The initial participial clause, “being empowered with all power according to the might of his glory,” may be taken as a circumstantial clause, “as you are made strong,” or absolutely (as participles in Greek New Testament often are) as a wish or a command (as “give thanks” in verse 12).

This expression of Paul’s wish for the believers in Colossae must be expressed in a number of languages as a type of prayer, for example, “I pray that you may be made strong.” It may, however, be important to introduce God as agent, for example, “I pray that God will cause you to be strong.”

A literal rendering of be made strong with all the strength may seem quite strange and even unintelligible, but the real problem is involved in relating this increase of strength with his glorious power. The connection may be made by a restructuring, so as to translate “I pray that God by using his glorious power may cause you to be exceedingly strong.” This strength, however, must not be understood in terms of physical strength or prowess. It is obviously related to the enduring of hardships with patience and therefore in some languages one must translate “strong in your spirits” or “strong in your hearts,” for this is psychological strength and not physical strength.

His glorious power (so most translations) is an inadequate translation of “the might of his glory,” since the noun doxa almost always (as its Heb counterpart kāvōd) represents the self-revelation of God as his presence with his people to save them. This characteristic of God is described in terms of light (compare Ex 16.10; 1 Kgs 8.10-11; Ezek 10.3-4). Twentieth Century New Testament has “the power manifested in his Glory,” Goodspeed “so mighty is his majesty,” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “his complete godly power and might.” His glorious power may be rendered in some languages as “his power which is so wonderful” or even “the fact that he is so wonderfully powerful.”

Endure … with patience represents two nouns in Greek whose meanings overlap each other; “steadfastness” (hupomonē) occurs in the NT more often than “endurance” (makrothumia). Translator’s New Testament “stand firm and be patient,” New English Bible Barclay “fortitude and patience,” Moffatt “endure and be patient,” Goodspeed “endurance and forbearance.”

In some instances, it may be essential to indicate the nature of what is to be endured, for example, “endure persecution” or “remain firm despite troubles.” In some languages, patience is best expressed as a negation of some negative quality, for example, “enduring without complaining” or “enduring and not being resentful.”

With joy may go with what precedes (so Lightfoot, Moule, Revised Standard Version New English Bible Phillips New American Bible Barclay Biblia Dios Habla Hoy Jerusalem Bible Moffatt Goodspeed) or with what follows (Abbott, Translator’s New Testament New International Version). If the phrase with joy is to be related to what precedes, one may say “to endure persecution without complaining and with happiness” or “… while continuing to be happy.” In a number of languages, joy is expressed figuratively, for example, “with a happy heart,” or “with dancing in one’s heart,” or “with a heart that sings.”

If the phrase with joy is to be combined with the giving of thanks, it is often possible to employ a coordinate phrase such as “be happy and give thanks.”

Give thanks represents a participle, understood by Good News Translation as an injunction or command, not as a circumstance (“as you give thanks”) or as a participle of means, dependent on the main verb “to live” in verse 10, that is, “by giving thanks” (so New International Version).

It is frequently impossible to speak of God as “the Father,” since a kinship term such as “father” must be possessed, that is to say, a father is always the father of someone. In certain languages, the closest equivalent of the Father is “the father of us all.” In other instances, it may be necessary to use an expanded phrase such as “God our father.” It is important not to conclude that one can communicate the meaning of father in this context merely by a device such as capitalization. The Scriptures are heard far more widely than they are read, and obviously capitalization does not show up in pronunciation.

Has made you fit: the verb hikanoō is causative, to make someone hikanos, that is, fit, qualified, competent, sufficient (see the verb in 2 Cor 3.6; the noun in 2 Cor 3.5; and the adjective, in this sense, in 2 Cor 2.16, 3.5; 2 Tim 2.2). Jerusalem Bible “made it possible for you”; New International Version “qualified”; Goodspeed “entitled you”; Phillips “you are privileged.” In some languages, the concept of fit may be expressed as “cause you to be the kind of person who can share” or “cause you to be the type of person who is worthy to share.”

In verse 12, Revised Standard Version lists “us” as a variant reading (for “you”); “you” is the form better supported by external evidence; some commentators and translators, however, prefer “us” which, if adopted, is inclusive, meaning “all of us Christians.”

Your share of what God has reserved for his people: the noun klēros “lot” means that which is allotted or assigned to someone; it is a biblical word whose meaning springs from its application to the Promised Land, as the territory allotted by God to the Israelites as their exclusive possession. It became a figure of all of God’s blessings for his people, especially those reserved for the future; whence the use of “inherit eternal life,” etc. The use in English of “inheritance” (so Revised Standard Version, compare New English Bible Jerusalem Bible New International Version) is not recommended (compare Translator’s New Testament note), since it implies the transference of property as the result of the original owner’s death.

Your share may be expressed as “what rightfully belongs to you” or literally “your part.”

The clause of what God has reserved for his people may be expressed as “of what God has designated for his people,” or “… set aside for his people,” or even “… promised to give to his people.”

His people: see 1.2.

In the kingdom of light represents the Greek “in the light.” The clue for the use of kingdom comes from the next verse, and it (or “realm”) is used here also by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bible en français courant New International Version Goodspeed Barclay Translator’s New Testament Twentieth Century New Testament. The kingdom of light is here a synonym for “the kingdom of God,” with emphasis on “the light,” that is, God’s own life, which shines on God’s people. Because of the extensive use of the figurative language for “light” and “darkness,” it is important to preserve the figurative significance and not to adopt merely an equivalent such as “the kingdom of God.” Some translators have employed a compromise expression such as “the kingdom of God, who is light” or even “the kingdom of God’s light.” At this point, it may be relevant to employ a footnote to identify the figurative significance of “light” versus “darkness,” for the contrast is not a matter of knowledge versus ignorance but of (1) moral and ethical truth in contrast with sin and disobedience, and (2) life in contrast with death. In a number of languages, there are very distinct words for “light” depending upon the nature of the light: (1) general light as in the case of daylight; (2) the light which radiates from a particular source such as a torch or lamp; and (3) unusual forms of light, as in the case of the northern lights (aurora borealis). Even the light of day may be subdivided into different aspects, for example, dawn before sunrise, early morning, midday, late afternoon, and twilight. In general the term which identifies the bright light of the day has the potential for greatest generalization of meaning and therefore is usually to be preferred to terms which may suggest only partial light or light coming from a lamp or a fire.

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 .