Colossians 2:5

2:5 For though ¹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²  your morale ³  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:7

2:7 rooted ⁴  and built up in him and firm ⁵  in your ⁶  faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ⁷  without shifting ⁸  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 4:12

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁹  of Christ, ¹⁰  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ¹¹  in all the will of God.

[2:5]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ³ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[2:7]  ⁴ tn Or “having been rooted.”

[2:7]  ⁵ sn The three participles rooted, built up, and firm belong together and reflect three different metaphors. The first participle “rooted” (perfect tense) indicates a settled condition on the part of the Colossian believers and refers to horticulture. The second participle “built up” (present passive) comes from the world of architecture. The third participle “firm [established]” (present passive) comes from the law courts. With these three metaphors (as well as the following comment on thankfulness) Paul explains what he means when he commands them to continue to live their lives in Christ. The use of the passive probably reflects God’s activity among them. It was he who had rooted them, had been building them up, and had established them in the faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-15 for the use of mixed metaphors).

[2:7]  ⁶ tn The Greek text has the article τῇ (th), not the possessive pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn), but the article often functions as a possessive pronoun and was translated as such here (ExSyn 215).

[1:23]  ⁷ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ⁸ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[4:12]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ¹¹ 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.

[4:12]  ¹² tn Or “filled.”