Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ¹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 2:12

2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ³  faith in the power ⁴  of God who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:19

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 

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 3:17

3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 4:3

4:3 At the same time pray ⁸  for us too, that ⁹  God may open a door for the message ¹⁰  so that we may proclaim ¹¹  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ¹² 

Colossians 4:11

4:11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, ¹³  these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

---

¹ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

² tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

³ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

⁴ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

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

⁶ tn See BDAG 387 s.v. ἐπιχορηγέω 3.

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

⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ tn Or “so that we may speak.”

¹² tn Or “in prison.”

¹³ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” The verse as a whole is difficult to translate because it is unclear whether Paul is saying (1) that the only people working with him are Jewish converts at the time the letter is being written or previously, or (2) that Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus were the only Jewish Christians who ever worked with him. Verses 12-14 appear to indicate that Luke and Demas, who were Gentiles, were also working currently with Paul. This is the view adopted in the translation. See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 207-8.