3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters, 1 rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
3:2 Beware of the dogs, 2 beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! 3
1:1 From Paul, 4 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful 5 brothers and sisters 6 in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you 7 from God our Father! 8
1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.
2 sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.
3 tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”
4 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
5 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.
6 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).
7 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
8 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
9 tc ‡ Most witnesses have ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”) either after (א2 A [D* ὑμᾶς] 6 33 326 614 945 1881 Ï Tertpt Ambst) or before (Ì51vid B H 0278 630 1175 [1739* ἡμῖν]) εὐαγγελίζηται (euaggelizhtai, “should preach” [or some variation on the form of this verb]). But the fact that it floats suggests its inauthenticity, especially since it appears to be a motivated reading for purposes of clarification. The following witnesses lack the pronoun: א* F G Ψ ar b g Cyp McionT Tertpt Lcf. The external evidence admittedly is not as weighty as evidence for the pronoun, but coupled with strong internal evidence the shorter reading should be considered original. Although it is possible that scribes may have deleted the pronoun to make Paul’s statement seem more universal, the fact that the pronoun floats suggests otherwise. NA27 has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
10 tn Or “other than the one we preached to you.”
11 tn Grk “let him be accursed” (ἀνάθεμα, anaqema). The translation gives the outcome which is implied by this dreadful curse.