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NASB | Ephesians 2:15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 2:15 by abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the hostility caused by the Law with its commandments contained in ordinances [which He satisfied]; so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thereby establishing peace. |
Bible Question:
Dear NASB forum, Jesus said in Matt 5:17: Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. Yet Paul writes in Eph 2:15: by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace. The verse in Matthew says that Christ didn't come to abolish the Law but the verse in Ephesians says that He did abolish the Law. How do we reconcile these two verses? Thanks. McGracer |
Bible Answer: This is one of the unfortunate problems with some of the new versions of the Bible. The KJV renders the word "abolish" in Matthew 5:17 as "destroy" and the word in Eph. 2:15 as abolished. The words translated "abolish" and "abolishing" in the new versions are actually two different Greek words. The word in Matthew 5:17 is kataluo which Thayer defines as: "to destroy, demolish, overthrow" etc... The word in Eph. 2:15 is katargeo which Thayer defines as: "to render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative 1a) to cause a person or thing to have no further efficiency 1b) to deprive of force, influence, power." Jesus did not come to destroy the Law but He did render it inactive in the sense that "he took it out of the way nailing it to the cross" (Col. 2:14). In other words, Jesus did not come to destroy the Old Covenant but to fulfill it, and He did this by establishing His New Covenant which would necessarily render the Old Covenant without force. It is unfortunate that many of the new versions of the Bible make Paul contradict Jesus by rendering both words by the same English word. |