What does Ephesians 4:11 say?

and He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as proclaimers of good news, and some as shepherds and teachers,

What translation is this?

This passage is displayed in the Young's Literal Translation (YLT) translation on Scripture Lens.

What are related verses?

Related passages to Ephesians 4:11 include Ephesians 4:10, Ephesians 4:12, Ephesians 3, and Ephesians 5.

Ephesians 4:11 (YLT)

Passage

and He gave some <FI>as<Fi> apostles, and some <FI>as<Fi> prophets, and some <FI>as<Fi> proclaimers of good news, and some <FI>as<Fi> shepherds and teachers,

Nearby Context

Ephesians 4:9 and that, he went up, what is it except that he also went down first to the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:10 he who went down is the same also who went up far above all the heavens, that He may fill all things--

Ephesians 4:11 and He gave some <FI>as<Fi> apostles, and some <FI>as<Fi> prophets, and some <FI>as<Fi> proclaimers of good news, and some <FI>as<Fi> shepherds and teachers,

Ephesians 4:12 unto the perfecting of the saints, for a work of ministration, for a building up of the body of the Christ,

Ephesians 4:13 till we may all come to the unity of the faith and of the recognition of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fulness of the Christ,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gave", "some", "apostles", "prophets", "proclaimers", and "good". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gave" and "some", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "he who went down is the same..." into verse 12's "unto the perfecting of the saints for...", so "gave" and "some" 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 "gave" and "some" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.