1:6

This verse contrasts the way that the false teachers were behaving with the way that Paul wanted the believers in Ephesus to behave (1:5).

1:6a

Some: The word Some refers to the false teachers whom Paul had referred to in 1:3c.

have strayed from these ways: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as strayed from originally meant “to miss the mark.” Later it came to mean “to miss, fail, deviate, and depart.” Here it has a figurative meaning, that is, that the false teachers no longer had these characteristics that Paul had just been describing. See the note on 6:10b and 6:21b. This verb also occurs in 2 Timothy 2:18.

these ways: This phrase refers to the characteristics that Paul had mentioned in 1:5, that is, “a pure heart,” “a good conscience,” and “a sincere faith.”

1:6b

turned aside to empty talk: Paul here continued his figure of speech. If you cannot say turned aside to empty talk, you may want to say:

and have started talking about meaningless things

empty talk: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as empty talk only occurs here in the New Testament. It indicates that what the false teachers taught had no real meaning. It might have sounded good but it had no value. See Titus 1:10 where Paul used a similar word.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.