Actually all of us were like them: here the writer says that all people were in that same sinful condition: “among whom also we all used to live.” In the Greek prepositional phrase “among whom,” the relative pronoun seems to be masculine, so the meaning would be (as Revised Standard Version translates) “among these (people)”; Robinson, however, takes it to be neuter “among which” (the two forms in Greek are identical), referring to “the transgressions” in verse 1. This seems a bit forced, however, and it is better to take the prepositional phrase as joining “also we all” (that is, Christians of Jewish origin) to the readers (Christians of Gentile origin) spoken of in verses 1-2; the moral condition of both groups had been the same. Some translations have taken “among these (people)” to mean that “we” (that is, the Christians) lived in their midst, surrounded by them; rather, the meaning is that “we” were like them, living as they did.
In a number of languages the equivalent of Actually is “The truth is….” In other instances Actually all of us were like them may be rendered as “All of us were really like them.” It is important that the reference to them should point clearly to the people who disobey God and not to the powers and rulers in the sky.
It may, however, be important to indicate that the likeness between those who disobey God and all people before they came to a knowledge of Jesus Christ is in terms of behavior, and therefore all of us were like them may be best rendered as “all of us acted like them” or “all of us behaved just like they did” or “… like they do.”
Our natural desires translates the phrase “the desires of our flesh.” The Greek word for “flesh” (also in 2.11, 14; 5.29, 31; 6.5, 12) is not to be thought of simply as the sexual or carnal appetite of a person; in Paul’s letters, and here as well, it stands for a person as he or she is, sinful, mortal, weak, apart from God’s redemptive power. Translator’s New Testament, Phillips, Barclay translate “lower nature.” Many translations will say something like “We did the things our bodies wanted” or “We followed the desires we have as men.”
All of us … lived according to our natural desires may be rendered as “all of us … lived just like we wanted to” or “… did whatever we wanted to do.”
Our natural desires is further defined as “(we were) doing the wills of flesh and of thoughts”; here the two nouns “flesh and thoughts” (also 4.18) clearly indicate “bodies and minds,” “physical and intellectual” (desires).
Doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds may be rendered as “we did whatever our bodies or minds told us to do” or “we did whatever our bodies wished or whatever our minds imagined.”
The condition of Jews, no less than Gentiles (“we … as also the others”) is briefly stated: “we were by nature children of wrath” (Revised Standard Version). The word “nature” describes them as they were then, that is, in our natural condition (as sinners); so Good News Translation, New English Bible; most English versions have “by nature,” which is not very clear.
In our natural condition we, like everyone else may be rendered as “since we were just human beings like everybody else” or “since we were people like everybody else.”
We … were destined to suffer God’s anger: the idiom “children of wrath” (like “sons of disobedience” in verse 2) means “people who are the object of God’s wrath.” A misunderstanding of the semitic phrase “children of (God’s) anger” and a misinterpretation of “by nature” led some commentators in the past to take this passage to mean that from birth even children are the object of God’s anger. Some translations represent the meaning by “people who were characterized as those with whom God was angry.” God’s anger (also 5.6) is not in the New Testament spoken of as an attitude which reflects spite or hatred but is his condemnation of sin and his punishment of the sinner. It is significant that in the New Testament the verb “to be angry” is never used of God, but only the noun “anger.” On the part of some scholars there is a reluctance to use the word “anger” (or “wrath”) of God because of its connotations; Dodd here defines it “not the emotion of anger in the mind of God, but a process of retribution in history.” It would be out of keeping with biblical thought, however, to think of God’s anger as the mechanical operation of a disembodied principle. What happens is caused by God, and such things happen because God is angry, that is, he is affected; he is not distant and unmoved by human sin but expresses his attitude by punishing sinners. So in some languages it may be possible to speak of God’s “punishing” people, not of his “being angry” with them.
We … were destined may be expressed as “it was inevitable that we would” or “it was bound to happen that we.”
To suffer God’s anger may be expressed as “to suffer because God was angry with us” or “to be punished because God was angry because of our sins.” It may be important to indicate the basis for God’s anger, namely, “because of sin,” rather than to suggest that suffering resulted merely from God’s irritability or peevishness.
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 .