| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, | 1Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. |
| 2in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience. | 2You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. |
| 3All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath. | 3All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. |
| 4But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, | 4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, |
| 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! | 5that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) |
| 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, | 6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. |
| 7in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. | 7So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. |
| 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, | 8God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. |
| 9not by works, so that no one can boast. | 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. |
| 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. | 10For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Oneness and Peace in Christ |
| 11Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)— | 11Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. |
| 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. | 12In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. |
| 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. | 13But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. |
| 14For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility | 14For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. |
| 15by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace | 15He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. |
| 16and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility. | 16Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. |
| 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. | 17He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. |
| 18For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. | 18Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. A Temple for the Lord |
| 19Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, | 19So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. |
| 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. | 20Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. |
| 21In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. | 21We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. |
| 22And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit. | 22Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. |
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