This verse, giving the five virtues which the Colossians are to put on, begins a sentence which continues in verse 13, with its emphasis upon the need for forgiveness, and ends with verse 14, which gives the sixth virtue, love, as the one which binds the other virtues in a perfect whole.

The imperative “put on” (Revised Standard Version), with which the verse begins, is a consequence of what is said in verses 9-10 you have put off the old self … and have put on the new self. It is probably still the language of baptism, the fresh garment the baptized person puts on (see especially Gal 3.27). The imperative is justified by the fact that the Colossians are “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” (Revised Standard Version), terms used in the OT of Israel and applied in the NT to believers as the new Israel, the true people of God. Good News Translation has changed the order, placing you are the people of God (Revised Standard Version “holy”) first (see 1.2). The expression he loved you translates the passive participle (Revised Standard Version “beloved”), also used in 1 Thes 1.4, 2 Thes 2.13 (see also the passive adjective in Rom 11.28). The third, “God’s chosen ones” (Revised Standard Version), is also represented in Good News Translation by the active he … chose you for his own (compare Rom 8.33).

There is an inherent problem of interpretation in a literal rendering of you are the people of God, for this could be interpreted in an exclusive sense, that is to say, that the believers in Colossae were the only people of God. It may, therefore, be necessary to say “you are part of the people of God” or “you belong to the people of God.” On the other hand, a more natural expression in some languages is simply “you belong to God.”

In choosing an appropriate term to render loved, especially in speaking of God’s love for people, there may be a number of difficulties because of special connotations involved in local terms for “love.” The three major distinctions in many languages are (1) love of parents for children (and sometimes conversely children for parents), (2) sexual love, and (3) love between friends. More often than not in speaking of God’s love for people, a term related to parental love seems to be the most appropriate and the least likely to introduce wrong associations of meaning.

Chose you for his own may be expressed as “chose you in order that you could belong to him” or “chose you in order to possess you.”

As in verses 9 and 10, it may not be possible to employ the figurative expression you must clothe yourselves with, since this might suggest something rather temporary and even superficial, that is to say, “putting on an outward appearance of something.” Therefore, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience must be rendered as “you must show compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” In a number of languages, however, these five virtues cannot be expressed as nouns (see below).

On the basis of their status described by these three terms, the Colossians are to “clothe” themselves with five virtues: (1) compassion translates the biblical “bowels of mercy” (compare King James Version), a feeling of sympathy for the needs and sufferings of others; (2) kindness (also 2 Cor 6.6, Gal 5.22, Eph 2.7) is a ready disposition to listen and respond to others; (3) humility is the recognition of the fact that all are of equal value in God’s sight (see especially Phil 2.3), which makes it impossible for a Christian to be arrogant in his relation with a fellow Christian (see the contrasting false humility in 2.18, 23); (4) gentleness (Revised Standard Version “meekness”) is closely allied to the previous virtues, and is a consequence of it (see Gal 6.1, 2 Tim 2.25); (5) patience, the attitude of forbearance and tolerance, is regularly listed as one of the prime Christian virtues (2 Cor 6.6, Gal 5.22, Eph 4.2, 2 Tim 3.10, 4.2).

Compassion is often expressed in figurative language, for example, “your heart should go out to others,” or “you should feel sorrow in your heart for others,” or “you should weep in your insides because of others.”

Kindness may be expressed as “be kind to others” or “do good for others.”

As in so many contexts, humility is best expressed as a negation of pride, for example, “do not be proud” or “do not think that you are better than other people.”

Gentleness may likewise be expressed frequently as a negation of something that is wrong, for example, “do not be harsh in dealing with others” or “do not be hard in your thought toward others.”

Patience may be expressed as “putting up with people a long time” or “suffering long because of people” and expressed negatively, “not being irritated with people.”

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 .