Ephesians 4:19 (DRB)

Passage

Who despairing have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness.

Nearby Context

Ephesians 4:17 This then I say and testify in the Lord: That henceforward you walk not as also the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind:

Ephesians 4:18 Having their understanding darkened: being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts.

Ephesians 4:19 Who despairing have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness.

Ephesians 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ:

Ephesians 4:21 If so be that you have heard him and have been taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "despairing", "given", "themselves", "lasciviousness", "working", "uncleanness", and "covetousness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "despairing" and "given", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "Having their understanding darkened being alienated from..." into verse 20's "But you have not so learned Christ...", so "despairing" and "given" belong inside that flow. In Ephesians context, the local focus is grace, union with Christ, the church, and new creation.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "despairing" and "given" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.