God’s Word Translation
Ephesians 2:1
1You were once dead because of your failures and sins.
Ephesians 2:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
- New International Version (NIV)As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
- English Standard Version (ESV)And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
- New King James Version (NKJV)And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
Context of Ephesians 2:1
You were once dead because of your failures and sins. 2You followed the ways of this present world and its spiritual ruler. This ruler continues to work in people who refuse to obey God. 3All of us once lived among these people, and followed the desires of our corrupt nature. We did what our corrupt desires and thoughts wanted us to do. So, because of our nature, we deserved God’s anger just like everyone else.
Read all of Ephesians 2Ephesians 2:1 word by word
Καὶ ὑμᾶς ὄντας νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ephesians 2:1
- Ephesians 2:5We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness that saved you.)
- Ephesians 1:19You will also know the unlimited greatness of his power as it works with might and strength for us, the believers.
- John 5:25“I can guarantee this truth: A time is coming (and is now here) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who respond to it will live.
- John 10:10A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need.
- John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die.
- John 14:6Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me.
- Romans 8:2The standards of the Spirit, who gives life through Christ Jesus, have set you free from the standards of sin and death.
- 1 Corinthians 15:45This is what Scripture says: “The first man, Adam, became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- Colossians 2:13You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures.
- Colossians 3:1Since you were brought back to life with Christ, focus on the things that are above—where Christ holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.
- Ephesians 4:18They can’t understand because they are in the dark. They are excluded from the life that God approves of because of their ignorance and stubbornness.
- Ephesians 5:14because light makes everything easy to see. That’s why it says: “Wake up, sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Matthew 8:22But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
- Luke 15:24My son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’ Then they began to celebrate.
- John 5:21In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.
- 2 Corinthians 5:14Clearly, Christ’s love guides us. We are convinced of the fact that one man has died for all people. Therefore, all people have died.
Commentaries on Ephesians 2:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1And you hath he quickened - This chapter should not have been separated from the preceding, with which it is most intimately connected. As Christ fills the whole body of Christian believers with his fullness, ( Ephesians 1:23;), so had he dealt with the converted Ephesians, who before were dead in trespasses, and dead in sins. Death is often used by all writers, and in all nations, to express a state of extreme misery. The Ephesians, by trespassing and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1And you hath he quickened - The words “hath he quickened,” or “made to live,” are supplied, but not improperly, by our translators. The object of the apostle is to show the great power which God had evinced toward the people Ephesians 1:19; and to show that this was put forth in connection with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and his exaltation to the right hand of God in heaven; see the notes at Romans 6:4-11; compare Colossians 2:12-13; Colossians…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The riches of God's grace towards men, shown from their deplorable state by nature, and the happy change Divine grace makes in them. (1-10) The Ephesians called to reflect on their state of heathenism. (11-13) And the privileges and blessings of the gospel. (14-22) Verses 1-10 Sin is the death of the soul. A man dead in trespasses and sins has no desire for spiritual pleasures. When we look upon a corpse, it gives an awful feeling. A never-dying spirit is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Paul describes how the people he was writing to were in a terrible spiritual condition before they believed in Jesus Christ. He says they were like dead people in their relationship with God (see 2:5; Colossians 2:13). This spiritual death happened because of their disobedience and sins. They regularly did things that went against God's will and broke his commands. Paul explains that their sinful actions were influenced by the power of the devil. The…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-221. And you--"You also," among those who have experienced His mighty power in enabling them to believe (Ep 1:19-23). hath he quickened--supplied from the Greek (Ep 2:5). dead--spiritually. (Col 2:13). A living corpse: without the gracious presence of God's Spirit in the soul, and so unable to think, will, or do aught that is holy. in trespasses ... sins--in them, as the element in which the unbeliever is, and through which he is dead to the true life. Sin…Read the comment
Topics related to Ephesians 2:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ephesians 2
- 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
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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