Ephesians 5:4

καὶ αἰσχρότης, καὶ μωρολογία, ἢ εὐτραπελία, τὰ οὐκ ἀνήκοντα· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εὐχαριστία.

RBT Translation:

and ugliness and stupid discourse, or charming wit, the things which were not completing up/attaining, but rather a gratitude,¹⁰

"omg the comments in here..."

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And obscenity, and silly discourse, or wit, which things concern not; but rather thankfulness.

LITV Translation:
also baseness, and foolish talking, or joking (the things not becoming), but rather thanksgiving.

Footnotes

10

Stupid Talk

The noun μωρολογία (morologia, feminine, ἡ) is a compound word in Ancient and Koine Greek meaning “foolish talk”, “silly speech”, or “stupid discourse.” It appears rarely in earlier literature but is preserved clearly in moral and rhetorical contexts—namely in Ephesians 5:4.

• μωρός: "moronic", "dull", "stupid", "silly" (a cognitive and moral term; cf. Latin stultus)

• -λογία: from λέγω, “to speak” → "-logia" = speech, talk, discourse

μωρολογία literally = fool-talk, i.e., discourse characterized by lack of sense or dignity.

• Aristotle, HA 492b2

  • In a biological context, used figuratively to denote unscientific or ridiculous remarks in observation—“silly opinions.”

• Plutarch, De Garrulitate 2 (Moralia 504b)

  • A treatise against talkativeness: μωρολογία appears in the critique of those who speak too much, too lightly, or without thought.

• Sextus Empiricus, M. 1.174

  • Used in epistemological polemic: μωρολογία is attributed to illogical or uncritical assertions.

Witty Charm

The term εὐτραπελία typically carries a positive connotation in classical Greek. In Plato, Republic 563a, it denotes an urbane and pleasant wit, appropriate to civil discourse. Aristotle treats it as the ethical mean between ἀγροικία (boorishness) and βωμολοχία (buffoonery): “εὐτραπελία δὲ ἐστὶ παίδων ἦθος πεπαιδευμένων” (Eth. Nic. 4.8, 1128a21), “eutrapelia is the playfulness of the cultivated.” Similarly, in Plutarch (Antony 43.5), the trait is admired as charming sociability. The later negative nuance in Ephesians represents a semantic narrowing—likely shaped by early Christian ascetic ideals—in which even light-heartedness could be construed as morally unseemly if it distracts from piety and reverence.