Colossians 2:20

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ¹  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?

Colossians 1:24

1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

Colossians 3:7

3:7 You also lived your lives ²  in this way at one time, when you used to live among them.

Colossians 4:18

4:18 I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand. ³  Remember my chains. ⁴  Grace be with you. ⁵ 

Colossians 2:5

2:5 For though ⁶  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ⁷  your morale ⁸  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ⁹  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ¹⁰  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

[2:20]  ¹ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.

[3:7]  ² tn Grk “you also walked.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is commonly used in the NT to refer to behavior or conduct of one’s life (L&N 41.11).

[4:18]  ³ tn Grk “the greeting by my hand, of Paul.”

[4:18]  ⁴ tn Or “my imprisonment.”

[4:18]  ⁵ tc Most witnesses, including a few important ones (א² D Ψ 075 0278 Ï lat sy), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the external evidence for the omission is quite compelling (א* A B C F G 048 6 33 81 1739* 1881 sa). The strongly preferred reading is therefore the omission of ἀμήν.

[2:5]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ⁶ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[1:6]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.