Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 4:7

Personal Greetings and Instructions

4:7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave ²  in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ³ 

Colossians 4:9

4:9 I sent him ⁴  with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. ⁵  They will tell ⁶  you about everything here.

Colossians 3:13

3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving ⁷  one another, if someone happens to have ⁸  a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. ⁹ 

Colossians 4:10-11

4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him). 4:11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, ¹⁰  these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

² tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

³ tn Grk “all things according to me.”

³ tn The Greek sentence continues v. 9 with the phrase “with Onesimus,” but this is awkward in English, so the verb “I sent” was inserted and a new sentence started at the beginning of v. 9 in the translation.

⁴ tn Grk “is of you.”

⁵ tn Grk “will make known to you.” This has been simplified in the translation to “will tell.”

⁴ tn For the translation of χαριζόμενοι (carizomenoi) as “forgiving,” see BDAG 1078 s.v. χαρίζομαι 3. The two participles “bearing” (ἀνεχόμενοι, anecomenoi) and “forgiving” (χαριζόμενοι) express the means by which the action of the finite verb “clothe yourselves” is to be carried out.

⁵ tn Grk “if someone has”; the term “happens,” though not in the Greek text, is inserted to bring out the force of the third class condition.

⁶ tn The expression “forgive others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It is included in the translation to make the sentence complete and more comprehensible to the English reader.

⁵ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” The verse as a whole is difficult to translate because it is unclear whether Paul is saying (1) that the only people working with him are Jewish converts at the time the letter is being written or previously, or (2) that Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus were the only Jewish Christians who ever worked with him. Verses 12-14 appear to indicate that Luke and Demas, who were Gentiles, were also working currently with Paul. This is the view adopted in the translation. See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 207-8.