What Does Ephesians 3:8 Mean?
To me, who am smaller than the smallest of all the set-apart ones, this favor was given, to bring among the nations the good news of the untraceable riches of the Anointed One.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
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;THE KEY
The riches are untraceable, yet the favor to announce them is given even to the one who calls himself the least.
THE MEANING
The verse holds together deep smallness and received favor: the one who sees himself as less than the least is given a purpose to announce the Anointed One’s untraceable riches among the nations. Those riches have no path a search can follow to its end.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being beneath everyone means you are disqualified from receiving favor or carrying a purpose.
THE ROOT
ἀνεξιχνίαστος
anexichniastos
GROWS FROM
ἰχν- (from ἴχνος, ichnos)
footprint, track, trace
“untraceable” in this verse is anexichniastos. The Greek word pictures riches that cannot be traced out to their end. The image is not merely of something difficult to find, but of a path no search can follow to its limit.
ALSO GROWS
ichnos: footprint, track
ἴχνος
This is the seed-image beneath the word: a trail left to follow.
exichniazō: trace out, investigate
ἐξιχνιάζω
This related verb makes the tracking image explicit; the verse says the riches cannot be traced out.
anexichniastos: untraceable, impossible to search out
ἀνεξιχνίαστος
This is the word used for the riches here: their depth exceeds the reach of any trail-finding.
χάρις
charis
GROWS FROM
χαριτ- (χάρις, charis)
favor, gracious giving
The favor is given to the speaker and expressed through a purpose: announcing the riches. Its word family connects favor with freely granting and with a gift received.
ALSO GROWS
charizomai: show favor, freely grant
χαρίζομαι
This related verb carries favor into the act of giving without earning.
charisma: a gift freely given
χάρισμα
This related noun shows how favor can take shape as a gift entrusted to someone.
THE PATTERN
God’s greatness and riches exceed the end of any human search.
O the depth of the riches of both wisdom and knowledge of God! How beyond searching out are his judgments, and how beyond tracking are his ways!Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness cannot be searched out.Can you find God by searching? Can you find the Almighty to his limit?THE THREAD
O the depth of the riches of both wisdom and knowledge of God! How beyond searching out are his judgments, and how beyond tracking are his ways!Romans uses the same Greek word family for what cannot be traced out, joining God’s judgments and ways to the unsearchable riches named here. In Ephesians, those riches are announced among the nations even though no search reaches their end.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us