Hujus rei gratia, ego Paulus vinctus Christi Jesu, pro vobis gentibus,

For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles;

With this in mind, I fall on my knees; I, Paul, of whom Jesus Christ has made a prisoner for the love of you Gentiles.

si tamen audistis dispensationem gratiæ Dei, quæ data est mihi in vobis:

If yet you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me towards you:

You will have been told how God planned to give me a special grace for preaching to you;

quoniam secundum revelationem notum mihi factum est sacramentum, sicut supra scripsi in brevi,

How that, according to revelation, the mystery has been made known to me, as I have written above in a few words;

how a revelation taught me the secret I have been setting out briefly here;

prout potestis legentes intelligere prudentiam meam in mysterio Christi:

As you reading, may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ,

briefly, yet so as to let you see how well I have mastered this secret of Christ’s.

quod aliis generationibus non est agnitum filiis hominum, sicuti nunc revelatum est sanctis apostolis ejus et prophetis in Spiritu,

Which in other generations was not known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit:

It was never made known to any human being in past ages, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, and it is this:

gentes esse cohæredes, et concorporales, et comparticipes promissionis ejus in Christo Jesu per Evangelium:

That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and copartners of his promise in Christ Jesus, by the gospel:

that through the gospel preaching the Gentiles are to win the same inheritance, to be made part of the same body, to share the same divine promise, in Christ Jesus.

cujus factus sum minister secundum donum gratiæ Dei, quæ data est mihi secundum operationem virtutis ejus.

Of which I am made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, which is given to me according to the operation of his power.

With what grace God gives me (and he gives it in all the effectiveness of his power), I am a minister of that gospel;

Mihi omnium sanctorum minimo data est gratia hæc, in gentibus evangelizare investigabiles divitias Christi,

To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace, to preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ,

on me, least as I am of all the saints, he has bestowed this privilege, of making known to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,

et illuminare omnes, quæ sit dispensatio sacramenti absconditi a sæculis in Deo, qui omnia creavit:

And to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, who created all things:

of publishing to the world the plan of this mystery, kept hidden from the beginning of time in the all-creating mind of God.

ut innotescat principatibus et potestatibus in cælestibus per Ecclesiam, multiformis sapientia Dei,

That the manifold wisdom of God may be made known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places through the church,

The principalities and powers of heaven are to see, now, made manifest in the Church, the subtlety of God’s wisdom;

secundum præfinitionem sæculorum, quam fecit in Christo Jesu Domino nostro:

According to the eternal purpose, which he made, in Christ Jesus our Lord:

such is his eternal purpose, centred in Christ Jesus our Lord,

in quo habemus fiduciam, et accessum in confidentia per fidem ejus.

In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

who gives us all our confidence, bids us come forward, emboldened by our faith in him.

Propter quod peto ne deficiatis in tribulationibus meis pro vobis: quæ est gloria vestra.

Wherefore I pray you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Let there be no discouragement, then, over the affliction I undergo on your behalf; it is an honour done to you.

Hujus rei gratia flecto genua mea ad Patrem Domini nostri Jesu Christi,

For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

With this in mind, then, I fall on my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

ex quo omnis paternitas in cælis et in terra nominatur,

Of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named,

that Father from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its title.

ut det vobis secundum divitias gloriæ suæ, virtute corroborari per Spiritum ejus in interiorem hominem,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by his Spirit with might unto the inward man,

May he, out of the rich treasury of his glory, strengthen you through his Spirit with a power that reaches your innermost being.

Christum habitare per fidem in cordibus vestris: in caritate radicati, et fundati,

That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity,

May Christ find a dwelling-place, through faith, in your hearts; may your lives be rooted in love, founded on love.

ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis, quæ sit latitudo, et longitudo, et sublimitas, et profundum:

You may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth:

May you and all the saints be enabled to measure, in all its breadth and length and height and depth,

scire etiam supereminentem scientiæ caritatem Christi, ut impleamini in omnem plenitudinem Dei.

To know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God.

the love of Christ, to know what passes knowledge. May you be filled with all the completion God has to give.

Ei autem, qui potens est omnia facere superabundanter quam petimus aut intelligimus, secundum virtutem, quæ operatur in nobis:

Now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us;

He whose power is at work in us is powerful enough, and more than powerful enough, to carry out his purpose beyond all our hopes and dreams;

ipsi gloria in Ecclesia, et in Christo Jesu, in omnes generationes sæculi sæculorum. Amen.

To him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus unto all generations, world without end. Amen.

may he be glorified in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, to the last generation of eternity. Amen.