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 4,31 Eph 4,31
Who have whet their tongue like a sword,And have aimed their arrows, even bitter words,
{Psalm 4:4.}Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your {Greek: provocation.}wrath:
And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, {Or, and were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?}that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am Jehovah.
And Cain {Hebrew: said unto.}told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
{Psalm 10:7}Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
He that is soon angry will deal foolishly;And a man of wicked devices is hated.
And there happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as {Or, the}an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth:
The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion;But his favor is as dew upon the grass.
So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
{Or, He slandereth}He that slandereth not with his tongue,Nor doeth evil to his friend,Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor;
And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be {Or, vexed}angry; for {Or, vexation}anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
If a wise man hath a controversy with a foolish man, {Or, He rageth and laugheth, and there is no rest}Whether he be angry or laugh, there will be no rest.
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;Thou {Or, givest a thrust against}slanderest thine own mother's son.
And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life.
But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth.
For I fear, lest by any means, when I come, I should find you not such as I would, and should myself be found of you such as ye would not; lest by any means there should be strife, jealousy, wraths, factions, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, {Or, disorders}tumults;
An angry man stirreth up strife,And a wrathful man aboundeth in transgression.
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I destroy:Him that hath a high look and a proud heart will I not suffer.
Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, {Or, natural Or, animal}sensual, {Greek: demoniacal.}devilish.
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, {Greek: heresies.}parties,
And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is {Greek: Artemis.}Diana of the Ephesians.
{Hebrew: A man to tongue.}An evil speaker shall not be established in the earth:Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah.
but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth:
And the city was filled with the confusion: and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel.
A false witness that {Hebrew: breatheth out.}uttereth lies,And he that {Hebrew: letteth loose.}soweth discord among brethren.
And Absalom spake unto Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
But foolish and ignorant questionings refuse, knowing that they gender strifes.
And all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they laid hold on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut.
He that hideth hatred is of lying lips;And he that uttereth a slander is a fool.
Hatred stirreth up strifes;But love covereth all transgressions.
For the {Or, overseer}bishop must be blameless, as God's steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, {Or, not quarrelsome over wine.}no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;
And they gave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels,And they go down into the innermost parts.
He that hateth dissembleth with his lips;But he layeth up deceit within him:
{Or, Know ye}Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
And as they cried out, and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air,
The north wind bringeth forth rain:So doth a backbiting tongue an angry countenance.
When he speaketh fair, believe him not;For there are seven abominations in his heart:
But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth.
This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, {Or, natural Or, animal}sensual, {Greek: demoniacal.}devilish.
For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without {Or, doubtfulness Or, partiality}variance, without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace {Or, by}for them that make peace.
{Or, not quarrelsome over wine}no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money;
For lack of wood the fire goeth out;And where there is no whisperer, contention ceaseth.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be {Or, vexed}angry; for {Or, vexation}anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members?
he is puffed up, knowing nothing, but {Greek: sick.}doting about questionings and disputes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
They are all grievous revolters, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly.
being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and {Greek: are jealous.}covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not.
wranglings of men corrupted in mind and bereft of the truth, supposing that godliness is a way of gain.
Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.
wherefore let us {Greek: keep festival.}keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be {Greek: of full age. Compare chapter 2:6.}men.
backbiters, {Or, haters of God}hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth:
Women in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.
For we also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
And withal they learn also to be idle, going about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good,
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
that aged women likewise be reverent in demeanor, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good;
to speak evil of no man, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all meekness toward all men.
Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Putting away therefore all {Or, malice 1 Corinthians 14:20.}wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at {Greek: glories.}dignities:
whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord.
Yet in like manner these also in their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at {Greek: glories.}dignities.
But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
But these rail at whatsoever things they know not: and what they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason, in these things are they {Or, corrupted Compare 2 Peter 2:12 margin.}destroyed.
And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, {Or, Now is the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom, become our God's, and the authority is become his Christ's}Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.