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Ephesians 3:1–8

The Mystery Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the 1dispensation of the grace of God awhich was given to me for you, bhow that by revelation cHe made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles dshould be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, eof which I became a minister faccording to the gift of the grace of God given to me by gthe effective working of His power.

Purpose of the Mystery

To me, hwho am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles ithe unsearchable riches of Christ,

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Ephesians 3:1–8 — The New International Version (NIV)

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ,

Ephesians 3:1–8 — English Standard Version (ESV)

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Ephesians 3:1–8 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Ephesians 3:1–8 — New Living Translation (NLT)

When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles … assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

Ephesians 3:1–8 — New Century Version (NCV)

So I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus for you who are not Jews. Surely you have heard that God gave me this work to tell you about his grace. He let me know his secret by showing it to me. I have already written a little about this. If you read what I wrote then, you can see that I truly understand the secret about the Christ. People who lived in other times were not told that secret. But now, through the Spirit, God has shown that secret to his holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret: that through the Good News those who are not Jews will share with the Jews in God’s blessing. They belong to the same body, and they share together in the promise that God made in Christ Jesus.

By God’s special gift of grace given to me through his power, I became a servant to tell that Good News. I am the least important of all God’s people, but God gave me this gift—to tell those who are not Jews the Good News about the riches of Christ, which are too great to understand fully.

Ephesians 3:1–8 — American Standard Version (ASV)

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles,— if so be that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of God which was given me to you-ward; how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to wit, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Ephesians 3:1–8 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

For this reason I Paul, prisoner of the Christ Jesus for you nations, (if indeed ye have heard of the administration of the grace of God which has been given to me towards you, that by revelation the mystery has been made known to me, (according as I have written before briefly, by which, in reading it, ye can understand my intelligence in the mystery of the Christ,) which in other generations has not been made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the power of the Spirit, that they who are of the nations should be joint heirs, and a joint body, and joint partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus by the glad tidings; of which I am become minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me, according to the working of his power. To me, less than the least of all saints, has this grace been given, to announce among the nations the glad tidings of the unsearchable riches of the Christ,

Ephesians 3:1–8 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

This is the reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesusfor those of you who are not Jewish. 

Certainly, you have heard how God gave me the responsibility of bringing his kindnessto you. You have heard that he let me know this mystery through a revelation. I’ve already written to you about this briefly. When you read this, you’ll see that I understand the mystery about Christ. In the past, this mystery was not known by people as it is now. The Spirit has now revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is the Good News that people who are not Jewish have the same inheritance as Jewish people do. They belong to the same body and share the same promise that God made in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this Good News through God’s kindness freely given to me when his power worked ⸤in me⸥. 

I am the least of all God’s people. Yet, God showed me his kindness by allowing me to spread the Good News of the immeasurable wealth of Christ to people who are not Jewish.

Ephesians 3:1–8 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— you have heard, haven’t you, about the administration of God’s grace that He gave to me for you? The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of His power.

This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of the Messiah,

Ephesians 3:1–8 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ,

Ephesians 3:1–8 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

On account of this I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles —if indeed you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace given to me for you. According to revelation the mystery was made known to me, just as I wrote beforehand in brief, so that you may be able when you read to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ (which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit): that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow sharers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I became a servant, according to the gift of God’s grace given to me, according to the working of his power.

To me, the least of all the saints, was given this grace: to proclaim the good news of the fathomless riches of Christ to the Gentiles,

Ephesians 3:1–8 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

I, Paul, am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. I am in prison because of my work among you who are not Jews.

I am sure you have heard that God appointed me to share his grace with you. I’m talking about the mystery God showed me. I have already written a little about it. By reading it you will be able to understand what I know about the mystery of Christ.

The mystery was not made known to people of other times. But now the Holy Spirit has made it known to God’s holy apostles and prophets.

Here is the mystery. Because of the good news, God’s promises are for non-Jews as well as for Jews. Both groups are parts of one body. They share in the promise. It belongs to them because they belong to Christ Jesus.

I now serve the good news because God gave me his grace. His power is at work in me. I am by far the least important of all of God’s people. But he gave me the grace to preach to the non-Jews about the wonderful riches that Christ gives.

Ephesians 3:1–8 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles

if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;

that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.

By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,


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