FOOTNOTES:

^a This is the word in Matthew used for ‘turn in’ or ‘hand over’ in the sense of someone putting someone in an authority’s custody referring to Jesus being betrayed by Judah and arrested by the chief priests and handed over to Pilate.

^b Meaning ‘the thing sacrificed,’ not ‘the act of sacrificing.’

^c Traditionally, ‘sexual immorality.’ Admittedly, ‘exploitation’ may be too narrow of a translation here, which is part of the benefit of using ‘immorality’: it’s vague. Unfortunately, it has been abused and weaponized to be able to include anything related to sex that makes people with power uncomfortable. There’s a good case to be made that in the mind of a 1st century Jew, it would point to the sexual instruction contained in Leviticus 17-20. The reasoning for this has to do with the connection of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:20-21, which included a prohibition of against “things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood.” It’s interesting with regard to Matthew 15:10-20 to note that three of the four prohibitions in Acts 15 include what people should not eat; the other is ‘sexual immorality.’ Another reason to lean toward ‘exploitation’ is that *porneia* shares a root with *perneimi*, which means ‘to sell.’ *Porne* is the word for a female sex worker, which in the cultural context would always have been someone exploited and failed by the patriarchal society.

^d ‘Obscenity’ is an accurate word here, but the sense of it is something like ‘sexual grossness.’

^e Literally, ‘Foolish speech.’ Taking the context of all of scripture and this passage in particular, ‘foolish speech’ isn’t just about not understanding things well. It’s about being obnoxious in your ignorance, causing hardship by it.

^f This word is the masculine *pornos*. Usually, when descriptive words are masculine, it is translated in a neutral way, applying to everyone. However, the feminine version is often used, *porne*, and the abstract noun *porneia*, is also often used. Based on the less common usage of this word and the context of this chapter as a whole, it seems to be speaking directly to men in particular. Also, the best way to translate it is somewhat unclear. It has to do with sexual behavior, and there is an argument that it has to do with exploitation. It clearly has to do in this context with how the person treats others, so at the least, it’s not just about failing abstain from consensual but unsanctioned sex and necessarily is about not harming, exploiting, or abusing someone sexually in some way.

^g 3rd person mandative

^h See Ephesians 2:2

ⁱ The word ‘feels’ has been used for clarity. The preceding mandate to “expose them instead” means it cannot be truly shameful to speak of it since it has been commanded to do so.

^j In the Greek of the period, sleeping is a euphemism for being dead, and it is used frequently throughout the Bible. ‘Wake up’ is frequently used to refer to coming back to life from death or ‘from the dead.’

^k This seems to be a medley of quotes combined into one. Probably from Isaiah 26:19; 51:17; 52:1; and 60:1.

^l Or ‘characterized by hardship.’ Traditionally, ‘evil.’

^m Traditionally, ‘foolish.’ Literally, ‘thoughtless.’ Another possible translation could be ‘apathetic’ or ‘avoidant’ in the sense of refusing to think about it.

ⁿ While English translations start a new paragraph at either verse 21 or 22, the grammar of the Greek sentence begins at verse 18. It is an initial imperative followed by several participles that modify that initial imperative. Dividing the paragraph at either verse 21 or 22 splits the text right in the middle of a thought based on the Greek structure.

^o Perhaps, ‘complacency.’ The word is *asotia*, which is related to *soteros*, or ‘rescue,’ ‘protection,’ ‘salvation,’ ‘healing,’ ‘preservation.’ This word is the opposite of those things, or the state characterized in that way. The lexicons list ‘an abandoned, dissolute life’ and ‘profligacy, prodigality’ and ‘unsavedness’ and ‘debauchery.’ Those are fairly interpretive with dogmatic assumptions rather than actual definitions of the Greek word. ‘Lack of maintenance or pursuit of well-being’ seems to be the general sense of the word.

^p ‘Heart’ is singular while ‘your’ is plural. ‘Heart’ represents motivation or desire, not simply all emotion as it does in American culture.

^q Literally, ‘and in the name of’

^r Traditionally, ‘submit.’ According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, *hupotasso* is “A Greek military term meaning ‘to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader’. In non-military use, it was ‘a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden’.

^s Literally, ‘fear’ and traditionally, ‘respect’ or ‘reverence.’ Also, the phrase is ‘respect of Christ’ which could mean respect for Christ or Christ’s respectfulness. Either is linguistically valid. The context could support either wording also. The reason is that ‘cooperating’ is masculine, which either means it is being directed only to the men, or it is being directed to both the men and women. The following verses compare husbands to Christ, so if it is ‘respect for Christ’ then ‘cooperating’ should only be directed at the wives and should be feminine. Since it is masculine, it seems to be directed to both husbands and wives and the similes in the following verses are ways to be respectful to each other the way Christ is respectful to people: with love. Both husbands and wives are called to follow Christ’s example of treating people with respect. ‘Reverence’ or ‘respect’ imply something more like admiration, and it is important to note that this context is discussing actions toward others, not just inner esteem for someone.

^t Traditionally, ‘savior.’ It is the Greek word *soter*. It’s use only five verses after asotia must not be ignored (see footnote in Ephesians 5:18 on the word ‘neglect.’) This is clearly being used on contrast with that word. The role of a soter could be to save or rescue from danger, or it could be to preserve or protect from harm, including harm from a sickness or any other threat to the person. When the threat is not specified, translating it into English must also be broad or risk missing the contextual meaning by narrowing inadvertently in the wrong direction. The context here is clearly about taking care of the body.

^u *Agapao* (‘love’) may or may not include an emotional component; it does not address that aspect of what the English word ‘love’ can mean. Instead, it is about a sense of commitment to whomever is loved, dedication to pursuing the benefit of whomever is loved.

^v Traditionally, ‘glorious.’ Listed meanings are ‘honored,’ ‘notable,’ ‘gorgeous,’ ‘held in good or in great esteem,’ ‘of high repute.’

^w Reference to the requirements for sacrificial offerings in the Torah.

^x Traditionally, ‘flesh.’ This is *sarx*, the ‘stuff of the body’ rather than *soma*, the ‘body as a whole unit.’ The other instances of ‘body’ so far in Ephesians 5 have all been *soma*.

^y This is a quotation of Genesis 2:24. Jesus also quoted the same verse in Matthew 19:5. In that instance, sarx was translated as ‘family,’ is also a valid use of sarx in the sense of someone’s “flesh and blood” meaning they are of the same family. With the context of the preceding progression of thought in Ephesians 5, ‘body’ was the most appropriate way to connect it to the context, though it does still include the idea of ‘family.’

^z This again is a 3rd person mandative verb form, which does not exist in English. It is giving a directive to men in general, not limited to the specific audience being addressed.

^aa Literally, ‘fear.’ Traditionally, ‘respect’ or ‘revere.’ The phrase ‘show respect to’ was selected rather than ‘respect’ or ‘revere’ because of the examples that are used in the preceding verses, and the active behavior toward each other rather than mere inner esteem for someone that could be implied by the words ‘revere’ or ‘respect’ on their own.