King James Version · Under Rome
Ephesians 3
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For this cause I , the prisoner of for you , If ye have heard of the dispensation of the of which is given me to you-ward: How that by he unto me ; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in of Christ) Which in other ages was not unto the sons of men, as it is now unto his and by ; That the should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by : Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the of given unto me by the effectual working of his . Unto me, who am less than the least of all , is this given, that I should preach among the the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of , which of the world hath been hid in , who created all things by : To the intent that now unto the in places might be known by the manifold of , According to the purpose which he purposed in Christ our : In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the of him. Wherefore I that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your . For this cause I bow my knees unto of our , Of whom the whole family in and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his , to be strengthened with might by his in the inner man; That Christ may in your by ; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of . Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the that worketh in us, Unto him be in by Christ throughout all ages, world without end. .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. 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.