Here the author once more uses the Greek word mustērion (see 1.9; 3.3, 4, 9); here it is used in the sense that there is a hidden meaning in the Genesis text which can be understood only when the passage is interpreted in a typological or allegorical fashion. Translator’s New Testament translates “There is a great truth hidden here” (similarly New English Bible); Barclay “there is a great symbol here.” This seems preferable to the interpretation that takes “this mystery is great” to refer explicitly to the unity of man and woman in the marriage relationship or to the oneness of Christ and the church. It should be noted that the translation “This is a great mystery” is wrong; the adjective in Greek is in the predicate position: “This mystery is great.” The Latin Vulgate translation of the Greek mustērion by the Latin sacramentum explains in part why in Roman Catholic theology marriage is held to be a sacrament. Bible en français courant translates: “It is an important truth that is revealed in this passage”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “In this quotation there lies a deep mystery/secret.”
In order to provide adequately for the transition between verse 32 and verse 31, one must often alter the order of the first part of verse 32, for example, “In this passage of scripture there is an important truth which has not as yet been revealed” or “… had not as yet been revealed.” One might also translate the clause as “In this part of the Holy Writings you can recognize some important true words which have previously been a secret.”
In the writer’s understanding, the passage in Genesis refers to Christ and the church; that is, its symbolic meaning is specifically Christian, even though it has a literal application as well (which he points out in the next verse). Notice that a similar exegesis is made by Paul in Galatians 5.21-26, where he takes Hagar and Sarah to be types, or figures, of the Hebrew faith and the Christian faith. So the last clause of verse 32 may be translated as “I understand these words to refer to Christ and the church” or “I understand that these words are talking about Christ and the church.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1982. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .