16:21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my compatriots. 1 16:22 I, Tertius, who am writing this letter, greet you in the Lord.
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, 3 these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave 4 of Christ, 5 greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured 6 in all the will of God. 4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard 7 for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 4:14 Our dear friend Luke the physician and Demas greet you.
1:23 Epaphras, 8 my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you. 1:24 Mark, Aristarchus, 9 Demas 10 and Luke, my colaborers, greet you too.
1 tn Grk “kinsmen, relatives, fellow countrymen.”
2 tn Grk “But,” translated here as “Yet” for stylistic reasons (note the use of “but” in v. 2).
3 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.
4 tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.
5 tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì46 D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA27 has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
6 tn Or “filled.”
7 tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.
8 sn Epaphras is probably a shortened form of the name Epaphroditus. This is probably the same individual whom Paul spoke of as “my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier” in Phil 2:25 (see also Phil 4:18). He is also mentioned in Col 1:7 and 4:12, where he is a founder of the church in Colossae (BDAG 360 s.v. ᾿Επαφρᾶς).
9 sn Aristarchus accompanied Paul on his collection-journey when Paul left for Rome in Acts 27:2. He is also mentioned as a fellow prisoner in Col 4:10.
10 sn Demas is most likely the same individual mentioned by the Apostle Paul in 2 Tim 4:10. Apparently, he later on abandoned the faith because of his love of the world.