5:1 Now 12 Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, 13 and the crowd was pressing around him 14 to hear the word of God.
1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, 15 whether things on earth or things in heaven.
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your 16 minds 17 as expressed through 18 your evil deeds, 1:22 but now he has reconciled you 19 by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him –
1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, 24 whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.
1 tn Heb “two rivers,” perhaps under the influence of Zech 14:8. The translation follows the LXX and other ancient versions in reading the singular, which is demanded by the context (see vv. 5-7, 9b, 12).
2 tn Heb “will be healed.”
3 sn The Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea (also in vv. 15, 19, 20).
4 tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”
5 sn The expression followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.
6 tn Or “business associates.”
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
8 sn From now on is a common Lukan expression, see Luke 1:48.
9 tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ pronouncement.
11 sn The expression left everything and followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.
12 tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
13 sn The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee. Cf. the parallel in Matt 4:18.
14 sn The image of the crowd pressing around him suggests the people leaning forward to catch Jesus’ every word.
15 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.
16 tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
17 tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
18 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.
19 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.
20 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
21 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
22 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
23 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these
24 tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.