Paul now instructs the Colossians to exchange letters with the church at Laodicea, so that the two letters, one to each church, are read in both churches. The context makes it almost certain that the letter that the brothers in Laodicea will send you is a letter that Paul is writing, or has written, to them; some, however, believe that it was a letter from the Laodiceans to Paul. Read means, in this context, reading aloud to the whole assembled group of Christians.

A literal rendering of it is read also in the church at Laodicea might imply merely the building. It may, therefore, be better to say “it is read also to the believers at Laodicea” or “… to the group of believers at Laodicea.”

There has been much speculation about this letter of Paul to the Laodiceans. Some have thought it is what is now called Ephesians, or Philemon, or even Hebrews. Already by the end of the fourth century there was a fabricated “Letter to the Laodiceans,” of which only Latin copies survive, but which was originally written in Greek. It was included in many copies of the Latin Bible from the sixth century to the fifteenth century. It is a mindless collection of Pauline phrases, which Lightfoot calls “quite harmless, so far as falsity and stupidity combined can ever be regarded as harmless.”f 12 fr 4.16 ft Lightfoot, op. cit., p. 280. The most likely explanation is that the letter Paul refers to here was lost or destroyed.

A literal translation of at the same time might suggest simultaneous reading of two letters. A more accurate and satisfactory rendering may be “similarly, you are to read the letter…” or “in the same way you are to read the letter….”

In rendering the letter that the brothers in Laodicea will send you, it is important to avoid the implication that this is a letter written by the fellow believers in Laodicea. The letter was written by Paul and sent to the believers in Laodicea who are to send it on the believers in Colossae.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .