And in Him you Gentiles also, after listening to the Message of the truth, the Good News of your salvation--having believed in Him--were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit;

To you Gentiles also, who were dead through your offences and sins,

of which number we all have formerly been, leading our dissolute lives in gratifying the desires of our sensual imaginations: and were indeed obnoxious to the divine displeasure, as other. Gentiles were:

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

But now [that you are] in [fellowship with] Christ, you [Gentiles], who were once far away [from God], have been brought near [to Him] through the blood of Christ.

For He Himself is our peace and our bond of unity. He who made both groups—[Jews and Gentiles]—into one body and broke down the barrier, the dividing wall [of spiritual antagonism between us],

by abolishing in His fleshly body the [entire Jewish] law of commandments contained in decrees. [This was] so that He could create in [unity with] Himself one new person [i.e., the church] out of the two peoples [i.e., Jews and Gentiles], thereby bringing about peace [between them].

And [that He] might reconcile them both [Jew and Gentile, united] in one body to God through the cross, thereby putting to death the hostility.

And Christ came and preached peace to you [Gentiles], who were far away [from God], and peace to those [Jews] who were near [to Him].

because it is through Him that Jews and Gentiles alike have access through one Spirit to the Father.

So then, you [Gentiles] are no longer foreigners and aliens [i.e., to God's promises. See verse 12], but you are fellow-citizens with the saints [i.e., God's holy people], and are part of God's family.

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

[Note: Paul here digresses from his prayer, begun in 1:15-16, to explain the circumstances of his being a prisoner on behalf of these Gentiles]. [I assume] you have heard about my commission [to minister] to you, which was given to me by God's unearned favor.

[It is] that God's secret plan [i.e., revealed in the Gospel preached to Gentiles. See verse 6] was made known to me by way of a revelation. [See Acts 9:15; 22:21]. I have already written to you [about this] briefly [i.e., probably a reference to 1:9ff].

which in other generations was not made known to men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be co-heirs,

That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

and to make plain [to everyone] the plan of the mystery [regarding the uniting of believing Jews and Gentiles into one body] which [until now] was kept hidden through the ages in [the mind of] God who created all things.

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,