Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ¹  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ² 

Colossians 4:12

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ³  of Christ, ⁴  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁵  in all the will of God.

---

¹ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

² tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

³ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn Or “filled.”