Ephesians 6:17-19

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Ephesians 6:17 sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.
2. Ephesians 6:17 sn The Greek term translated sword (μάχαιρα, machaira) refers to the Roman gladius, a short sword about 2 ft (60 cm) long, used for close hand-to-hand combat. This is the only clearly offensive weapon in the list of armor mentioned by the author (he does not, for example, mention the lance [Latin pilum]).
3. Ephesians 6:18 tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.
4. Ephesians 6:18 tn Grk “and toward it.”
5. Ephesians 6:19 tn To avoid a lengthy, convoluted sentence in English, the Greek sentence was broken up at this point and the verb “pray” was inserted in the English translation to pick up the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuxomenoi, “praying”) in v. 18.
6. Ephesians 6:19 tn Grk “that a word may be given to me in the opening of my mouth.” Here “word” (λόγος, logos) is used in the sense of “message,” but more specifically in this context, “the right words.”
7. Ephesians 6:19 tn The infinitive γνωρίσαι (gnōrisai, “to make known”) is functioning epexegetically to further explain what the author means by the preceding phrase “that I may be given the right words when I begin to speak.”