Kolose 4:9

4:9 I sent him ¹  with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. ²  They will tell ³  you about everything here.

Kolose 4:12

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁴  of Christ, ⁵  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁶  in all the will of God.

Efesus 6:21

Farewell Comments

6:21 Tychicus, my ⁷  dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, ⁸  how I am doing.

Filipi 2:25

2:25 But for now ⁹  I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, ¹⁰  coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger ¹¹  and minister ¹²  to me in my need. ¹³ 

[4:9]  ¹ tn The Greek sentence continues v. 9 with the phrase “with Onesimus,” but this is awkward in English, so the verb “I sent” was inserted and a new sentence started at the beginning of v. 9 in the translation.

[4:9]  ² tn Grk “is of you.”

[4:9]  ³ tn Grk “will make known to you.” This has been simplified in the translation to “will tell.”

[4:12]  ⁴ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ⁵ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ⁶ tn Or “filled.”

[6:21]  ⁷ tn Grk “the.” The Greek article ὁ (Jo) was translated with the possessive pronoun, “my.” See ExSyn 215.

[6:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “the things according to me.”

[2:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “But.” The temporal notion (“for now”) is implied in the epistolary aorist (“I have considered”), for Epaphroditus was dispatched with this letter to the Philippians.

[2:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “my brother” instead of “For he is my brother.” Verse 25 constitutes one sentence in Greek, with “my brother…” functioning appositionally to “Epaphroditus.”

[2:25]  sn The reason why Paul refers to Epaphroditus as his brother, coworker, fellow soldier, etc., is because he wants to build up Epaphroditus in the eyes of the Philippians, since Paul is sending him back instead of Timothy. This accent on Epaphroditus’ character and service is implied in the translation “For he is…”

[2:25]  ¹¹ tn Grk “apostle.”

[2:25]  ¹² tn The Greek word translated “minister” here is λειτουργός (leitourgo").

[2:25]  ¹³ tn Grk “servant of my need.”