Ephesians 2:1–10, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Ephesians 2:1–10
From Death to Life by Grace
You were dead. God made you alive. That is gift, not wage.
We followed a broken pattern and were by nature children of wrath. The sentence then turns through 'But God' to life with Christ: God, rich in mercy, made us alive, raised us, and seated us with him. Salvation is by grace through faith. It is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Walk in the good works God prepared, as people already raised. Do not use grace as a performance for God or as a scoreboard against other people.
How this should shape us
Stop treating prayer, giving, or church work as wages you pay God. Do the next honest good work as a person already raised, not as an applicant, and do not use grace as a scoreboard against anyone.
Teach it back
Explain Ephesians 2:1–10 in your own words. Include what came before, why this section appears here, the main movement, and one interpretation the context rules out.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters agree that salvation does not originate in the readers but differ over whether the neuter demonstrative translated ‘that’ refers most directly to salvation, faith, or the grace-through-faith saving event as a whole. The whole-event reading is common and grammatically natural; a faith-specific reading has ancient support. The paragraph's main contrast between gift and boasting does not depend on pretending the referent is undisputed.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact KJV wording and immediate English context for Ephesians 2:1–10.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Ephesians 2; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and sentence relationships used to check the passage.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Eph.txt, Ephesians 2, verses within Ephesians 2:1–10.
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants checked for this passage.
NET Bible, Ephesians 2, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Ephesians 2:1–10.
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, older interpretive options, and passage boundaries tested against primary evidence and newer research.
T. K. Abbott, Ephesians, pp. 38–54.
Supports: A cross-check of Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for reader-facing word notes.
STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Ephesians 2, verses within Ephesians 2:1–10.
Supports: A current whole-letter check on the passage's argument, major theological claims, scriptural background, and place in Ephesians.
S. M. Baugh, Ephesians, open commentary, section treating Ephesians 2:1–10.
Supports: The live grammatical and reception-history disagreement over whether ‘this’ in 2:8 refers to faith or to the grace-through-faith saving event.
Matthew Payne, Is ‘Faith’ the ‘Gift of God’?, sections ‘A Disconcerting Surprise’ and ‘Expository Considerations (Ephesians 2:1–10).’
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact KJV wording and immediate English context for Ephesians 2:1–10.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Ephesians 2; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and sentence relationships used to check the passage.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Eph.txt, Ephesians 2, verses within Ephesians 2:1–10.
Open the Ephesians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Ephesians with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants checked for this passage.
Exact location: NET Bible, Ephesians 2, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Ephesians 2:1–10.
Open NET Ephesians 2 ↗public domain critical commentary
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians
T. K. Abbott
T. & T. Clark, 1897
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, older interpretive options, and passage boundaries tested against primary evidence and newer research.
Exact location: T. K. Abbott, Ephesians, pp. 38–54.
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A cross-check of Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for reader-facing word notes.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Ephesians 2, verses within Ephesians 2:1–10.
Open source ↗modern open commentary
Ephesians
S. M. Baugh
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2022
Supports: A current whole-letter check on the passage's argument, major theological claims, scriptural background, and place in Ephesians.
Exact location: S. M. Baugh, Ephesians, open commentary, section treating Ephesians 2:1–10.
Open source ↗open interpretive essay
Is ‘Faith’ the ‘Gift of God’? Reading Ephesians 2:8–10 with the Ancients
Matthew Payne
The Gospel Coalition Australia, 2017
Supports: The live grammatical and reception-history disagreement over whether ‘this’ in 2:8 refers to faith or to the grace-through-faith saving event.
Exact location: Matthew Payne, Is ‘Faith’ the ‘Gift of God’?, sections ‘A Disconcerting Surprise’ and ‘Expository Considerations (Ephesians 2:1–10).’
Open source ↗