to ask (in genitive case) · verb — present middle indicative, 1st person singular
faint
ἐγκακεῖνegkakein
G1573
to be (bad or) weak · verb — present active infinitive
not
μὴmē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
at
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
my
μοῦmoû
G3450
of me
tribulations
θλίψεσίνthlipsesin
G2347
pressure (literally or figuratively) · noun — dative plural feminine
for
ὑπὲρhuper
G5228
"over" · preposition
you
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
which
ἥτιςhētis
G3748
which some · relative pronoun — nominative singular feminine
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
your
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
glory
δόξαdoxa
G1391
glory (as very apparent) · noun — nominative singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Colossians 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, whi…
Isaiah 40:30-31 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
2 Corinthians 1:6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we al…
Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
Philippians 1:12-14 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel…
Deuteronomy 20:3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do…
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ephesians 3:1-13
Here we have the account which Paul gives the Ephesians concerning himself, as he was appointed by God the apostle of the Gentiles.
I. We may observe that he acquaints them with the tribulations and sufferings which he endured in the discharge of that office, Eph 3:1. The first clause refers to the preceding chapter, and may be understood either of these two ways: - 1. "For this cause, - for having preached the doctrine contained in the foregoing chapter, and for asserting that the great privileges of the gospel belong not only to the Jews, but to believing Gentiles also, though they are not circumcised, - for this I am now a prisoner, but a prisoner of Jesus Christ, as I suffer in his cause…
"I entreat you not to be dispirited."
for you--in your behalf.
which is--rather, "which are your glory," namely, inasmuch as showing that God loved you so much, as both to give His Son for you, and to permit His apostles to suffer "tribulations" for you [CHRYSOSTOM] in preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. See on Eph 3:1, "prisoner for you Gentiles." My tribulations are your spiritual "glory," as your faith is furthered thereby (Co1 4:10).
Adam Clarke on Ephesians 3:13
I desire that ye faint not - In those primitive times, when there was much persecution, people were in continual danger of falling away from the faith who were not well grounded in it. This the apostle deprecates, and advances a strong reason why they should be firm: "I suffer my present imprisonment on account of demonstrating your privileges, of which the Jews are envious: I bear my afflictions patiently, knowing that what I have advanced is of God, and thus I give ample proof of the sincerity of my own conviction. The sufferings, therefore, of your apostles are honorable to you and to your cause; and far from being any cause why you should faint, or draw back like cowards, in the day of d…
One person will say that he attaches the words "which is your glory" to the tribulations … another to the boldness or else to the access or the faith. For boldness [or freedom of speech] is the glory to the one who possesses it, and access can be called the glory of the one who has access to God and faith the glory of the one with faith.
When some hear that Paul suffers tribulations, they may grow faint in faith. To prevent this he argues, in effect: "I pray on account of what has been revealed to me that you should not grow faint through my tribulations. These tribulations I am suffering are not due to anything I have caused but rather because you are either weak in faith or now wavering, or because you are making some unnecessary additions to the faith. That is the reason I endure these trials. I am now hoping to recall you to true discipline and observance so that you will not depart from Christ, having your hope in Christ alone. For this is your glory."
How is it "for them?" How is it "their glory?" It is because God so loved them, as to give even the Son for them, and to afflict His servants for them: for it was in order that they might attain so many blessings, that Paul was in prison. Surely this was from God's exceeding love towards them: it is what God also saith concerning the Prophets, "I have slain them by the words of my mouth." But how was it that they fainted, when another was afflicted? He means, they were troubled, were distressed. This also he says when writing to the Thessalonians, "that no man be moved by these afflictions." For not only ought we not to grieve, but we ought even to rejoice. If ye find consolation in the forewarning, we tell you beforehand that here we have tribulation. And why pray? Because thus hath the Lord ordered.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Glory · .Afflictions of ministers are, to saints — .Afflictions of ministers are, to saints
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
on Ephesians 3:13
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you,.... The apostle was a man attended with many tribulations, and great afflictions, which he did not suffer as an evildoer, either from God or men; wherefore he was not ashamed of them, but gloried in them; yea, he took pleasure in them, having much of the presence of God in them; they did not come to him unawares, he always expected them, and was helped to look to the glory which should follow them, the view of which greatly supported him under them; and these tribulations were endured for the sake of the elect, for Christ's body's sake; the church, and among others, for the Ephesians, for the sake of preaching the Gospel among…
Ephesians 3:7-13
7. Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
7. Cujus factus sum minister, secundum donum gratiae Dei, quod mihi datum est secundum efficaciam potentiae ejus.
8. 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;
8. Mihi omnium sanctorum minimo data est gratia haec, ut evangelizem in Gentibus impervestigabiles divitias Christi;
9. And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
9…
my trials here: Paul is writing from jail, as a prisoner (see 3:1). He knows that suffering is to be expected and that it works for good in a believer’s life (see Rom 5:3-5; Col 1:24; 1 Thes 3:3; 2 Tim 3:12; Jas 1:2-4).
