| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, | 1Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. |
| 2in which you formerly lived according to this world's present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing 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. |
| 3among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest | 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 God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, | 4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, |
| 5even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you are 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 he raised us up with him 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. |
| 7to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward 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 by grace you are saved through faith, and this is 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. |
| 9it is not from 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 his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. | 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, the Gentiles in the flesh--who are called "uncircumcision" by the so-called "circumcision" that is performed on 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. |
| 12that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no 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 used to be far away have been brought near by 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 is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the 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. |
| 15when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of 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 to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. | 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. |
| 17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off 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. |
| 18so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. | 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 |
| 19So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are 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. |
| 20because you have been built 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, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, | 21We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. |
| 22in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. | 22Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. |
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