Colossians 2
Paul wants them to know his contest for them and Laodicea and all who have not seen his face — that hearts be consoled, knit together in love, unto the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, in whom all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are concealed. Let no one delude you with persuasive speech; absent in flesh, present in spirit. As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him — rooted, built upon, confirmed. Let no one carry you off through philosophy and empty deceit, tradition of men, elements of the world — in him dwells all the fullness of deity bodily, and you are filled in him. Circumcised without hands, buried and raised and made alive together with him — the handwritten record of decrees wiped away and nailed to the cross, the rules and authorities stripped off and led in triumph. Let no one judge you in food, drink, feasts, new moons, sabbaths — shadows; the body is of Christ. Let no one rob you of the prize through lowliness of mind and religion of angels — not holding the head from whom the body grows. If you died with Christ from the elements, why submit to decrees — do not touch, taste, handle — commandments and teachings of men, having a word of wisdom, of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Why this rendering
Col.2.2 Observation
Syntactic observation
Θέλω γὰρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν … ἵνα παρακληθῶσιν αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν, συμβιβασθέντες ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ εἰς πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς πληροφορίας τῆς συνέσεως, εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ, ἐν ᾧ εἰσιν πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι. τοῦτο λέγω ἵνα μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς παραλογίζηται ἐν πιθανολογίᾳ — For I want you to know how great a contest I have for you … so that their hearts may be consoled, being knit together in love and unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, concealed. I say this so that no one may delude you with persuasive speech. ἀγών is Phil 1:30 ‘contest’ — one root with 1:29 ‘striving’. συμβιβάζω is Eph 4:16 ‘knit together’ (the body’s place) — it returns in v.19. πληροφορία is the noun of Rom 4:21 ‘be fully assured’. τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is the base text’s short reading (⸀) — the Received Text lengthens it to ‘of the Father and of Christ’; ‘the mystery of God, Christ’ reads the two genitives in apposition. ἀπόκρυφος is Mark 4:22 · Luke 8:17 ‘concealed’ — one root with 1:26 ‘hidden’ (ἀποκρύπτω). πιθανολογία occurs once in the New Testament — ‘persuasive speech’. παραλογίζομαι occurs twice (Jas 1:22).
Rendering options · 3
Basis The base text’s short reading (⸀) — Χριστοῦ stands beside μυστηρίου in the same case.
Basis The Received Text’s longer reading.
Rejected The translation does not alter the base text — the longer reading is a copyist’s hand smoothing the short one.
Basis ‘Knit together’ as at Eph 4:16 (the body’s place) — one word with v.19.
Lost in translation
συμβιβασθέντες (v.2) / συμβιβαζόμενον (v.19) — ‘knit together’ twice shows the same word.
ἀγῶνα (v.1) / ἀγωνιζόμενος (1:29) — ‘contest / striving’ split the root.
ἀπόκρυφοι (v.3) / ἀποκεκρυμμένον (1:26) — ‘concealed / hidden’ split the root.
τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ — the relation of the two genitives (apposition or possession) is open. ‘Of God, Christ’ keeps it open.
Why this rendering
Col.2.9 Observation
Syntactic observation
Βλέπετε μή τις ὑμᾶς ἔσται ὁ συλαγωγῶν διὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου καὶ οὐ κατὰ Χριστόν· ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς, καὶ ἐστὲ ἐν αὐτῷ πεπληρωμένοι, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας — Watch out that no one will be the one carrying you off as spoil through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world and not according to Christ; because in him dwells all the fullness of deity bodily, and you are filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. συλαγωγέω · φιλοσοφία · θεότης · σωματικῶς — four words occurring once in the New Testament. θεότης is a different word from Rom 1:20 θειότης ‘divinity’ — with θεός inside it, ‘deity’. Three κατά (according to the tradition · according to the elements · not according to Christ) divide one sentence; στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου is Gal 4:3 ‘the elements of the world’ — again in v.20. Verse 9 πλήρωμα … κατοικεῖ echoes 1:19 ‘all the fullness was well pleased to dwell in him’, and v.10 πεπληρωμένοι continues the root. The three passive participles of v.7 (rooted · built upon · confirmed) pair with Eph 3:17 ‘rooted and founded’.
Rendering options · 3
Basis A different word from θειότης ‘divinity’ as fixed at Rom 1:20 — θεός sits inside the word.
Basis The familiar renderings.
Rejected ‘Divinity’ borrows Rom 1:20’s other word, and ‘Godhead’ obscures that θεός is the piece inside.
Basis The picture of hauling off plunder — kept apart from ‘take captive’ (αἰχμαλωτίζω).
Lost in translation
θεότητος (2:9) / θειότης (Rom 1:20) — ‘deity / divinity’ keep the two words apart.
πλήρωμα (v.9) / πεπληρωμένοι (v.10) — ‘fullness / filled’ keep the root.
Three κατά (v.8) — ‘according to’ three times shows one preposition.
σωματικῶς — ‘bodily’ keeps it one word.
Why this rendering
Col.2.12 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἐν ᾧ καὶ περιετμήθητε περιτομῇ ἀχειροποιήτῳ ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει τοῦ σώματος τῆς σαρκός, ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, συνταφέντες αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ βαπτισμῷ, ἐν ᾧ καὶ συνηγέρθητε διὰ τῆς πίστεως τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἐγείραντος αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν· καὶ ὑμᾶς νεκροὺς ὄντας ἐν τοῖς παραπτώμασιν … συνεζωοποίησεν ὑμᾶς σὺν αὐτῷ· χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν πάντα τὰ παραπτώματα, ἐξαλείψας τὸ καθ’ ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον τοῖς δόγμασιν … προσηλώσας αὐτὸ τῷ σταυρῷ· ἀπεκδυσάμενος τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησίᾳ, θριαμβεύσας αὐτοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ — in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the stripping off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, buried together with him in the washing, in whom you were also raised together … And you, being dead in the trespasses … he made alive together with him … having wiped away the handwritten record … having nailed it to the cross. Having stripped off the rules and the authorities, he exposed them publicly in openness, leading them in triumph in it. Three συν- (buried together · raised together · made alive together) overlap the three verbs of Eph 2:5-6. βαπτισμός (⸀) is the word of Mark 7:4 ‘washings’ — the Received Text reads βάπτισμα (baptism); the base text’s rarer word is kept as ‘washing’. ἀπέκδυσις (v.11, once) and ἀπεκδύομαι (v.15 · 3:9) are one root, ‘stripping off / strip off’. τοῖς δόγμασιν is the phrase of Eph 2:15 ‘of decrees’. χειρόγραφον · προσηλόω occur once each. δειγματίζω is Matt 1:19 ‘expose publicly’ (two New Testament places). θριαμβεύω is 2 Cor 2:14 ‘lead in triumph’ — whether captives or soldiers was left unfilled there too. ἐν αὐτῷ (v.15) is open between the cross and Christ.
Rendering options · 4
Basis The base text (⸀) reads βαπτισμός, not βάπτισμα (baptism) — ‘washing’ as fixed at Mark 7:4.
Basis The Received Text’s βάπτισμα and the familiar rendering.
Rejected It swaps the base text’s rarer word for the common one — the distinction of two lemmas would vanish.
Basis Noun in v.11 and verb in v.15 · 3:9 are one root — ἐκδύω ‘take off’ with ἀπο- as ‘off’.
Basis The text does not close whether ‘it’ is the cross or Christ — ‘in it’ leaves it.
Lost in translation
συνταφέντες · συνηγέρθητε · συνεζωοποίησεν — three συν- as ‘together’ three times · the words of Eph 2:5-6.
βαπτισμῷ (⸀) — the sign that the base text reads this word rather than βάπτισμα. ‘Washing’ carries the word, not the sign.
ἀπεκδύσει (v.11) / ἀπεκδυσάμενος (v.15) — ‘stripping off / stripped off’ keep the root.
ἐν αὐτῷ (v.15) — cross or Christ, open. ‘In it’ leans to the cross.
χειρόγραφον — ‘handwritten record’ unfolds one word into a phrase.
Why this rendering
Col.2.17 Observation
Syntactic observation
Μὴ οὖν τις ὑμᾶς κρινέτω ἐν βρώσει ἢ ἐν πόσει ἢ ἐν μέρει ἑορτῆς ἢ νουμηνίας ἢ σαββάτων, ἅ ἐστιν σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων, τὸ δὲ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ. μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς καταβραβευέτω θέλων ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἃ ἑόρακεν ἐμβατεύων, εἰκῇ φυσιούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ νοὸς τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ κρατῶν τὴν κεφαλήν, ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ θεοῦ — Therefore let no one judge you in eating or in drinking, or in the part of a feast or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no one rob you of the prize, wanting it in lowliness of mind and religion of the angels, entering into what he has seen, puffed up for nothing by the mind of his flesh, and not holding the head, from whom the whole body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bonds, grows the growth of God. βρῶσις · πόσις are the pair of Rom 14:17 ‘eating · drinking’. ἐν μέρει is ‘in the part of’ — the idiom ‘in respect of’ kept word for word. σκιά / σῶμα ‘shadow / body’ — not paraphrased ‘substance’. καταβραβεύω occurs once in the New Testament — the verb of Phil 3:14 βραβεῖον ‘prize’, ‘rob of the prize’. θρησκεία is Acts 26:5 ‘religion’; the genitive τῶν ἀγγέλων (toward angels · practised by angels) is open. ἐμβατεύω occurs once — ‘enter into’. Verse 19 reuses five words of Eph 4:16 (joint · supply · knit together · grow · growth) — the two letters share one sentence. ⸀ἃ (the Received Text adds a negation, ‘what he has not seen’) is the base text’s reading.
Rendering options · 4
Basis ‘Substance’ would cut the link with v.19 ‘the whole body’ — the shadow/body contrast is kept in its own words.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected It diverges from σῶμα fixed as ‘body’ and makes one word two within a chapter.
Basis The verb of βραβεῖον ‘prize’ (Phil 3:14) — not paraphrased ‘disqualify/condemn’, which erases the games.
Basis The Received Text’s ‘what he has not seen’ is not rendered.
Lost in translation
βρώσει / πόσει — the same words as Rom 14:17 ‘eating · drinking’ are visible.
καταβραβευέτω (2:18) / βραβεῖον (Phil 3:14) — ‘rob of the prize / prize’ keep the root.
Verse 19 ↔ Eph 4:16 — joint · supply · knit together · grow · growth, five words visible as the same.
θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων — the direction of the genitive is open. ‘Religion of the angels’ keeps it open.
αὔξει τὴν αὔξησιν — the cognate object ‘grows the growth’ is visible as such.
Why this rendering
Col.2.21 Observation
Syntactic observation
Εἰ ἀπεθάνετε σὺν Χριστῷ ἀπὸ τῶν στοιχείων τοῦ κόσμου, τί ὡς ζῶντες ἐν κόσμῳ δογματίζεσθε· Μὴ ἅψῃ μηδὲ γεύσῃ μηδὲ θίγῃς, ἅ ἐστιν πάντα εἰς φθορὰν τῇ ἀποχρήσει, κατὰ τὰ ἐντάλματα καὶ διδασκαλίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων; ἅτινά ἐστιν λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος, οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι πρὸς πλησμονὴν τῆς σαρκός — If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as living in the world, do you submit to decrees — ‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle’ — which are all for corruption in the using up, according to the commandments and teachings of men? These have a word of wisdom in self-chosen religion and lowliness of mind and unsparing treatment of the body, not in any value against the indulgence of the flesh. δογματίζομαι occurs once in the New Testament — the verb of v.14 δόγμα ‘decree’, ‘submit to decrees’. The three prohibitions are three verbs (ἅπτω touch · γεύομαι taste · θιγγάνω handle) in three words. τὰ ἐντάλματα καὶ διδασκαλίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων is the phrase of Isa 29:13 as quoted at Matt 15:9 · Mark 7:7 — ‘the commandments … teachings of men’ as there. ἐθελοθρησκία (self-chosen religion) · ἀφειδία (unsparing treatment) · πλησμονή (indulgence) · ἀπόχρησις (using up) occur once each. The end of v.23, οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι πρὸς πλησμονήν, is open in construction — read as ‘not in any value’, with πρός as ‘against’. The two ταπεινοφροσύνη of this chapter (vv.18 · 23) are Eph 4:2 ‘lowliness of mind’ — here the place of false humility, yet the same word is kept.
Rendering options · 4
Basis The verb of δόγμα ‘decree’ as fixed at Eph 2:15 · Col 2:14 — not paraphrased ‘keep regulations’.
Basis The two words of Isa 29:13, in the same rendering as the two Gospel places.
Basis ταπεινοφροσύνη ‘lowliness of mind’ as fixed at Eph 4:2 · Phil 2:3 — the text uses the same word.
Basis A paraphrase by sense.
Rejected ‘False’ is not in the text, and ‘humility’ is not this version’s word.
Lost in translation
δογματίζεσθε (v.20) / δόγμασιν (v.14) — ‘submit to decrees / decrees’ keep the root.
ἅψῃ · γεύσῃ · θίγῃς — three verbs as ‘touch · taste · handle’.
ἐντάλματα καὶ διδασκαλίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων — the same phrase as Matt 15:9 · Mark 7:7 is visible.
ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ (v.23) / θρησκείᾳ (v.18) — ‘self-chosen religion / religion’ keep the root.
οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι πρὸς πλησμονήν — the construction is open. ‘Not in any value against’ closes it to one reading.