FOOTNOTES:

^a Traditionally, ‘apostle.’ However, ‘apostle’ isn’t a translation but taking the Greek word and putting it in English letters, or at least, it’s a translation to a word that clung so tightly to the Greek etymology that it lost its meaning. The word means ‘one who is sent.’ While ‘emissary’ is not a common word in English, it at least forces readers to pause to think about the meaning.

^b Traditionally, ‘saints.’

^c Or ‘Messiah.’ Literally, christos means ‘anointed’ and is a reference to the Hebrew Bible meshiah and the practice of placing oil on the head of the person God had directed a prophet to declare to be king. It is translated here as ‘Christ’ because of the context of Greek speaking original readers while in Matthew it is translated as ‘Messiah’ because of the context of Aramaic/Hebrew speaking original readers.

^d Traditionally, ‘grace.’ This has nothing to do with the theological arguments about salvation by grace/unmerited favor. This word carries a broad range of positive meaning, and there is no one right way to translate it. In this context, it’s well wishes for happiness and good circumstances, worthy of gratitude, that are received.

^e This word, while it may contain the concept of serenity, is much more about unity, harmony, secureness, wholeness, and integration. It’s the Greek counterpart, eirene, to the Hebrew shalom. The two words are not identical in meaning, but the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible uses eirene to translate shalom.

^f Every single instance of ‘you’ in Colossians is plural, and all verbs directed toward the audience are plural verb forms.

^g This is the literal meaning of this word. It is a symbol of being where God is or ‘with God’ or ‘in God’s presence.’ It is not specifically about a location where exists after death. Another translation that might feel more comfortable is ‘the heavens’ if that’s understood literally as ‘the sky’ and symbolically as ‘with God’ but it’s outdated English.

^h Traditionally, ‘good news’ or ‘gospel.’ Historically, the term was used of announcements when rulers were returning home after military victories.

ⁱ Traditionally, ‘grace.’ Maybe ‘acceptance’ maybe ‘favor’ maybe ‘positive regard’

^j I’m uncertain about this. The metaphor is supposed to be shocking, but I still think the context of an enslaved worker in first century Mediterranean world was different than in modern America, making it possibly problematic to translate it literally when it’s a metaphor for chosen dedication in service to God.

^k Or possibly ‘according to the standard of.’ According to Wallace (1996), ‘in’ is the best word to use to translate the Greek en if it is spatial or temporal, locating it in place or time. Most other uses of it are better served by other words.

^l Traditionally, ‘spirit’

^m Traditionally, ‘spiritual understanding.’ The word for ‘understanding’ literally means ‘putting together’ or ‘making connections.

ⁿ Traveling the “Path” as opposed to being tripped up and faltering or deviating from the Path

^o Traditionally, ‘glorious’

^p Possible reference to Isaiah 60:19-20

^q This is the same Greek word used for carved idols of polytheistic deities.

^r More natural in English would be “image of the unseen God” but it loses clarity in its connection to Genesis 1. Greek word order is much more flexible, so literally it says “image of God the unseen” which preserves the clarity. Also, the word means ‘not seen’ or ‘unseen.’ That could be because of being ‘invisible’ but the word is not as specific as that.

^s This phrase is unclear. The phrase is en auto. Auto is clear: ‘him.’ The preposition en can mean many things and is the most common preposition in Greek, and maybe least clear because of its many uses. The NET translates this as “in him,” which is technically possible grammatically, but then if you stop to ask what does that mean in context, and it starts to seem a little bit like nonsense. Several other translations translate it as ‘by,’ which is also possible and makes much more sense in English. However, it doesn’t seem to line up with the statement about being the firstborn over creation. Maybe it does if we’re assuming Jesus is God’s firstborn and not part of creation, just inheriting it as the firstborn, but the Gospels make it very clear Jesus was in fact part of Creation, an actual human person who lived and breathed. But the rest of the statements in this section also seem to stretch our imagination for what it means to be a human and part of Creation, so perhaps ‘by’ is the best choice. The way it’s translated here is “with him in mind” which is an attempt at using the “reference/respect” meaning of en that is listed as being translated as ‘with reference/respect to…’ which feels unnatural to use, so ‘with him in mind’ was used in its place.

^t What is a better way to say this? It means ‘that which is under the authority/power of a lord.’ Technically then, ‘dominion’ is accurate but sounds weird to modern ears. What about something like ‘areas under authority’?

^u Or ‘rulers’ from arche. See footnote about arche in verse 18.

^v This is dia and can be ‘through’ or ‘by’ here.

^w This word is eis and has many possible meanings, including ‘against.’ ‘For’ or ‘with reference to’ or ‘with’ or ‘by’ seem most likely in the context.

^x Literally, ‘is before.’ The meaning is not about time but about status. ‘Precedes’ or ‘outranks’ could be other ways to translate it. The context makes it clear that it’s not about time but about priority.

^y Part of me wants to translate this as the ‘gethering’ or ‘assembly’ because ‘church’ has become so loaded with baggage, but I think there’s a particular idea in view here that church still captures best, and it needs to be rescued from unhealthy usage.

^z This is the same word, arche, that is translated as ‘rulers’ in 1:16. It can mean both ‘beginning’ and ‘ruler/chief.’ While the word can be about the start of something, the connection with rulers or chief is the idea of primacy, being first in line, having the highest status. In this case, it seems to be used as a bit of a pun, playing on both first in time to be woken from the dead and also principal leader.

^aa This could also be ‘of’ or ‘over.’

^bb Traditionally and literally, ‘first.’ Both ‘firstborn’ and ‘the first’ both hold two meanings: chronologically before any others and most important, highest status/rank. The context makes clear that it’s talking about status and authority. See Matthew 19:30 and 20:16.

^cc Every other translation I checked has either the word ‘God’ or ‘Father’ added, but neither word is present in the Greek. The NET adds ‘his’ and ‘Son’ when it says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son.” Neither word is in the Greek. The Greek text does seem vague, but I believe these translators are assuming they already know what it means and making their translations fit their prior understanding. My version here may not be perfectly accurate and someone more skilled with Greek may be able to improve it, but I’m doing my best to go with what is there and not impose something else into the text.

^dd More literally, ‘through him’ or ‘by him,’ but it doesn’t quite flow in English. This wording conveys that he is the one doing it and flows better in English.

^ee Maybe ‘exluded’ but it seems not to be one directional but something experienced by them all, so maybe ‘excluded by each other’?

^ff We typically read this as reconciled with God, but the more I look at this paragraph, the more I think it means with each other.

^gg There are two possible ways to translate the Greek here. The way I’ve done it is a more common thinking, that the word sarx (traditionally ‘flesh’) is serving as a description for the word for body. If this is the intent, then it would be to distinguish between the literal body here and the ‘body of Christ’ used as a metaphor for the church (such as in Colossians 1:24). The other possibility is that this phrase uses a “genitive of means” which Wallace (1996) asserts is quite rare. If that’s the meaning, then it would read something ‘he has reconciled you into the body by his flesh/body.’

^hh In other places, I’ve used ‘dedicated’ or ‘designated’ when hagios is used about people, but any other uses have been ‘sacred.’ It seems better to me to use ‘sacred’ here too.

ⁱⁱ Literally, ‘unaccused according to his face’ or more comprehensibly ‘unaccused according to his sight/perspective.’

^jj The tradition is that this letter was written from prison, having been arrested for announcing the news of Christ’s victory, including in Colossae.

^kk Literally, ‘fill up completely’ or ‘supplement’

^ll This word is thlipsis, and literally means ‘a pressing together/pressure’ and is used metaphorically for affliction or oppression. The word for ‘endure hardships’ is pathema and can mean the outward events that cause suffering or the inner experience of suffering, or the act of enduring hardship.

^mm Here ‘my body’ is sarx, which is traditionally translated ‘flesh.’ The phrase ‘his body’ is soma, which is traditionally translated ‘body.’ Current English speakers usually use ‘body’ for both of the ideas expressed. Soma captures the body as a whole, ‘a body.’ Sarx captures the idea of bodily substance, like saying, “I feel anxiety in my body, in my stomach,” or a pregnant woman might say during a craving, “My body wants chocolate,” or one could say when one experiences an adrenaline rush when faced with an aggressive dog, “My body is trying to protect me.” Sarx is the stuff that makes up the body instead of the body as a whole, but in English we either get more specific and say, ‘my bone’ or ‘my muscle’ or ‘my arm,’ or we are more general and say ‘body.’ While ‘flesh’ still exists in the language and is technically correct, it’s much less commonly used.

ⁿⁿ I added the word ‘benefit’ for clarity. The Greek literally says ‘for you.’

^oo ‘For me’ is not in the Greek and is added for clarity.

^pp ‘People groups in addition to Jews’ here is ethnoi, traditionally, ‘Gentiles’ or ‘nations.’

^qq Traditionally, ‘glory.’ The word is doxe, and it has to do with visible presence and being revealed in honor. When referring to God, there is an association with light (See Matthew 17). In Matthew 25, Jesus predicts his own arrival in ‘glory’ referring to when he would be on display on the cross for all to see.

^rr This preposition is en, and it can mean many things, including ‘in,’ ‘with,’ ‘by,’ ‘among,’ ‘to,’ and ‘through.’ Traditionally, ‘in’ has been used here. ‘In’ seems to be what is used when the translators don’t want to take too clear a stance on what the text is saying and leave it up to readers to interpret.

^ss The preposition is en again. This example seems to be used to show “standard” which is listed in the reference book as ‘according to the standard of.’ That idea is what I am trying to convey by using the word ‘like’ here.