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 4,32 Eph 4,32
And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is nigh of kin unto us, {Or, one of them that hath the right to redeem for us See Leviticus 25:25.}one of our near kinsmen.
Jehovah is good to all;And his tender mercies are over all his works.
Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children;
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness:He is gracious, and merciful, and righteous.
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast;But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth;He shall maintain his cause in judgment.
Because of the {Or, heart of mercy}tender mercy of our God, {Or, Wherein}Whereby the dayspring from on high {Many ancient authorities read hath visited us.}shall visit us,
And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we are thy servants.
He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy;His righteousness endureth for ever:His horn shall be exalted with honor.
Behold, we call them blessed that endured: ye have heard of the {Or, endurance}patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness;And a poor man is better than a liar.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and {Or, godly}merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away {Or, through wickedness}from the evil to come.
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend, {Some ancient authorities read despairing of no man.}never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.
Then came Peter and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until {Or, seventy times and seven}seventy times seven.
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his {Greek: bondservants.}servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, that owed him ten thousand {This talent was probably worth about £200 or $1000.}talents.
But forasmuch as he had not wherewith to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The {Greek: bondservant.}servant therefore fell down and {See marginal note on chapter 2:2.}worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And the lord of that {Greek: bondservant.}servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the {Greek: loan.}debt.
But that {Greek: bondservant.}servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred {The word in the Greek denotes a coin worth about eight pence half-penny, or nearly seventeen cents.}shillings: and he laid hold on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay what thou owest.
So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee.
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay that which was due.
So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceeding sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked {Greek: bondservant.}servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me:
shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due.
So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.
And the barbarians showed us no common kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
And whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. {Many ancient authorities add verse 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses. Compare Matthew 6:15; 18:35}
In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another;
- - -
Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
And judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: release, and ye shall be released:
But to whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes have I forgiven it in the {Or, person}presence of Christ;
And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation {Many ancient authorities add but deliver us from the evil one (or, from evil). See Matthew 6:13.}.
in pureness, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned,
And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;
But {(Proverbs 25:21 f.)}if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.
forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as {Many ancient authorities read Christ.}the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
and in your godliness {Greek: love of the brethren.}brotherly kindness; and in your {Greek: love of the brethren.}brotherly kindness love.
so that contrariwise ye should {Some ancient authorities omit rather.}rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow.
But to whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes have I forgiven it in the {Or, person}presence of Christ;
Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;
forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as {Many ancient authorities read Christ.}the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:
Finally, be ye all likeminded, {Greek: sympathetic.}compassionate, loving as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded:
not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
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.