| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, | 1As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: |
| 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, | 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, |
| 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. | 3and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. |
| 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; | 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; |
| 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; | 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; |
| 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. | 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. |
| 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. | 7Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. |
| 8Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” | 8This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.” |
| 9(Now this, “He ascended” —what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? | 9What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth? |
| 10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) | 10He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. |
| 11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, | 11And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, |
| 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, | 12to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, |
| 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; | 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. |
| 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, | 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. |
| 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— | 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. |
| 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. | 16From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part. |
| 17This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, | 17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. |
| 18having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; | 18They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. |
| 19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. | 19Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more. |
| 20But you have not so learned Christ, | 20But this is not the way you came to know Christ. |
| 21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: | 21Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus— |
| 22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, | 22to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; |
| 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, | 23to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; |
| 24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. | 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. |
| 25Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. | 25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. |
| 26“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, | 26“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, |
| 27nor give place to the devil. | 27and do not give the devil a foothold. |
| 28Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. | 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need. |
| 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. | 29Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. |
| 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. | 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. |
| 31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. | 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. |
| 32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. | 32Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you. |
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