Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ²  to fill ³  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:17

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ⁵  in him.

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ⁶  without shifting ⁷  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Colossians 1:25

1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ⁸  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ⁹  the word of God,

Hebrews 13:18

13:18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves rightly in every respect.

[1:9]  ¹ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ² tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ³ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:17]  ⁵ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[1:23]  ⁶ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ⁷ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[1:25]  ⁸ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

[1:25]  ⁹ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.