Colossians 1
Paul and Timothy to the holy and faithful brothers at Colossae — grace and peace. They give thanks for faith and love heard of, because of the hope laid away in the heavens — the gospel bearing fruit and growing among them as in all the world, learned from Epaphras. They ask that the Colossians be filled with the knowledge of his will in wisdom and spiritual understanding, walk worthily of the Lord, be empowered by the might of his glory unto endurance and patience. The Father rescued us from the authority of the dark into the kingdom of the Son of his love — redemption, forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of all creation — thrones, lordships, rules, authorities, all created in him, through him, for him, holding together in him. Head of the body, the assembly; the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. All the fullness was pleased to dwell in him and to reconcile all things through the blood of his cross — even you, once enemies, to be presented holy and blameless. Paul rejoices in sufferings, filling up in turn the lacks of the afflictions of Christ — announcing the mystery now manifested, Christ in you, the hope of glory, striving to present every man complete.
Why this rendering
Col.1.5 Observation
Syntactic observation
Εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ θεῷ πατρὶ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ πάντοτε περὶ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι, ἀκούσαντες τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην ἣν ἔχετε εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα τὴν ἀποκειμένην ὑμῖν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἣν προηκούσατε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ παρόντος εἰς ὑμᾶς — We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ always when praying for you, having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have toward all the holy ones, because of the hope laid away for you in the heavens, which you heard beforehand in the word of the truth of the gospel, which is present among you. Faith · love · hope stand in one sentence (vv.4-5) — hope comes with διά (because of) as the ground of the first two. ἀπόκειμαι is the verb of Luke 19:20 ‘kept laid away’ — κεῖμαι (lie) with ἀπο-, ‘laid away’. προακούω occurs once in the New Testament — ‘hear beforehand’. τοῦ παρόντος εἰς ὑμᾶς is the site-rule of Acts 17:6 ‘be present’ (πάρειμι + εἰς). Verse 6 καρποφορούμενον καὶ αὐξανόμενον ‘bearing fruit and growing’ returns in v.10 (καρποφοροῦντες καὶ αὐξανόμενοι). ἐπέγνωτε is Matt 7:16 ‘recognise’ — one root with ἐπίγνωσις ‘knowledge’ in vv.9 · 10. This letter too gives thanks as ‘we’ (Eph 1:16 says ‘I’).
Rendering options · 3
Basis κεῖμαι ‘lie / be set’ as fixed at John 20:6 · Phil 1:16, with ἀπο- as ‘away’ — the same word as Luke 19:20 ‘laid away’.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected ‘Store up’ belongs to θησαυρίζω — the text’s verb is ‘lie’.
Basis ‘Recognise’ as fixed at Matt 7:16 · 2 Cor 13:5 — one root with vv.9 · 10 ‘knowledge’.
Lost in translation
ἀποκειμένην (v.5) / κεῖμαι (Phil 1:16) — ‘laid away / set’ split at the piece.
καρποφορούμενον καὶ αὐξανόμενον (v.6) / καρποφοροῦντες καὶ αὐξανόμενοι (v.10) — ‘bearing fruit and growing’ twice shows the echo.
ἐπέγνωτε (v.6) / ἐπίγνωσιν (v.9) · ἐπιγνώσει (v.10) — ‘recognised / knowledge’ split the piece.
προηκούσατε — ‘heard beforehand’ unfolds one word into a phrase.
Why this rendering
Col.1.12 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει δυναμούμενοι κατὰ τὸ κράτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ εἰς πᾶσαν ὑπομονὴν καὶ μακροθυμίαν μετὰ χαρᾶς, εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί, ὃς ἐρρύσατο ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ σκότους καὶ μετέστησεν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ, ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν, τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν — being empowered with all power according to the might of his glory, unto all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father who made you fit for the part of the share of the holy ones in the light. He rescued us from the authority of the dark and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins. δυνάμει δυναμούμενοι — noun and verb of one root (‘empowered with power’); δυναμόω occurs twice in the New Testament (Heb 11:34). κράτος is Eph 1:19 ‘might’. ἱκανόω is 2 Cor 3:6 ‘make fit’ (two New Testament places). μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου — two ‘share’ words stacked: μερίς (Luke 10:42 portion) as ‘part’, κλῆρος (Acts 26:18 ‘a share among those made holy’) as ‘share’. Verses 12-14 echo the very words of Acts 26:18 — from the dark to light · authority · forgiveness of sins · the share of those made holy. βασιλεία τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ ‘the kingdom of the Son of his love’ — the genitive is not paraphrased ‘beloved Son’. ⸀ὑμᾶς (v.12 — Received Text ἡμᾶς) is the base text’s reading.
Rendering options · 3
Basis ‘Beloved Son’ (ἀγαπητός) is another word’s place — the text has a noun in the genitive.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected It merges with the adjective ἀγαπητός of Mark 1:11 ‘beloved Son’.
Basis κλῆρος ‘share’ as fixed at Acts 26:18 — the verse these three verses rest on; μερίς differs by site.
Lost in translation
δυνάμει δυναμούμενοι (v.11) — ‘empowered with power’ keeps the one root.
Verses 12-14 ↔ Acts 26:18 — the dark · light · authority · forgiveness of sins · the share of the holy ones are visible as the same words.
μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου — two words kept apart as ‘part / share’, but ‘part’ overlaps the word for μέρος.
τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ — a chain of three genitives kept as ‘the kingdom of the Son of his love’.
Why this rendering
Col.1.15 Observation
Syntactic observation
ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε ἐξουσίαι· τὰ πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται· καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν πρὸ πάντων καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας· ὅς ἐστιν ἀρχή, πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ἵνα γένηται ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς πρωτεύων — who is the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of all creation, because in him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, the seen and the unseen, whether thrones or lordships or rules or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him; and he is before all things, and all things hold together in him. And he is the head of the body, the assembly; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things he might hold first place. πρωτότοκος twice (v.15 of all creation · v.18 from the dead) — ‘firstborn’ twice, the word of Luke 2:7. ἐκτίσθη (aorist) → ἔκτισται (perfect) kept apart as ‘were created / have been created’. ὁρατός occurs once in the New Testament — paired with ἀόρατος (unseen). The four (thrones · lordships · rules · authorities) overlap the list of Eph 1:21. συνέστηκεν is Luke 9:32 ‘standing with’ (intransitive perfect). ἀρχή is the site-rule of Mark 1:1 ‘beginning’ — one word with v.16 ‘rules’ (recorded). πρωτεύω occurs once — the verb of πρῶτος, ‘hold first place’.
Rendering options · 3
Basis πρωτότοκος ‘firstborn’ as fixed at Luke 2:7 — not paraphrased ‘born before all creation’; v.17 ‘before all things’ comes separately.
Basis The reading that resolves the genitive as comparison.
Rejected It closes the genitive the text leaves open and diverges from the same word in v.18.
Basis κτίζω ‘be created’ as fixed at Eph 2 — the tense changes within v.16.
Lost in translation
πρωτότοκος twice (vv.15 · 18) — ‘firstborn’ twice shows the same word.
ἐκτίσθη / ἔκτισται (v.16) — ‘were created / have been created’ carry the two tenses.
ὁρατά / ἀόρατα (v.16) — ‘seen / unseen’ show the pair.
ἀρχαί (v.16) / ἀρχή (v.18) — ‘rules / beginning’ split one word.
πρωτεύων (v.18) / πρωτότοκος — ‘first place / firstborn’ keep the ‘first’ piece.
Why this rendering
Col.1.20 Observation
Syntactic observation
ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησεν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαι καὶ δι’ αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα εἰς αὐτόν, εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ, [δι’ αὐτοῦ] εἴτε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἴτε τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· καὶ ὑμᾶς ποτε ὄντας ἀπηλλοτριωμένους καὶ ἐχθροὺς τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς— νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου— παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ — because in him all the fullness was well pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to him, having made peace through the blood of his cross — [through him] — whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens. And you, once being estranged and enemies in mind in the evil works — but now you were reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and beyond charge before him. The subject of εὐδόκησεν is open between ‘all the fullness’ and an unwritten ‘God’ — the text’s own subject is followed: ‘all the fullness was well pleased’. ἀποκαταλλάσσω is Eph 2:16 ‘reconcile’ (three New Testament places — two in this chapter); v.22 is passive (⸀ — the Received Text has active) ‘you were reconciled’. εἰρηνοποιέω occurs once — the verb of Matt 5:9 ‘peacemakers’. The square brackets of ⸂[δι’ αὐτοῦ]⸃ are the base text’s — carried over. The dashes of vv.21-22 are the base text’s too. ἀπηλλοτριωμένους is Eph 2:12 ‘estranged’. ἅγιος · ἄμωμος are the pair of Eph 1:4, with ἀνέγκλητος (beyond charge — 1 Cor 1:8) as a third. κατενώπιον is the word of Eph 1:4.
Rendering options · 3
Basis The only written subject is πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα — ‘God’ is not supplied.
Basis The reading that the masculine participle ‘having made peace’ in v.20 points to God.
Rejected It imports a subject from outside the text — the reading is recorded here and the text left as written.
Basis The same decision as Luke 22:19b-20 · Eph 1:1 — where the base text marks doubt, the translation does not erase it.
Lost in translation
The subject of εὐδόκησεν — fullness or God, open. ‘All the fullness was well pleased’ follows the written subject but closes the openness.
The base text’s brackets [δι’ αὐτοῦ] — carried over.
ἀποκαταλλάξαι (v.20) / ἀποκατηλλάγητε (v.22) — ‘reconcile / were reconciled’ show one verb; ἀπο- is lost.
εἰρηνοποιήσας — ‘having made peace’ keeps the root of Matt 5:9 ‘peacemakers’.
ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους — three kept as ‘holy and blameless and beyond charge’.
Why this rendering
Col.1.24 Observation
Syntactic observation
Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία, ἧς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ διάκονος κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς πληρῶσαι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ μυστήριον τὸ ἀποκεκρυμμένον ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν,— νῦν δὲ ἐφανερώθη τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ — Now I rejoice in the sufferings for you, and I fill up in turn the lacks of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly, of which I became a servant according to the management of God given to me toward you, to fill up the word of God — the mystery that has been hidden from the ages and from the generations, — but now was manifested to his holy ones. ἀνταναπληρόω occurs once in the New Testament — 1 Cor 16:17 ἀναπληρόω ‘fill up’ with the ‘in turn’ prefix added, ‘fill up in turn’; ὑστέρημα ‘lack’ in the same verse is the pair of 1 Cor 16:17 too. πάθημα (sufferings) and θλῖψις (afflictions) are kept apart. The genitive τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ is left open as ‘the afflictions of Christ’. διάκονος ‘servant’ comes three times in this chapter (vv.7 · 23 · 25). οἰκονομία is Eph 1:10 ‘management’. πληρῶσαι τὸν λόγον ‘fill up the word’ — not paraphrased ‘fulfil’ (the word of Matt 1:22 is ‘be fulfilled’ there, but here the object is the word). The dash of v.26 is the base text’s · ⸀νῦν (Received Text νυνί) is the base text’s reading.
Rendering options · 4
Basis On ἀναπληρόω ‘fill up’ · ὑστέρημα ‘lack’ as fixed at 1 Cor 16:17, with the prefix as ‘in turn’ — the genitive unresolved.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected ‘Sufferings’ is the place of πάθημα in the same verse, and ‘what is lacking’ paraphrases the noun ‘lacks’.
Basis ‘Fill up’ as fixed at Phil 4 — one word with v.9 ‘be filled’.
Basis A reading that carries over the site-rule of Matt 1:22 ‘be fulfilled’.
Rejected There a prophecy is the subject of a passive; here the word is the object of an active infinitive — it would split from v.9.
Lost in translation
ἀνταναπληρῶ / ὑστερήματα (v.24) — the pair of 1 Cor 16:17 ‘fill up the lack’ is visible; the prefix as ‘in turn’.
παθήμασιν / θλίψεων (v.24) — ‘sufferings / afflictions’ keep the two words apart.
πληρωθῆτε (v.9) / πληρῶσαι (v.25) — ‘be filled / fill up’ show one word.
τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ — the genitive is open. ‘The afflictions of Christ’ keeps it open.
διάκονος three times (vv.7 · 23 · 25) — ‘servant’ three times shows the same word.