World English Bible · Under Rome
Ephesians 2
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You were made alive when you were in and , in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the of the air, who now works in the children of . We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our , doing the of and of , and were by nature children of , even as the rest. But , being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by you have been — and us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the places in Christ , that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his in kindness toward us in Christ ; for by you have been through , and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of , not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ for good works, which prepared before that we would walk in them. Therefore remember that once you, the in , who are called "uncircumcision" by that which is called "" (in , made by hands), that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the of the promise, having no and without in the world. But now in Christ you who once were far off are made near in of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his the hostility, of contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace, and might reconcile them both in to through , having killed the hostility through it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. For through him we both have our access in one to . So then you are no longer strangers and , but you are fellow citizens with and of the household of , being built on the foundation of and , Christ himself being the ; in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a temple in ; in whom you also are built together for a habitation of in .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.