Greeting
1 Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and care faithful1 in Christ Jesus:
2 dGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 eBlessed be fthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing gin the heavenly places, 4 heven as he ichose us in him jbefore the foundation of the world, that we should be kholy and blameless before him. In love 5 lhe predestined us2 for madoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, naccording to the purpose of his will, 6 oto the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in pthe Beloved. 7 qIn him we have rredemption sthrough his blood, tthe forgiveness of our trespasses, uaccording to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 vmaking known3 to us the mystery of his will, naccording to his purpose, which he wset forth in Christ 10 as a plan for xthe fullness of time, yto unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained zan inheritance, ahaving been predestined baccording to the purpose of him who works all things according to cthe counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be dto the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard ethe word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, fwere sealed with the gpromised Holy Spirit, 14 who is hthe guarantee4 of our iinheritance until jwe acquire kpossession of it,5 lto the praise of his glory.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15 For this reason, mbecause I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love6 toward all the saints, 16 I ndo not cease to give thanks for you, oremembering you in my prayers, 17 that pthe God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, qmay give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 rhaving the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is sthe hope to which he has called you, what are tthe riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, uaccording to the working of vhis great might 20 that he worked in Christ wwhen he raised him from the dead and xseated him at his right hand yin the heavenly places, 21 zfar above aall rule and authority and power and dominion, and above bevery name that is named, not only in cthis age but also in the one to come. 22 And dhe put all things under his feet and gave him as ehead over all things to the church, 23 fwhich is his body, gthe fullness of him hwho fills iall in all.
1 mBetter is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting1 with strife.
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over na son who acts shamefully
and owill share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3 pThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
qand the Lord tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor rinsults his Maker;
he who is sglad at calamity will not go tunpunished.
6 uGrandchildren are vthe crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not wbecoming to a fool;
still less is xfalse speech to a prince.
8 yA bribe is like a magic2 stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
9 Whoever zcovers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter aseparates close friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and ba cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet ca she-bear robbed of her cubs
drather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone ereturns evil for good,
fevil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so gquit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who hjustifies the wicked and he who icondemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand jto buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
17 kA friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who lmakes his door high seeks destruction.
20 mA man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who nsires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 oA joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit pdries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts qa bribe in secret3
to rpervert the ways of justice.
24 sThe discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 nA foolish son is a grief to his father
tand bitterness to uher who bore him.
26 vTo impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 Whoever wrestrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool xwho keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
