Discovery BoxEphesians 6:10-12 
Context6:10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes 1 of the devil. 6:12 For our struggle 2 is not against flesh and blood, 3 but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, 4 against the spiritual forces 5 of evil in the heavens. 6
1 tn Or “craftiness.” See BDAG 625 s.v. μεθοδεία.
2 tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”
3 tn Grk “blood and flesh.”
4 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.
5 tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.
6 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.
