We have translated Paul’s words found at Ephesians 4:8 (which he was quoting from Psalm 68:18) as reading:
‘To the highest places, he has stepped up,
And he’s taken captivity as his captive;
Then he gave gifts to the people.’
This has been a very difficult verse for anyone to translate in Ephesians and in the Psalms, because what the verses say in the OT and NT texts don’t really agree in their meanings, and neither text appears to make any sense in the original language as we have it today.
Note:
· The literal (word-for-word) translation of Ephesians 4:8 from the available Greek text reads:
‘Through/which he/is/saying Having/stepped/up into height he/led/captive captivity and gave gifts to/the people.’
· The literal translation of Psalm 68:18 from the Greek text of the Septuagint reads:
‘You/ascended into the/height, you/captured captivity, you/received gifts in people.’
· The literal translation of Psalm 68:18 from the available Hebrew (Masoretic) text reads:
‘you/have/ascended high, have/led captives, have/received gifts people.’
As you can see, the meanings differ widely;
For the NT text says that [Jesus] GAVE gifts to the people, while both OT texts say that the gifts were RECEIVED (by Jesus).
So it is obvious that there are errors in at least one of the texts and perhaps in all three.
Which of these is the correct rendering?
Since we know that Paul had God’s Holy Breath (Spirit), and we know that he was using older OT texts than we have today, we are going to trust that he came the closest to quoting what the Psalm originally said.
And to be sure;
When attempting to arrive at the proper translation of a scripture, it helps to take a look at what the preceding and following verses have to say, to see if the words (as they were translated) harmonize with the context.
Notice that the words that immediately precede Ephesians 4:8 say:
‘Now, the amount of caring that was shown to each of us depends on how much of the gift the Anointed One measured out to us.’
So from the context, we can see that Paul was quoting Psalm 68:18 to show that the Gifts were being measured out to the people in the congregation.
However, verse eleven is often used to contradict this conclusion.
For it says (in Greek):
‘kai autos edoken tous men apostolous tous de prophetas,’
or,
‘and to/them he/gave those indeed apostles, those but prophets.’
And from these few words, many self-righteous males in positions of authority have made the claim that THEY are the gifts that Jesus measured out to the congregation.
Notice that such Bibles as New Living Translation render this verse as reading:
‘Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.’
However, the Greek text doesn’t actually say that they were the gifts or that these gifts were selected from among just the males in the congregations.
Note that the Greek word that is used in verse 8 is anthropon (people)… not aner (males). Yet, most other Bibles incorrectly translate anthropon as men, which gives the false impression that the gifts were given to just the males (not also to females, whom the Bible tells us also received the gifts of the Spirit). The same is true of the Hebrew word that used at Psalm 68:18. For that word is usually translated as men, when (as in the case of the Greek word) it actually means people.
However, most Bible commentators agree that the gifts being mentioned here were those of apostleship, prophesying, etc., rather than the male individuals that served as Apostles, Prophets, etc.
In other words;
The gifts that he gave were the gifts of the Spirit, which were poured out upon all in the congregation and which created the Apostles, Prophets, etc.
Therefore, we have rendered verse eleven as reading:
‘Then he gave some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be messengers of the Good News, and some to be shepherds and teachers.’
Note: The following comment was provided by Tim Mitchell, the editor of Peshitta Inc:
‘The Psalm version that Paul is quoting seems to be reflected in the OT Peshitta Psalms.
He is either quoting from the Peshitta Psalms directly or he is quoting from the text that the Peshitta Psalms was translated from. Here is the text of the Psalm from the OT Peshitta (First Century Aramaic Bible): You have ascended on high and you have captured captivity and you have given gifts to the children of men and rebels will not dwell before God. Also, Ephesians 4:8 from the Peshitta NT is an exact match for the Peshitta OT in this place (Original Aramaic New Testament). He ascended to the heights and took captivity prisoner and he has given gifts to the children of men.’