The perfect passive participle “having been illumined,” with which verse 18 begins in Greek, is syntactically related to the main verb “give” (verse 17) and modifies it; strictly it should refer to an action previous to the action of the main verb, but here it seems to function as a circumstantial clause, showing the way in which the disclosure, the revelation of God’s will, takes place; or else (as participles are often used in biblical Greek) it serves as an imperative: “the eyes of your heart be opened”; so Good News Translation I ask that … (compare New English Bible and others “I pray that…”).
The whole participial clause has to do with spiritual illumination, discernment, perception; “the eyes of your heart” means either intellectual or spiritual vision, insight. Thus Good News Translation, your minds may be opened; compare Phillips “inner illumination of the spirit.”
Even after some of the figurative elements have been eliminated from the statement I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, there is still much which provides serious difficulty in translation. It may simply be impossible to speak of “opening the mind,” since the phrase might suggest merely making a hole in the skull or cracking open the head. The important element is not the place where understanding happens (in Greek, “heart”; in English “mind”), but the actual understanding itself. So in some instances I ask that your minds may be opened may be rendered as “I ask that you may come to understand.”
Similarly, the phrase to see his light might only be understood as “to look at his light bulb.” A more satisfactory rendering in some languages is “to understand the truth that comes from him.”
The writer prays that his readers will have spiritual insight so that they may know three things (verses 18-19a):
(1) “What is the hope of his (God’s) calling,” that is, the hope to which he has called you (Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, New International Version; “to which he calls you,” New English Bible, Translator’s New Testament). Here it would seem that hope means not only the subjective emotion felt by the believer, but the object or goal of that hope as well (as in Col 1.5). This is not spelled out in the context; in general terms it could be the final purpose of God’s saving activity through Christ. God’s “call” is his invitation extended through Christ to all mankind to accept the destiny he has planned for all: reconciliation, salvation, sonship. So the phrase “the hope of his calling” includes the following: God “calls” people, this “call” promises or produces hope in them, and this emotion of hope is directed toward something or someone.
There are a number of problems involved in rendering effectively the statement the hope to which he has called you. In the first place, this must often be restructured as a clause introduced by a conjunction such as “how…” and the term called must often be rendered as “invite.” A literal rendering of called might mean merely “to shout to.” Accordingly the hope to which he has called you may be rendered as “how he has invited you to look forward with anticipation” or “to what God has invited you to look forward with eager anticipation.” Sometimes the concept of “eager anticipation” may be expressed as “with your heart looking for what is good.” And the abstract conception of hope must be expressed in a concrete manner, “the thing (or, event) for which you hope.”
(2) “What is the wealth of the glory of his inheritance among the saints” (compare Col 1.12). The compound genitive phrase “the wealth of the glory of his inheritance” may be (a) the glorious wealth of his inheritance, or (b) the wealth of his glorious inheritance, or (c) his rich and glorious inheritance. Good News Translation represents the second alternative, (b): how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people. However, there is no way of determining which one was meant by the writer; in such cases it is the rhetorical effect of the total phrase that matters, and not the separate meaning of each individual word. Beare calls this phrase “a redundant fullness of expression which does not make for clarity.” For “wealth” see Eph. 1.7; for “glory” see Eph. 1.6; and for “inheritance” see verse 14 (compare a similar phrase in 3.16, and see also Col 1.27).
“Among the saints” (Good News Translation his people): these are the recipients of “the wealth of the glory of God’s inheritance.” New English Bible translates “the wealth and glory of the share he offers you among his people in their heritage,” which sounds rather materialistic; Phillips is better, “the magnificence and splendour of the inheritance promised to Christians”; Translator’s New Testament has “the glorious wealth which he invites you to share with all his people,” which is ambiguous (since “to share with” could be understood to mean “give part of what you have to others”).
There are a number of problems involved in translating either the literal expression “what is the wealth of the glory of his inheritance among the saints” or the Good News Translation restructuring how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people. If one attempts to translate this clause in a more or less literal fashion, there is an obvious difficulty in the phrase “of his inheritance.” A literal rendering might suggest that God had in some way received an inheritance from someone who had died. Clearly, however, this is an inheritance which God gives to his people as their heritage or as what they have been promised. There is also an obvious difficulty in the heaped up phrase “the wealth of the glory,” for the meaning is really a combination of that which is wonderful as well as abundant. It would be possible to translate “what is the wealth of the glory of his inheritance among the saints” as “how truly wonderful is that which God will give to his people.” If one follows somewhat more closely the restructuring of Good News Translation, it would be possible to translate “how valuable are those wonderful things which God has promised to do for his people” or “… to give to his people.”
(3) “What is the exceeding greatness of his power in us the believers.” In the phrase “the exceeding greatness,” the word “exceeding” translates the participle of the Greek verb meaning “go beyond, exceed” (see the same use in 2.7 and 3.19); here again the writer uses synonymous terms for rhetorical effect. Good News Translation has how very great is his power at work in us who believe. If an object, is implied in the verb “to believe,” it is probably Christ. It should be noticed that the Greek phrase “in (or, for) us,” which Good News Translation takes to mean at work in us, is taken by Phillips to mean “available to us” (also New English Bible “power open to us”). This is possible and could well be the meaning intended.
In a number of languages it is extremely difficult to speak of “his power in us” or even to translate more or less literally “his power at work in us.” The closest equivalent may be simply “his power to help us” or “his power which he will give us” or “… which he gives to us.” It may also be difficult to speak of power as being great, since power is often spoken of as being either “much” or “strong.” Accordingly how very great is his power at work in us who believe may be rendered as “how very strong indeed is his power which helps us who believe.”
From here on (verses 19b-23) the prayer on behalf of the readers is left behind, and the writer reflects on the nature of the power which is at work in those who believe in Christ, This power working in us is the same…. The Greek preposition translated “according to” in the final clause of verse 19 (see Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-14.jpg) is designed to set forth the standard, the measure by which this power may be described. So Translator’s New Testament “This is the same stupendous power….”
Again the writer uses a compound genitive phrase, “the working of the might of his strength,” for rhetorical effect; compare “the working of his power” in 3.7 and “in the might of his strength” in 6.10. No sharp differences of meaning are to be sought among “working” (also in 3.7; 4.16; see the related verb “to work” in 1.11), “might” (also 6.10), and “strength” (also 6.10); the use of synonyms is part of the writer’s florid style.
In some languages there is a problem involved in speaking about “power” or “strength” as a kind of abstract quality or potentiality, since power or strength is really only a capability or ability applied to some particular kind of action or event. It may be necessary to restructure This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which he used when he raised Christ from death as “In the same way that he is able to help us, so in that same way he was able to raise Christ from death” or “… cause him to live again.” Sometimes the equivalent of power or strength may be represented in speaking of a person being “very able to” or “being very strong to.” Accordingly, the last part of verse 19 and the first part of verse 20 may be rendered as “in the same way that God has been very strong in helping us, so in the same way he was very strong in raising Christ from death.”
Verse 20 begins “which he accomplished in Christ” (Revised Standard Version; Good News Translation which he used when he raised Christ); the verb here is the same one used in 1.11. Good News Bible prefers the aorist form and makes no mention of the variant perfect form, which has excellent manuscript support and is preferred by Westcott and Hort, Nestle, and New English Bible. Both B (Vaticanus) and A (Alexandrinus) have the perfect form; and, as Salmond says, the perfect is the more difficult reading; it is easy to see why a copyist would have changed the perfect to an aorist, but not vice versa. Beare stresses the fittingness of the perfect form: the action is completed and is “a present guarantee of God’s life-giving power.” But a translation of this would be difficult to make without a rather clumsy paraphrase. New English Bible, whose Greek text has the perfect form, translates simply “he exerted.”
The two participial clauses which follow describe the way in which God’s power was exerted in Christ: (1) “by raising him” and (2) “by seating him.” See Good News Translation, when he raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side. The resurrection of Christ is the supreme evidence of God’s power, but it is not an isolated event; it is followed by Christ’s enthronement at the place of honor and power, “the right side of God.” The New Testament language derives eventually from Psalm 110.1. The Greek verb translated “to seat” is usually intransitive, “to sit,” but it is also transitive, “to seat,” as in Acts 2.30; 1 Corinthians 6.4 (and see also “to seat with” in Eph 2.6). Christ’s exaltation and enthronement are also depicted as the act of God.
Because of the frequent usage of the figurative phrase seated him at his right side, it may be important to preserve this figure of speech in this context. But in some languages the right side is not the preferred side, and therefore it may be necessary to have a marginal note. Furthermore, Christ being seated at the right side of God is not simply a gesture of hospitality but indicates honor and power, and therefore it may be necessary to translate seated him at his right side in the heavenly world as “caused him to sit down at his right side in the heavenly world and gave him power” or “caused him to sit down in the place of power (or, the place where he rules) at his right side in the heavenly world.”
For in the heavenly world see Eph. 1.3. Here “in heaven” would be an adequate rendering.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1982. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .