Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:29

1:29 Toward this goal ²  I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully ³  works in me.

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁴ 

Colossians 2:15

2:15 Disarming ⁵  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ⁶ 

Colossians 2:10

2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Colossians 2:12

2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ⁷  faith in the power ⁸  of God who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 1:16

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ⁹  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

Colossians 1:19

1:19 For God ¹⁰  was pleased to have all his ¹¹  fullness dwell ¹²  in the Son ¹³ 

Colossians 3:12

Exhortation to Unity and Love

3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, ¹⁴  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ¹⁵  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Colossians 2:20

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ¹⁶  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:5

3:5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: ¹⁷  sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, ¹⁸  evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.

Colossians 2:5

2:5 For though ¹⁹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²⁰  your morale ²¹  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:8

2:8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you ²²  through an empty, deceitful philosophy ²³  that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits ²⁴  of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ²⁵  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ²⁶  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

[1:11]  ¹ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:29]  ² tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis Jo, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”

[1:29]  ³ tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”

[1:13]  ³ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[2:15]  ⁴ tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ⁵ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).

[2:12]  ⁵ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ⁶ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[1:16]  ⁶ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:19]  ⁷ tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

[1:19]  ⁸ tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

[1:19]  ⁹ tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

[1:19]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:12]  ⁸ tn If the genitive construct σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (splancna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.

[1:4]  ⁹ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.

[3:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”

[3:5]  ¹² tn Or “lust.”

[2:5]  ¹² tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).

[2:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ¹⁴ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[2:8]  ¹³ tn The Greek construction here is somewhat difficult and can be literally rendered “Be careful, lest someone shall be the one who takes you captive.”

[2:8]  ¹⁴ tn The Greek reads τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης (th" filosofia" kai kenh" apath"). The two nouns φιλοσοφίας and κενῆς are joined by one article and probably form a hendiadys. Thus the second noun was taken as modifying the first, as the translation shows.

[2:8]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (kata ta stoiceia tou kosmou) is difficult to translate because of problems surrounding the precise meaning of στοιχεῖα in this context. Originally it referred to the letters of the alphabet, with the idea at its root of “things in a row”; see C. Vaughn, “Colossians,” EBC 11:198. M. J. Harris (Colossians and Philemon [EGGNT], 93) outlines three probable options: (1) the material elements which comprise the physical world; (2) the elementary teachings of the world (so NEB, NASB, NIV); (3) the elemental spirits of the world (so NEB, RSV). The first option is highly unlikely because Paul is not concerned here with the physical elements, e.g., carbon or nitrogen. The last two options are both possible. Though the Gnostic-like heresy at Colossae would undoubtedly have been regarded by Paul as an “elementary teaching” at best, because the idea of “spirits” played such a role in Gnostic thought, he may very well have had in mind elemental spirits that operated in the world or controlled the world (i.e., under God’s authority and permission).

[1:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.