Acts 20:29

20:29 I know that after I am gone ¹  fierce wolves ²  will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Colossians 2:18-23

2:18 Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths ³  about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. ⁴  2:19 He has not held fast ⁵  to the head from whom the whole body, supported ⁶  and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ⁷ 

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ⁸  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? 2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are ⁹  on human commands and teachings. ¹⁰  2:23 Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ¹¹  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ¹²  achieved by an ¹³  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ¹⁴ 

Colossians 2:2

2:2 My goal is that ¹⁵  their hearts, having been knit together ¹⁶  in love, may be encouraged, and that ¹⁷  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ¹⁸ 

Colossians 2:17-18

2:17 these are only ¹⁹  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ²⁰  is Christ! ²¹  2:18 Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths ²²  about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. ²³ 

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ²⁴  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ²⁵ 

Colossians 2:18

2:18 Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths ²⁶  about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. ²⁷ 

Colossians 4:3

4:3 At the same time pray ²⁸  for us too, that ²⁹  God may open a door for the message ³⁰  so that we may proclaim ³¹  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ³² 

[20:29]  ¹ tn Grk “after my departure.”

[20:29]  ² tn That is, people like fierce wolves. See BDAG 167-68 s.v. βαρύς 4 on the term translated “fierce.” The battle that will follow would be a savage one.

[2:18]  ³ tn For the various views on the translation of ἐμβατεύων (embateuwn), see BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμβατεύω 4. The idea in this context seems to be that the individual in question loves to talk on and on about his spiritual experiences, but in reality they are only coming out of his own sinful flesh.

[2:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “by the mind of his flesh.” In the translation above, σαρκός (sarkos) is taken as an attributive genitive. The phrase could also be translated “by his sinful thoughts,” since it appears that Paul is using σάρξ (sarx, “flesh”) here in a morally negative way.

[2:19]  ⁵ tn The Greek participle κρατῶν (kratwn) was translated as a finite verb to avoid an unusually long and pedantic sentence structure in English.

[2:19]  ⁶ tn See BDAG 387 s.v. ἐπιχορηγέω 3.

[2:19]  ⁷ tn The genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of source, “from God.”

[2:20]  ⁸ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.

[2:22]  ⁹ tn The expression “founded as they are” brings out the force of the Greek preposition κατά (kata).

[2:22]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “The commands and teachings of men.”

[2:23]  ¹¹ tn Grk “having a word of wisdom.”

[2:23]  ¹² tn Though the apostle uses the term ταπεινοφροσύνῃ (tapeinofrosunh) elsewhere in a positive sense (cf. 3:12), here the sense is negative and reflects the misguided thinking of Paul’s opponents.

[2:23]  ¹³ tc ‡ The vast bulk of witnesses, including some important ones (א A C D F G H Ψ 075 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy), have καί (kai) here, but the shorter reading is supported by some early and important witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ B 1739 b m Hil Ambst Spec). The καί looks to be a motivated reading in that it makes ἀφειδία (afeidia) “the third in a series of datives after ἐν, rather than an instrumental dative qualifying the previous prepositional phrase” (TCGNT 556). At the same time, the omission of καί could possibly have been unintentional. A decision is difficult, but the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ puts καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[2:23]  ¹⁴ tn The translation understands this verse to contain a concessive subordinate clause within the main clause. The Greek particle μέν (men) is the second word of the embedded subordinate clause. The phrase οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι (ouk en timh tini) modifies the subordinate clause, and the main clause resumes with the preposition πρός (pros). The translation has placed the subordinate clause first in order for clarity instead of retaining its embedded location. For a detailed discussion of this grammatical construction, see B. Hollenbach, “Col 2:23: Which Things Lead to the Fulfillment of the Flesh,” NTS 25 (1979): 254-61.

[2:2]  ¹⁵ tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (Jina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians – the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou qeou, Cristou, “of God, Christ”; so Ì⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 075 0278 365 1505 pc). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.

[2:17]  ¹⁹ tn The word “only,” though not in the Greek text, is supplied in the English translation to bring out the force of the Greek phrase.

[2:17]  ²⁰ tn Grk “but the body of Christ.” The term body here, when used in contrast to shadow (σκιά, skia) indicates the opposite meaning, i.e., the reality or substance itself.

[2:17]  ²¹ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”

[2:18]  ²² tn For the various views on the translation of ἐμβατεύων (embateuwn), see BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμβατεύω 4. The idea in this context seems to be that the individual in question loves to talk on and on about his spiritual experiences, but in reality they are only coming out of his own sinful flesh.

[2:18]  ²³ tn Grk “by the mind of his flesh.” In the translation above, σαρκός (sarkos) is taken as an attributive genitive. The phrase could also be translated “by his sinful thoughts,” since it appears that Paul is using σάρξ (sarx, “flesh”) here in a morally negative way.

[2:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[2:18]  ²⁶ tn For the various views on the translation of ἐμβατεύων (embateuwn), see BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμβατεύω 4. The idea in this context seems to be that the individual in question loves to talk on and on about his spiritual experiences, but in reality they are only coming out of his own sinful flesh.

[2:18]  ²⁷ tn Grk “by the mind of his flesh.” In the translation above, σαρκός (sarkos) is taken as an attributive genitive. The phrase could also be translated “by his sinful thoughts,” since it appears that Paul is using σάρξ (sarx, “flesh”) here in a morally negative way.

[4:3]  ²⁸ tn Though προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) is an adverbial participle related to the previous imperative, προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite), it is here translated as an independent clause due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:3]  ²⁹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been rendered as substantival here, indicating the content of the prayer rather than the purpose for it. These two ideas are very similar and difficult to differentiate in this passage, but the conjunction ἵνα following a verb of praying is generally regarded as giving the content of the prayer.

[4:3]  ³⁰ tn Grk “that God may open for us a door of the word to speak the mystery of Christ.” The construction in Greek is somewhat awkward in this clause. The translation attempts to simplify this structure somewhat and yet communicate exactly what Paul is asking for.

[4:3]  ³¹ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

[4:3]  ³² tn Or “in prison.”