members that which &c.}a fire: the {Or, that world of iniquity: the tongue, is among our members that which &c.}world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of {Or, birth}nature, and is set on fire by {Greek: Gehenna.}hell.
For every {Greek: nature.}kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed {Or, unto}by {Greek: the human nature.}mankind:
but the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison.
The lips of the wise disperse knowledge;But the heart of the foolish {Or, is not stedfast (or, right)}doeth not so.
For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error;
A man hath joy in the answer of his mouth;And a word in due season, how good is it!
wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own {Greek: shames.}shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever.
And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with {Greek: his holy myriads.}ten thousands of his holy ones,
to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their lusts (and their mouth speaketh great swelling words), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage.
The wise in heart shall be called prudent;And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority {Or, to do his works during See Daniel 11:28}to continue forty and two months.
A word {Or, in due season}fitly spokenIs like apples of gold in network of silver.
And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, even them that {Greek: tabernacle.}dwell in the heaven.
As {Or, a nose-ring}an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold,So is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of {Or, disciples}them that are taught, that I may know how {Or, to speak a word in season to him &c.}to sustain with words him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as {Or, disciples}they that are taught.
Then they that feared Jehovah spake one with another; and Jehovah hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared Jehovah, and that thought upon his name.
And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, even mine own possession, in the day that I {Or, do this}make; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. {[Chapter 3:19 in Hebrew]}
And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth: and they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
howbeit in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Let the word of {Some ancient authorities read the Lord: others, God.}Christ dwell in you {Or, richly in all wisdom; teaching &c.}richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing {Or, yourselves}one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.
And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one.
Wherefore {Or, comfort chapter 4:18.}exhort one another, and build each other up, even as also ye do.