Ephesians 6:12

6:12 For our struggle ¹  is not against flesh and blood, ²  but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, ³  against the spiritual forces ⁴  of evil in the heavens. ⁵ 

Ephesians 6:18

6:18 With every prayer and petition, pray ⁶  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end ⁷  be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

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¹ tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”

² tn Grk “blood and flesh.”

³ tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss.

sn The phrase world-rulers of this darkness does not refer to human rulers but the evil spirits that rule over the world. The phrase thus stands in apposition to what follows (the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens); see note on heavens at the end of this verse.

⁴ tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.

⁵ sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.

⁶ tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.

⁷ tn Grk “and toward it.”