Christian Standard Bible
Ephesians 4:18
18They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.
Ephesians 4:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
- New International Version (NIV)They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
- New King James Version (NKJV)having 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;
Context of Ephesians 4:18
16From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part. 17Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. 20But that is not how you came to know Christ,
Read all of Ephesians 4Ephesians 4:18 word by word
ἐσκοτωμένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ ὄντες, ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τὴν οὖσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς, διὰ τὴν πώρωσιν τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Havingσκοτίζωskotizō · to darkenG4654
- the understandingδιάνοιαdianoia · mindG1271
- beingεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- alienated fromἀπαλλοτριόωapallotrioō · to alienateG526
- the lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
- of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- throughδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
- the ignoranceἄγνοιαagnoia · ignoranceG52
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- of the blindnessπώρωσιςpōrōsis · hardeningG4457
- heartκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
Cross-references for Ephesians 4:18
- Psalms 74:20Consider the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of violence.
- Psalms 115:4Their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
- Isaiah 44:18Such people do not comprehend and cannot understand, for he has shut their eyes so they cannot see, and their minds so they cannot understand.
- Isaiah 46:5“To whom will you compare me or make me equal? Who will you measure me with, so that we should be like each other?
- Acts 17:30“Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent,
- Acts 26:17I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
- Romans 1:21For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
- 1 Corinthians 1:21For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Galatians 4:8But in the past, since you didn’t know God, you were enslaved to things that by nature are not gods.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:5not with lustful passions, like the Gentiles, who don’t know God.
- Ephesians 2:12At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.
- Romans 8:7The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so.
- Colossians 1:21Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions.
- James 4:4You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.
- Romans 2:19and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness,
Commentaries on Ephesians 4:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 182. Having the understanding darkened - This is the second instance alleged by the apostle of the degradation of the Gentiles. Having no means of knowledge, the heart, naturally dark, became more and more so by means of habitual transgression; every thing in the Gentile system having an immediate tendency to blind the eyes and darken the whole soul. 3. Being alienated from the life of God - The original design of God was to live in man; and the life of God…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Having the understanding darkened - That is, because they were alienated from the true God, and particularly because of “the blindness of their hearts.” The apostle does not say that this was a “judicial” darkening of the understanding; or that they might not have perceived the truth; or that they had no ability to understand it. He speaks of a simple and well-known fact - a fact that is seen now as well as then that the understanding becomes darkened by…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-24Verses 17-24 The apostle charged the Ephesians in the name and by the authority of the Lord Jesus, that having professed the gospel, they should not be as the unconverted Gentiles, who walked in vain fancies and carnal affections. Do not men, on every side, walk in the vanity of their minds? Must not we then urge the distinction between real and nominal Christians? They were void of all saving knowledge; they sat in darkness, and loved it rather than…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18Their minds are full of darkness because their minds are closed and hearts are hard (see 2 Corinthians 4:4). This means they cannot understand spiritual truths clearly. Their minds are "closed," which means they are unwilling or unable to accept God's truth. Their hearts are "hard," which means they have become insensitive to God's guidance.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. More literally, "Being darkened in their understanding," that is, their intelligence, or perceptions (compare Ep 5:8; Ac 26:18; 1Th 5:4, 5). alienated--This and "darkened," imply that before the fall they (in the person of their first father) had been partakers of life and light: and that they had revolted from the primitive revelation (compare Ep 2:12). life of God--that life whereby God lives in His own people: as He was the life and light in Adam…Read the comment
Topics related to Ephesians 4:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ephesians 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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