don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
Parallel translations
- KJV Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
- BSB I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
- NKJV do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
- NASB do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
- NLT I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul says he never stops thanking God for them and praying for them. It models persistent, grateful intercession for fellow believers.
Overview
Continuing the sentence, Paul describes his unceasing thanksgiving and regular mention of the Ephesians in prayer. His pastoral love expresses itself in constant intercession. This sets up the substance of his prayer in the verses that follow, that they would grow in the knowledge of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Rom 1:8–9First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.
- Col 1:9For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
- 2 Th 1:3We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each and every one of you towards one another abounds;
- Col 1:3We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
- 1 Sam 12:23Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
- Phil 1:3–4I thank my God whenever I remember you,
- Isa 62:6I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. They will never be silent day nor night. You who call on Yahweh, take no rest,
- 1 Th 5:17Pray without ceasing.
- 1 Sam 7:8The children of Israel said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying to Yahweh our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”
- 1 Th 1:2We always give thanks to God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers,
- Gen 40:14But remember me when it will be well with you, and please show kindness to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.
How Ephesians 1:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.