¹tc Certain mss (B^[*^] D1 H 0278 1739 Ï sy sa) read hJmw'n (Jhmwn, “our”), while others (Ì46 Í C D* F G P Y 075 33 81 1881 al latt bo) read uJmw'n (Jumwn, “your”). Internally, it is possible that the second person pronoun arose through scribal conformity to the second person pronoun used previously in v. 3 (i.e., uJmw'n) and following in v. 4 (uJmei'", Jumeis). But in terms of external criteria, the second person pronoun has superior ms support (though there is an Alexandrian split) and hJmw'n may have arisen through accident (error of sight) or scribal attempt to universalize the statement since all Christians have Jesus as their life. See TCGNT 557.
²tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. mevlo" 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”
³tn Or “lust.”
⁴tc The words ejpiV touV" uiJouV" th'" ajpeiqeiva" (epi tou" Juiou" th" apeiqeia", “on the sons of disobedience”) are lacking in Ì46 B b sa, but are found in Í A C D F G H I Y 075 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy bo. The words are omitted by several English translations (NASB, NIV, ESV, TNIV). This textual problem is quite difficult to resolve. On the one hand, the parallel account in Eph 5:6 has these words, thus providing scribes a motive for adding them here. On the other hand, the reading without the words may be too hard: The ejn oi|" (en |oi") of v. 7 seems to have no antecedent without uiJouv" already in the text, although it could possibly be construed as neuter referring to the vice list in v. 5. Further, although the witness of B is especially important, there are other places in which B and Ì46 share errant readings of omission. Nevertheless, the strength of the internal evidence against the longer reading is at least sufficient to cause doubt here. The decision to retain the words in the text is less than certain.
sn The expression sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” In this context it refers to “all those who are disobedient.” Cf. Eph 5:6.
⁵tn Grk “you also walked.” The verb peripatevw (peripatew) is commonly used in the NT to refer to behavior or conduct of one’s life (L&N 41.11).
⁶tn The Greek article with taV pavnta (ta panta) is anaphoric, referring to the previous list of vices, and has been translated here as “all such things.”
⁷sn Put off all such things. The commands in vv. 8-9 are based on two reasons given in vv. 9-10—reasons which are expressed in terms of a metaphor about clothing oneself. Paul says that they have put off the old man and have put on the new man. Two things need to be discussed in reference to Paul’s statement. (1) What is the meaning of the clothing imagery (i.e., the “have put off” and “have been clothed”)? (2) What is the meaning of the old man and the new man? Though some commentators understand the participles “have put off” (v. 9) and “have been clothed” (v. 10) as imperatives (i.e., “put off!” and “put on!”), this use of participles is extremely rare in the NT and thus unlikely here. It is better to take them as having the semantic force of indicatives, and thus they give an explanation of what had happened to the Colossians at the time of their conversion—they had taken off the old man and put on the new when they trusted in Christ (cf. 1:4). While it is difficult to say for certain what the background to Paul’s “clothing” metaphor might be (whether it is primarily Jewish and comes from the OT, or primarily Gentile and comes from some facet of the Greco-Roman religious milieu), it is nonetheless clear, on the basis of Paul’s usage of the expression, that the old man refers to man as he is in Adam and dominated by sin (cf. Rom 6:6; Eph 4:22), while the new man refers to the Christian whose new sphere of existence is in Christ. Though the metaphor of clothing oneself primarily reflects outward actions, there is a distinct inward aspect to it, as the rest of v. 10 indicates: being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. Paul’s point, then, is that Christians should take off their dirty clothing (inappropriate behavior) and put on clean clothing (behavior consistent with knowing Christ) because this has already been accomplished in a positional sense at the time of their conversion (cf. Gal 3:27 with Rom 13:14).
⁸tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.
⁹tn If the genitive construct splavgcna oijktirmou' (splancna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.
¹⁰tn For the translation of carizovmenoi (carizomenoi) as “forgiving,” see BDAG 1078 s.v. carivzomai 3. The two participles “bearing” (ajnecovmenoi, anecomenoi) and “forgiving” (carizovmenoi) express the means by which the action of the finite verb “clothe yourselves” is to be carried out.
¹¹tn Grk “if someone has”; the term “happens,” though not in the Greek text, is inserted to bring out the force of the third class condition.
¹²tn The expression “forgive others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It is included in the translation to make the sentence complete and more comprehensible to the English reader.
¹³tn BDAG 365 s.v. ejpiv 7 suggests “to all these” as a translation for ejpiV pa'sin deV touvtoi" (epi pasin de toutoi").
¹⁴tn The term “virtues” is not in the Greek text, but is included in the translation to specify the antecedent and to make clear the sense of the pronoun “these.”
¹⁵tn The verb “add,” though not in the Greek text, is implied, picking up the initial imperative “clothe yourselves.”
¹⁶tn The genitive th'" teleiovthto" (th" teleiothto") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “the perfect bond.”
¹⁷tn Grk “in one body.” This phrase emphasizes the manner in which the believers were called, not the goal of their calling, and focuses upon their unity.
¹⁸tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (kurivou [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in Í* I 1175 pc bo; qeou' [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Cristou' (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì46 Í2 B C2 D F G Y 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Cristou' is strongly preferred.
¹⁹tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.
²⁰tn The article toi'" (tois) with ajndravsin (andrasin, “husbands”) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (“your”); see ExSyn 215.
²¹tn Or perhaps “Parents.” The plural oiJ patevre" (Joi patere", “fathers”) can be used to refer to both the male and female parent (BDAG 786 s.v. pathvr 1.a).
²²tn Or “do not cause your children to become resentful” (L&N 88.168). BDAG 391 s.v. ejreqivzw states, “to cause someone to react in a way that suggests acceptance of a challenge, arouse, provoke mostly in bad sense irritate, embitter.”
²³tn On this word here and in 4:1, see the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.
²⁴tn The prepositional phrase kataV savrka (kata sarka) does not necessarily qualify the masters as earthly or human (as opposed to the Master in heaven, the Lord), but could also refer to the sphere in which “the service-relation holds true.” See BDAG 577 s.v. kuvrio" 1.b.
²⁵tn The present progressive “are doing” was used in the translation of poih'te (poihte) to bring out the idea that Paul is probably referring to what they already do for work.
²⁶tn Grk “from the soul.”
²⁷tn Grk “men”; here ajnqrwvpoi" (anqrwpoi") is used in a generic sense and refers to people in general.
²⁸tn The article th'" (ths) has been translated as a possessive pronoun, “your” (ExSyn 215). It may also be functioning to indicate a well-known concept (inheritance as eternal life). See BDAG 548 s.v. klhronomiva 3: “common in Christian usage (corresp. to the LXX) (the possession of) transcendent salvation (as the inheritance of God’s children).”
²⁹tn The genitive th'" klhronomiva" (th" klhronomia") is a genitive of apposition: The reward consists of the inheritance.
³⁰tn The form of the term douleuvete (douleuete) is ambiguous; it can be read as either indicative or imperative. In favor of the indicative: (1) it seems to explain better the first part of v. 24, esp. “from the Lord” which would then read as: “because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as a reward for it is the Lord you are serving.” The “for” is supplied to make the relation explicit (it is actually added in many mss—D1 Y 075 Ï—but the best ms evidence is against its inclusion). (2) With the imperative, one might expect wJ" tw/' kurivw/ (Jw" tw kuriw),/ as for example in Eph 6:7. In favor of the imperative: (1) an imperative resumes the ejrgavzesqe (ergazesqe) in v. 23a and forms a chiasm with it; (2) an imperative makes more sense of the gavr (gar) in v. 25a; (3) an imperative relates equally well to the preceding statement; (4) a parallel can be found in Rom 12:11 which uses an imperatival participle douleuvonte" (douleuonte") with the dative tw/' kurivw/. For an elaboration of these points see M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 185-86.
³¹tn Grk “that which he did wrong.”
sn It is a common theme in biblical thought that punishment for sin involves being fully given over to its consequences (cf. Rom 1), and this is also true of believers. Here Paul’s implication is that believers who sin and disobey the Lord whom they serve will receive the consequences of their actions, which is a fitting discipline.
³²tn The Greek word used here is proswpolhmyiva (proswpolhmyia) and is usually translated “partiality.” It is used to describe unjust or unrighteous favoritism (Rom 2:11, Eph 6:9, Jas 2:1). When it comes to disciplining his children for their sins, God will treat all equally with no partiality.