Kolose 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ¹  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ²  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Kolose 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ³  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ⁴ 

Kolose 2:23

2:23 Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ⁵  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ⁶  achieved by an ⁷  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ⁸ 

Kolose 3:17

3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ² tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[2:1]  ³ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[2:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “having a word of wisdom.”

[2:23]  ⁶ tn Though the apostle uses the term ταπεινοφροσύνῃ (tapeinofrosunh) elsewhere in a positive sense (cf. 3:12), here the sense is negative and reflects the misguided thinking of Paul’s opponents.

[2:23]  ⁷ tc ‡ The vast bulk of witnesses, including some important ones (א A C D F G H Ψ 075 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy), have καί (kai) here, but the shorter reading is supported by some early and important witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ B 1739 b m Hil Ambst Spec). The καί looks to be a motivated reading in that it makes ἀφειδία (afeidia) “the third in a series of datives after ἐν, rather than an instrumental dative qualifying the previous prepositional phrase” (TCGNT 556). At the same time, the omission of καί could possibly have been unintentional. A decision is difficult, but the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ puts καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[2:23]  ⁸ tn The translation understands this verse to contain a concessive subordinate clause within the main clause. The Greek particle μέν (men) is the second word of the embedded subordinate clause. The phrase οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι (ouk en timh tini) modifies the subordinate clause, and the main clause resumes with the preposition πρός (pros). The translation has placed the subordinate clause first in order for clarity instead of retaining its embedded location. For a detailed discussion of this grammatical construction, see B. Hollenbach, “Col 2:23: Which Things Lead to the Fulfillment of the Flesh,” NTS 25 (1979): 254-61.