How to Translate Ephesians 1:8-9?: Focusing on ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει (1:8b)

The primary purpose of this article is to examine the translation issues between the Korean and English Bibles regarding the prepositional phrase ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει in 1:8 of the hymn of Ephesians 1:3-14. Most Korean Bibles understand ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει as an object that modifies the main verb ἐπερίσσευσεν in verse 8, and translate it as "all wisdom and intelligence" that God gives us. On the other hand, major English Bibles understand ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει as a kind of instrumental prepositional phrase that modifies the participle verb γνωρίσας in verse 9, and translate it as "all wisdom and understanding" of God through which God reveals the secret of His will.BR Through a grammatical, syntactical, and structural investigation, this article however argues that the prepositional phrase ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει should neither be translated as an object modifying the main verb ἐπερίσσευσεν in verse 8 as in the Korean Bible, nor as an object serving as a means of modifying the participle γνωρίσας in 1:9, but rather as a kind of instrumental prepositional phrase that modifies the main verb ἐπερίσσευσεν of 1:8. In other words, ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει should be translated as "in God's all wisdom and intelligence" which is how He gives us His riches of grace. If our argument is correct, Korean Bible translations and major English translations of Ephesians 1:8-9 should be revised.