Kolose 1:4

1:4 since ¹  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Kolose 1:11-12

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ²  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ³  in the saints’ ⁴  inheritance in the light.

Kolose 1:21-22

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ⁵  minds ⁶  as expressed through ⁷  your evil deeds, 1:22 but now he has reconciled you ⁸  by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him –

Kolose 2:10

2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Kolose 2:20

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ⁹  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?

Kolose 3:4

3:4 When Christ (who is your ¹⁰  life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.

Kolose 3:20

3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord.

Kolose 4:6-7

4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

Personal Greetings and Instructions

4:7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave ¹¹  in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ¹² 

Kolose 4:17

4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

[1:4]  ¹ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:11]  ² tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:12]  ³ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:21]  ⁵ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ⁶ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ⁷ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.

[1:22]  ⁸ tc Some of the better representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts have a passive verb here instead of the active ἀποκατήλλαξεν (apokathllaxen, “he has reconciled”): ἀποκατηλλάγητε (apokathllaghte) in (Ì⁴⁶) B, ἀποκατήλλακται [sic] (apokathllaktai) in 33, and ἀποκαταλλαγέντες (apokatallagente") in D* F G. Yet the active verb is strongly supported by א A C D² Ψ 048 075 [0278] 1739 1881 Ï lat sy. Internally, the passive creates an anacoluthon in that it looks back to the accusative ὑμᾶς (Juma", “you”) of v. 21 and leaves the following παραστῆσαι (parasthsai) dangling (“you were reconciled…to present you”). The passive reading is certainly the harder reading. As such, it may well explain the rise of the other readings. At the same time, it is possible that the passive was produced by scribes who wanted some symmetry between the ποτε (pote, “at one time”) of v. 21 and the νυνὶ δέ (nuni de, “but now”) of v. 22: Since a passive periphrastic participle is used in v. 21, there may have a temptation to produce a corresponding passive form in v. 22, handling the ὑμᾶς of v. 21 by way of constructio ad sensum. Since παραστῆσαι occurs ten words later, it may not have been considered in this scribal modification. Further, the Western reading (ἀποκαταλλαγέντες) hardly seems to have arisen from ἀποκατηλλάγητε (contra TCGNT 555). As difficult as this decision is, the preferred reading is the active form because it is superior externally and seems to explain the rise of all forms of the passive readings.

[1:22]  tn The direct object is omitted in the Greek text, but it is clear from context that “you” (ὑμᾶς, Jumas) is implied.

[2:20]  ⁹ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.

[3:4]  ¹⁰ tc Certain mss (B^[*^] D¹ H 0278 1739 Ï sy sa) read ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “our”), while others (Ì⁴⁶ א C D* F G P Ψ 075 33 81 1881 al latt bo) read ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”). Internally, it is possible that the second person pronoun arose through scribal conformity to the second person pronoun used previously in v. 3 (i.e., ὑμῶν) and following in v. 4 (ὑμεῖς, Jumeis). But in terms of external criteria, the second person pronoun has superior ms support (though there is an Alexandrian split) and ἡμῶν may have arisen through accident (error of sight) or scribal attempt to universalize the statement since all Christians have Jesus as their life. See TCGNT 557.

[4:7]  ¹¹ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:7]  ¹² tn Grk “all things according to me.”