SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 2001

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 1:16

1:16a

For: In this clause Paul explains the reason why Christ has supreme authority over all that has been created. It is because he is the creator of all things.

in Him all things were created: Here Paul says that all things were created in him. Later in 1:16e, Paul said that all things were created through him. Both imply that God created all things by means of Christ. However, the Bible never explains exactly how this happened. The important thing is that Christ was present when God created the world and played an active role in that event. You could translate it like this:

God created all things by means of Christ.

Another possible way to express this is:

God caused him ⌊Christ⌋ to create all things.

in Him: In the Greek text, Paul placed the phrase in Him at the beginning of the clause to emphasize it. You should emphasize this phrase in your translation, too.

were created: This is often a difficult word to translate. It means, “to cause something to begin to exist.” It means more than “to make something from existing materials.” If the verb your language uses for “to make” can include both meanings of “to create” listed above, then you can use it here.

1:16b

things in heaven and on earth: In 1:16a Paul said that God created “all things” by means of Christ. The expression here, things in heaven and on earth, is another way to say “all things.”

1:16c

visible and invisible: This refers to the things people can see and those they cannot see. There are two ways to understand how this part of the verse connects to 1:16b:

(1) When Paul said visible and invisible, he again meant all things. Everything that God created belongs to the group of things we can see or to the group of things we cannot see.

(2) When Paul said visible and invisible, he was restating 1:16b in the opposite order (this is called a chiastic structure). Therefore, invisible things is equivalent to “things in heaven,” and visible things is equivalent to “things on earth.”

Both these options are possible and have strong support among the commentaries. The Display follows the first option (1). If you wish to follow the second option (2), you could say:

He created the things in heaven that we cannot see, and the things on earth that we can see.

Whichever option you choose, the important thing is to clarify that God, by means of Christ, created everything.

1:16d

thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities: Most Biblical scholars believe this is a specific list of the “invisible” things Paul mentioned in 1:16c, but no one is certain about the identity of each of these groups. Paul was not teaching here about the different types of leaders among the angels and spirits. He simply wanted to emphasize that all of them, even the most powerful and important ones, were created by means of Christ.

1:16e

All things: Here in 1:16e, Paul put the words All things at the beginning of this clause to emphasize them. Try to emphasize these words in a natural way in your translation.

through Him: Although the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates through in this phrase is different from the word “in” in 1:16a, the meaning is the same.

for Him: This means that Christ is the goal of all creation. In other words, God created all things “for his benefit.” You could also translate this, “to honor him” or “to serve him.”

© 2001 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 2:19

2:19a

He has lost connection to the head: The Greek literally says “not holding on to the head.” Obviously Paul did not mean holding on physically to “the head” (Christ). There are two ways to understand this figure of speech:

(1) Paul meant that such people did not “hold firmly to the true teachings about Christ.” This means that they did not faithfully believe and teach what is true about Christ.

(2) Paul meant that such people no longer trusted in Christ to save them. This could be translated: “he is no longer loyal to Christ,” or “he ceases to depend on Christ” (UBS Handbook Handbook).

The first interpretation is recommended (1) because it fits best with the warning Paul was giving the Colossian believers in this letter—that they should not follow the false teachings these people taught.

head: This refers to Christ. The figure of speech here is the same as in 1:18a; that is, Christ is like the head of a body, and his people, Christians, are like the body. In your translation, you should translate this figure of speech here like you did in 1:18.

2:19b

from whom the whole body…grows: The words from whom mean “from Christ.” Paul said that Christ controls the spiritual growth of the church in the same way that the head of a person controls the physical growth of his body. One way to say this is “It is only by ⌊being connected/united to⌋ Christ that the whole body grows.”

the whole body: This means the whole body of Christ, which means the church, all believers.

grows: In this context grows means “to grow spiritually,” “to continue to know God more and more,” or “to continue to understand more about God.” It does not mean, “to grow numerically,” that is, to have more and more people become Christians.

supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates joints and ligaments refer to the tough, stringy parts inside the body that connect all the other parts together. Paul was saying that just as joints and ligaments support and join together the parts of the body, so the church is held together and supported by Christ’s control.

2:19c

as God causes it to grow: The Greek literally says, “grows a growth of God.” This can mean:

(1) The growth is the way God has planned/desired. This could be expressed, “as God wants them to grow,” or “the way God has planned”.

(Good News Translation, God’s Word, New Century Version, Revised English Bible, SSA)

(2) The growth is from God. This could be expressed, “as God causes the church to grow spiritually.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004))

The Display follows the first interpretation (1).

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 4:3

4:3a

as you pray also for us: In the Greek text of this verse there is a word, hama, that means “together, at the same time.” The Berean Standard Bible and several other English versions have omitted this word. Paul was asking the Colossians to pray for him and his friends when they were praying for everything else. Here are some other ways to translate this word in context:

At the same time pray also for us (Good News Translation)
-or-
and include us in your prayers (Revised English Bible)

us: This referred to Paul and his friends who were with him.

4:3b

that God may open to us a door for the word: This is a figure of speech. It means, “that God will give us the opportunity to continue to preach the gospel.” This same figure of speech is also found in 1 Corinthians 16:9 and 2 Corinthians 2:12. Some ways to translate this are:

pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Pray that God will give us opportunities to preach the message about Christ.

4:3c

the mystery of Christ: See the note on 1:26a.

4:3d

for which: This refers back to “word” in 4:3b.

I am in chains: It is possible that Paul was bound or chained while he was in prison. However, I am in chains is probably just a figurative way to say, “I am in prison.”

So you can translate the meaning of 4:3d as

I am in prison now because I preached this message about Christ.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 1:27

1:27a

To them: This refers to “the saints” in 1:26b.

God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery: There are two ways to connect the phrase among the Gentiles to the rest of the verse:

(1) The phrase among the Gentiles should be connected to the glorious riches. So this verse means that God wanted the saints to understand that the glorious riches of this mystery were for the benefit of the Gentiles—the Gentiles are included in the riches of his glory.

(Revised Standard Version)

(2) The phrase among the Gentiles should be connected to the verb make known in 1:27a. So the Berean Standard Bible interprets this verse to mean that God wanted the gospel to be made known among the Gentiles.

(Berean Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).

Gentiles: This refers to all people who were not Jews.

the glorious riches of this mystery: See meaning 1 of “glory” in the glossary.

1:27b

Christ in you: In 1:26 Paul began writing about the “mystery” (God’s secret plan). In this phrase he explains what the “mystery” is. It is that Christ dwells in Gentiles who believe in him. When Paul says in you, he means “in you Gentiles.”

The Greek text translated literally says Christ in you—there is no verb. However, in your translation you will probably need to use a verb. For example:

Christ is in you
-or-
Christ lives/dwells in you

Paul was writing about something that was already true when he wrote the letter—Christ was now in the hearts of the believers.

1:27c

the hope of glory: The phrase hope of glory means “the glory ⌊you⌋ hope for” or “the glory ⌊you⌋ expect to receive.” Most scholars believe that this refers to the future glory Christians can expect to receive in heaven. Some English versions express this as “your hope of sharing God’s glory” (Contemporary English Version, see also New Living Translation (2004), Good News Translation).

glory: See meaning 2 of “glory” in the glossary.

General Comment about 1:27b–c

In Greek it is not clear how to connect this part of the verse, “the hope of glory,” to 1:27c, “Christ in you.” However, most scholars believe that Paul was saying that “the hope of glory” is the result of Christ being in someone: that is, “Christ is in you, and as a result you confidently expect to have glory.”

General Comment about 1:26–27

Paul had written about the “mystery” in 1:26 and 1:27a–b, but he did not say specifically what the mystery was until 1:27c. In some languages it may be necessary to rearrange 1:26–27 to help people understand this. A possible way to do this would be:

God decided to tell his people how wonderful his plan was for you who are not Jews. His plan was this: that Christ should live in you, so you can confidently expect to share God’s glory. In the past, God did not reveal this plan to people. But now he has told his people about it.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 3:7

3:7

When you lived among them: Paul was writing about the way the Colossians behaved before they became believers.

you: This translates an emphatic pronoun in Greek. Here is another way to translate this pronoun:

you yourselves (Good News Translation)

used to walk in these ways: This is an idiom which means to “behave in these ways.” See the notes on 1:10a and 2:6b.

in these ways: This refers to the list in 3:5b–c.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 4:14

4:14

Luke, the beloved physician: The word beloved is the same word that Paul used about Tychicus in 4:7b and about Onesimus in 4:9b. See the notes on these verses. Luke had often traveled with Paul on his journeys.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 1:6

1:6b

All over the world: This is an exaggeration used to emphasize that the gospel had spread to many places in the world. Such an exaggeration is called hyperbole. If you do not use hyperbole in your language, you could translate this part of the verse:

to people in many places

bearing fruit and growing: This is a figure of speech. Paul said that the gospel was bearing fruit and growing like a tree or plant produces a crop and grows.

bearing fruit: This probably refers to the way a person changes after he becomes a Christian.

growing: This refers to the way the message about Jesus was spreading throughout the world and more and more people were believing it.

You need to check if these figures of speech make sense in your language. If not, you could change them to a simile, like this:

A healthy plant continues to produce good fruit and grow bigger. In the same way the message about Christ is causing many people to behave as God wants them to, and it is causing more and more people to believe the message.

In some modern English versions, the translators have removed the figure of speech completely. For example:

It is producing results and spreading all over the world. (God’s Word)

1:6d

and truly understood the grace of God: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as truly is literally “in truth.” There are two different ways to understand what this means:

(1) In this verse most English versions understand it to mean “the truth about the grace of God.” Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

[you] came to know it [the grace of God] as it really is (Good News Translation)
-or-
you came to know what God’s kindness truly means (God’s Word)

(2) In some English versions, it means

the grace of God: Here Paul used the word grace as a synonym for the gospel. This is the message that God graciously/freely saves those who trust in Christ. In many languages the term the grace of God must be translated as a clause. For example:

how kind/gracious God is

See “grace” in Key Biblical Terms and meaning 2 in the glossary for further help.

General Comment about 1:6b–d

In some languages it may be helpful to reorder 1:6b–d. One way to do this would be:

When you heard that God would freely forgive you if you trusted in Christ, you understood and believed God’s message as it really is. Now you are behaving in a way that pleases God. In the same way, people in many places ⌊have heard and believed this message⌋ and they are behaving in a way that pleases God. So the message is spreading to others.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 2:9

2:9

For: Beginning with 2:9, Paul gave the Colossian believers some reasons why they should not believe the false teachers. The Greek word hoti that the Berean Standard Bible translates For connects 2:9 with 2:8. Paul was saying: “⌊Do not let them deceive you,⌋ for …”

in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form: This verse is similar to 1:19. In 1:19 Paul said that God decided to have “all His fullness” live in Christ. In 2:9 Paul explained more clearly what this meant. He says all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily in Christ. In the Greek sentence structure, Paul emphasized the words in Christ (literally: “in him”). You may be able to express this: “For it is in Christ ⌊and in Christ alone⌋ that all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”

all the fullness of the Deity: See the note on 1:19. When Paul said that all the fullness of the Deity is in Christ, this implied that Christ alone has all the power and authority that God has.

Deity: The Greek word theotēs that the Berean Standard Bible translates Deity comes from the Greek word theos “God.” It means all that God is: his nature, his power, and his perfection. So when Paul said that “all the fullness of the Deity” lived in Christ, he meant that Christ is fully God. All that God is, Christ is also.

dwells: The Greek verb katoikeō that the Berean Standard Bible translates dwells means, “stays, lives, remains.” Paul used the same verb in 1:19, but there he used a past tense. Here he used the present tense, and so it means that all God’s nature is now permanently in Christ.

in bodily form: This refers to the fact that Christ was born and he became a human being with a human body. Even then, Christ had all of God’s nature in him.

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 2001