Discovery BoxColossians 1:18 
Context1:18 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
Context4:12 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.”
