Ephesians 3:10

ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ,

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 2443; hina; ἵνα; so that; Conj

Strongs 1107; gnōristhē; γνωρισθῇ; should be made known; V-ASP-3S

Strongs 3568; nyn; νῦν; now; Adv

Strongs 3588; tais; ταῖς; the; Art-DFP

Strongs 746; archais; ἀρχαῖς; to rulers; N-DFP

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 3588; tais; ταῖς; the; Art-DFP

Strongs 1849; exousiais; ἐξουσίαις; to authorities; N-DFP

Strongs 1722; en; ἐν; within; Prep

Strongs 3588; tois; τοῖς; the; Art-DNP

Strongs 2032; epouraniois; ἐπουρανίοις; heavenly ones; Adj-DNP

Strongs 1223; dia; διὰ; across; Prep

Strongs 3588; tēs; τῆς; the; Art-GFS

Strongs 1577; ekklēsias; ἐκκλησίας; summoned assembly; N-GFS

Strongs 3588; hē; ἡ; the; Art-NFS

Strongs 4182; polypoikilos; πολυποίκιλος; much-variagated; Adj-NFS

Strongs 4678; sophia; σοφία; wisdom; N-NFS

Strongs 3588; tou; τοῦ; the; Art-GMS

Strongs 2316; Theou; Θεοῦ; God; N-GMS

RBT Translation:

σοφία sophia

so that she should be made known

now

to the Origins, and to the Authorities within the Heavenly Beings¹ across through the Summoned Assembly, the Much Variegated Wise One of the God,

πολυποίκιλος = much-variegated, richly intricate

πολύ- (poly-) → “much,” “many”
ποίκιλος (poikilos) → “variegated,” “ornate,” “manifold”

The compound intensifies the idea of ornamental or conceptual richness.

Examples:
• φάρεα πολυποίκιλα – “richly embroidered robes” (Eur. IT 1149)
• στέφανος πολυποίκιλος – “a much-ornamented crown” (Eub. fr. 105)

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
That it might now be made known to beginnings and powers in the heavenlies by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

LITV Translation:
so that now to the rulers and to the authorities in the heavenlies might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Footnotes

1

The adjective ἐπουράνιος (from ἐπί + οὐρανός) originally denotes a qualitative or ontological relation to the divine, not a spatial or topographical location. In early Greek—especially Homeric and classical texts—it describes the gods and divinized entities as celestial in nature (θεοὶ ἐπουράνιοι, Od. 17.484; Il. 6.129) or souls elevated in status (εὐσεβέων ἐπουράνιοι ψυχαί, Pind. Fr. 132.3), and not as beings in a place called “heaven.”

The phrase ἡ ἐπουράνιος πορεία in Plato (Phaedr. 256d) similarly refers to a metaphysical or mythic journey, not spatial ascent. In later Koine, particularly in the New Testament, ἐπουράνιος and its inflected forms (e.g., ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις) have been skewed into quasi-spatial interpretations—i.e. "in heavenly realms" or divine loci, or as "things of heaven" all of which are profoundly ambiguous interpretations. However, this shift was driven by the theological and cosmological developments in early Christianity and should be recognized as a conceptual reinterpretation rather than a continuation of earlier Greek usage. The spatial reading, though common in translation and doctrine, is not philologically grounded in the classical attestations of the term.