20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging 9 them and saying farewell, 10 he left to go to Macedonia. 11
1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, 12 whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.
1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together 13 in him.
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your 14 minds 15 as expressed through 16 your evil deeds,
1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, 17 whether things on earth or things in heaven.
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your 18 minds 19 as expressed through 20 your evil deeds, 1:22 but now he has reconciled you 21 by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him – 1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, 22 without shifting 23 from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.
1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship 24 from God – given to me for you – in order to complete 25 the word of God, 1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints.
1 sn On the first day. This is the first mention of a Sunday gathering (1 Cor 16:2).
2 tn Or “assembled.”
3 tn The verb διαλέγομαι (dialegomai) is frequently used of Paul addressing Jews in the synagogue. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21. In the context of a Christian gathering, it is preferable to translate διελέγετο (dielegeto) simply as “speak” here. The imperfect verb διελέγετο has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
4 tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”
5 tn Or “prolonged.”
6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Grk “going back upstairs.” The participle ἀναβάς (anabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
8 tn Grk “talking with them.” The participle ὁμιλήσας (Jomilhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9 tn Or “exhorting.”
10 tn Or “and taking leave of them.”
11 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
12 tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.
13 tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.
14 tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
15 tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
16 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.
17 tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì46 א A C D1 Ψ 048vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.
18 tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
19 tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
20 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.
21 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.
22 tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”
23 tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.
24 tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”
25 tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.