Parents is how Good News Translation translates hoi pateres (also Jerusalem Bible Bible de Jérusalem Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); all others have “fathers.” The plural of the word for “father” may be used in the sense of “parents” (see Heb 11.23); but the more common word for “parents” is used in verse 20, and it probably is true that in this verse it is the fathers who are being addressed, not both the fathers and the mothers.

In place of the vocative expression parents, it may be appropriate in some languages to use a qualifying clause, for example, “you who have children.”

Irritate translates erethizō “to provoke, nag, embitter, make resentful.” The situation envisaged seems to be that of the father constantly correcting and reprimanding the child for every little wrong or imagined wrong. It may be important to make more explicit the significance of irritate, for example, “to make your children bitter by always complaining about what they do” or “do not make your children angry by always criticizing them for everything they do.”

Discouraged translates a Greek word found only here in the NT; in this context, it means that the child feels that he can never do anything right and so gives up trying.

Discouraged may often be expressed idiomatically as “they will no longer have a heart,” “they will close their minds to everything,” or “they will hide inside of themselves.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Good News Translation your Christian duty represents the prepositional phrase en kuriō which appears in Greek at the end of the verse. The whole Greek phrase “is pleasing in the Lord” is unusual and does not seem to be exactly equal to the normal dative phrase “pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5.10). The word “pleasing” is here in Greek (euareston) probably to be taken absolutely, that is, “pleasing to God,” and the prepositional phrase en kuriō may be taken in the same way as it is taken in verse 18 (see Lightfoot, Moule). So Good News Translation represents en kuriō by your Christian duty and euareston by what pleases God. New English Bible has “that is pleasing to God and is the Christian way,” Translator’s New Testament “this is pleasing to God and is what Christians should do”; see also Barclay Bible en français courant.

Your Christian duty must sometimes be rephrased as “as Christians you should” or “since you are Christians, you must.”

In a number of languages, there are quite distinct words for children depending upon the age. The most frequent distinctions involve (1) babies before they are weaned, (2) small children before they can talk satisfactorily, (3) children from the age of speaking until puberty, and (4) adolescents from the age of puberty until marriage. Probably the most satisfactory term is one which would designate children between the age of speaking until the age of puberty, though if at all possible, a more general expression should be employed.

Though in the Greek text the term parents refers specifically to father and mother, it seems rather anomalous in some languages to speak of “obeying your father and mother,” when in reality children are normally expected to obey the mother and the maternal uncle, that is to say, the brother of the mother. It is not advisable to try to introduce a cultural adaptation by introducing “mother and mother’s brother,” but it may be useful to employ a term for parents which designates a somewhat wider class of adults in the extended family.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Love (compare 3.14). Though in this context love relates to the relationship between husband and wife, it should not focus upon sexual attraction but upon “tender care for,” equivalent in some languages to “show tender appreciation for.” As in the case of wives, it may also be important to address husbands as “you men who are married.”

Unless the translation is carefully worded, it may in some languages suggest that a husband should have more than one wife (the same type of problem may also occur in verse 18); therefore, it may be necessary to translate husbands, love your wives as “each of your husbands should love his wife.” Similarly, then, in the second part of the sentence the translation should read, “do not be harsh with her.”

Be harsh translates the verb pikrainō, “to make bitter,” used literally in Rev 8.11, 10.9, 10. Here it is used figuratively “be embittered against, be cruel to, be harsh with” (so most translations). Do not be harsh may be rendered idiomatically as “do not treat her like a maid” or “do not make a slave of her.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Submit yourselves represents the Greek hupotassomai, a term used in military contexts of a subordinate’s relationship to his superior in the army hierarchy. It is used of a wife’s relation to her husband in Eph 5.22, Titus 2.5, 1 Peter 3.1, of servants to masters, Titus 2.9, 1 Peter 2.13, of people to state authorities, Rom 13.1. It means “to be subject to, obey, be ruled by.” It carries the implication of subordination, reflecting the standards of the time, which no amount of special pleading can banish. Phillips “adapt yourselves” is an unfortunate attempt to make the command more tolerable in a different age.

A literal translation of wives in direct address may seem not only unusual but almost depreciating in some languages. A more satisfactory equivalent may be “you women who are married.”

Submit yourselves must be rendered in such a way as to avoid any connotation of sexual submission. In some instances, the most appropriate equivalent is “acknowledge your husbands as being the ones who give orders” or “recognize your husbands as leaders in the family” or “… chiefs in the household.” It is also, of course, possible to simply translate “obey your husbands.”

That is what you should do as Christians translates the Greek “as is proper in the Lord” (for other examples of the impersonal anēkō see Eph 5.4, Philemon 8). The Christian wife’s relation to her husband is determined by her status “as a Christian,” which is what the Greek prepositional phrase “in the Lord” means.

As Christians may be rendered as “as persons who are followers of Christ,” but this phrase is often more satisfactorily interpreted as a type of cause, for example, “since you are followers of Christ” or “because you have put your trust in Christ.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse brings this section (3.5-17) to a close with a general command that everything the Colossians do and say must be in the name of the Lord Jesus, that is, as his committed and obedient followers and representatives. In the name of the Lord Jesus may be expressed most satisfactorily in a number of languages as “as believers in the Lord Jesus” or “as followers of the Lord Jesus.” The passive construction should be done may cause certain difficulties, especially in languages where an active expression must be employed. In such cases one may be able to translate “whatever you do and whatever you say, you should do and say in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Sometimes the meaning of “whatever you say and whatever you do” must be rendered as a condition, for example, “if you do anything and if you say anything, then you should do and say all that in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Through him, that is, through Christ, means that their thanksgiving to God must recognize that Christ is the medium through which all their blessings have come from God. A literal rendering of the phrase through him might suggest that the believers were to give thanks to God only through Christ as a kind of intermediary, that is to say, that the believers should pray to Christ in order that he would then communicate the thanks to God. In reality, of course, the believer is to give thanks to God the Father because of what has happened through Christ, and it may be necessary to make this explicit, for example, “as you thank God the Father for what has happened to you through Christ” or “… for what Christ has done for you.”

As you give thanks translates a participle, which some take, as elsewhere, to function as an imperative. Instead of to God the Father, some later manuscripts, influenced by the parallel in Eph 5.20, have “to the God and Father” (see King James Version). As in other contexts, it may be necessary to translate to God the Father as “to God who is our Father.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

“The word of Christ” (Revised Standard Version) is the Christian message, the gospel; it is the message about Christ. This is the only occurrence of this phrase in the NT. Some manuscripts have the more usual “the word of God” (as in 1.25) or “the word of the Lord.” Since this message is about Christ and not a message which Christ himself uttered, it would be better even in English to use a phrase “the message about Christ.”

Live translates the Greek “be at home” (enoikeō: of the Holy Spirit, Rom 8.11, 2 Tim 1.14; of faith, 2 Tim 1.5; of sin, Rom 7.17; see also oikeō en, of the Holy Spirit, Rom 8.9, 11; 1 Cor 3.16). The meaning of the command is that the Christian message must be an integral and permanent living force in them, not just an outward performance or routine activities. It may be rather difficult in some languages to speak of “a message living in someone’s heart.” However, a rendering such as “a message finding a place in a person’s heart” may be acceptable or “a message may speak to someone’s heart.”

In all its richness is a metaphor for all the resources and blessings which are to be found in the Christian message. The phrase in all its richness may characterize either the message or the way in which the message must live in the believer. The meaning is essentially the same in either case. In the first instance, one may speak of the “the wonderful message” and in the second instance, “must live in a wonderful way.”

In your hearts represents one meaning of the Greek “in you” (Revised Standard Version) but the phrase could mean “among you,” that is, in the fellowship of the Church. If the second interpretation is accepted, one may translate “must live in you” as “must influence how you live with one another” or “must determine how you behave toward one another.”

What follows in the Greek text may be variously understood: (1) the three participles “teaching … admonishing … singing” may be understood as circumstantial, expressing the circumstances in which the command of the main verb is carried out; or they may be taken as imperatives, as so often occurs in the NT. (2) With all wisdom may go either with the preceding “living” or with the following “teaching and admonishing”; most prefer the latter (for the former, see King James Version Twentieth Century New Testament Goodspeed Moffatt). (3) Psalms, hymns, and sacred songs may go with what precedes, that is, with the verbs “instructing and admonishing,” by means of psalms, etc. (so Lightfoot, King James Version Moffatt Goodspeed Twentieth Century New Testament ver WEYver*); or they may go with the following participle “singing” (Revised Standard Version Good News Translation and most other modern translations).

Instruct: the verb noutheteō means “warn, admonish, instruct”; see “warn” in 1.28; here it could mean “warn.” In view of the usefulness in distinguishing between teach and instruct, it may be best here to translate “teach one another and warn one another.” A more positive rendering of instruct may be expressed figuratively as “show the right road to one another.”

The phrase with all wisdom may be rendered as means, for example, “by using all wisdom” or “by being wise in every way.”

As commentators point out, it is impossible precisely to differentiate between the three terms that follow (all three also in Eph 5.19): psalms are OT psalms, used also by Christians in their corporate worship; hymns could be specifically Christian compositions in honor of Jesus as Lord and Savior; and “spiritual songs” (Revised Standard Version) could be spontaneous outbursts of inspired singing, prompted by the Spirit (compare Barclay).

Psalms may be referred to as “songs of the Scriptures,” and hymns could be designated as “songs about Jesus.” Similarly, “spiritual songs” could be translated as “songs from God’s Spirit” or “songs caused by the Spirit.”

With thanksgiving translates the Greek “in grace.” The understanding of this phrase is made difficult by the textual problem of whether or not the definite article (“in the grace”) belongs to the text. (UBS Greek NT gives hardly any help by including it within brackets.) It could be (1) “with thanksgiving” as Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version take it (compare Abbott, Lohse; see New English Bible Translator’s New Testament Jerusalem Bible New American Bible etc.); or (2) “by the grace (of God)” (Lightfoot); or (3) “with beauty” (Beare).

It may be difficult in some languages to speak of “singing to God with thanksgiving.” “Sing” and “give thanks” are different, though closely related, activities. It may be possible to treat them as coordinate, for example, “sing to God and be thankful,” but it may also be more natural to express the singing as dependent on the thanksgiving, for example, “when you sing to God, be thankful.”

In your hearts may be associated with thanksgiving (as Revised Standard Version Good News Translation and others do; Barclay has “heartfelt”), or with the third participle “singing,” in which case it could be taken to mean “singing with all your hearts,” fervently, enthusiastically (so Bible en français courant Barclay Phillips New American Bible Goodspeed). It is hardly likely that Paul meant that the singing was to be silent, and not vocal. Though it seems quite natural in English to speak of being “thankful in your hearts” or “singing with all your heart,” it may seem quite strange in some languages to associate “heart” with either thanksgiving or singing. For example, one may wish to speak of “being thankful in your thoughts” or “have your mind say thanks to God,” while “singing with all your heart” would be expressed as “singing with strength” or “with great happiness.”

Instead of to God, some later manuscripts, influenced by the parallel in Eph 5.19, have “to the Lord” (King James Version).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

“The peace of Christ” (Revised Standard Version) is quite evidently the peace that has its origin in Christ, the peace that Christ gives (compare John 14.27, Eph 2.14, 2 Thes 3.16), not the peace that Christ himself possesses. It is the spirit of fellowship and harmony that must prevail in the Christian community. Some later manuscripts, whose copyists were perhaps influenced by the language of Phil 4.7, have “the peace of God” (compare King James Version). The peace that Christ gives is better expressed in a number of languages as causative, for example, “the peace that Christ causes” or “Christ is the one who causes you to be at peace with one another, and this is to guide you….”

Is to guide you in the decision you make translates the Greek “is to judge in your hearts.” The verb brabeuō occurs only here in the NT (compare katabrabeuō in 2.18) and means “to serve as umpire; to determine, decide” a matter. After examining the way in which the word is used elsewhere, Lightfoot says, “It appears that the idea of a decision and an award is prominent in the word, and that it must not be taken to denote simply rule or power.”f 11 fr 3.15 ft Lightfoot, op. cit., p. 221.

To guide you in the decisions you make may be expressed as “to cause you to make decisions as to what you should do” or as expressed in direct discourse, “this will cause you to decide, ‘We must do this.’ ”

The Greek “in your hearts” (Revised Standard Version) is by some taken to mean the locale, the place where the peace from Christ is to rule: it is an interior reality, inside the person (compare ver WEYver* Twentieth Century New Testament). Others, however, take “heart” in the biblical sense of “mind, thinking,” and so understand and translate the passage as Good News Translation has done, in the decisions you make (compare Phillips Barclay). Thus understood, the following injunction is more fitting for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body: harmony and cooperation within the fellowship, the Church, was the intention of God when he called the Colossians to be his people.

In the one body is a reference to the Church (see 1.18). Some, however, believe that the absence of the definite article in Greek makes the phrase mean “in one body,” a reference to the local community. In either case, the metaphor “body” is a significant one for Paul as the best picture of the unity of Christians in union with Christ.

The clause for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body must be rather radically restructured in some languages, for example, “for God has called you together to be one body in order that you should experience this kind of peace.”

The phrase in the one body must be identified in some languages as a figurative expression, “in order to form one body, as it were.”

In translating the verb called, especially in this type of context, it is important to avoid certain connotations or aspects of meaning. For example, one would not wish to introduce the idea of “shouting at” or the implications of “commanding.” In this type of context, called is much closer to the meaning of “to urge” or, as in some languages, “to urgently invite.”

And be thankful, that is, to God: this command is added almost as an afterthought (only here does the adjective eucharistos occur in the NT); not only gratitude, but its expression in the giving of thanks to God is commanded (also verses 16b, 17b). The imperative expression be thankful can best be expressed in some languages as a type of obligation, for example, “you must be thankful to God” or “you should be thankful to God.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .