1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your 9 minds 10 as expressed through 11 your evil deeds,
1:1 From Paul, 12 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, 15 and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. 16
2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, 17 and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. 18
1 tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”
2 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
3 sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.
4 tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
5 sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.
6 sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).
7 tn Grk “said.”
8 tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”
9 tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
10 tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
11 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.
12 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
13 tn The expression “founded as they are” brings out the force of the Greek preposition κατά (kata).
14 tn Grk “The commands and teachings of men.”
15 tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”
16 tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”
17 tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”
18 tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”