complete verse (Colossians 3:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of Colossians 3:7:

  • Uma: “Formerly, before you submitted to God, your behavior was certainly like that.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You formerly always really did those bad things.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for the things you did long ago, they were like this also, for at that time your behavior was always evil.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And your way-of-life was like that before you believed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well you also, in the past your lives were still like that for you were still being controlled by these disgusting doings.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “You also in days gone by also were like that in that you disobeyed the word of God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Colossians 3:7

The phrase at one time must not be interpreted as reference to a specific time but a way of speaking of former time, equivalent in many languages to “previously” or “at an earlier time.”

You yourselves is a possible translation of the Greek kai humeis; or it could be “you, also (as well as other Gentiles)” (see Translator’s New Testament). An equivalent of the emphatic you yourselves may be expressed in some languages as “you are the very ones who.” For live see 1.10, 2.6.

According to such desires represents the Greek “in these” (see Revised Standard Version), the pronoun being read as neuter, referring to the sins or vices of verses 5-6. Some, however, contend that if the longer text of verse 6 is read (that is, with the clause “upon those who do not obey him”), then the pronoun is demonstrably masculine, meaning “among such people you once lived,” but this does not necessarily follow (see Lightfoot, Beare, and others).

Used to live according to such desires must often be restructured so as to read “such desires controlled you,” or “such desires caused you to live as you did,” or “because you had such desires, you lived as you did.”

When your life was dominated by them: the Greek is literally “when you lived in them” (Revised Standard Version), but more would appear to be involved than merely an exact repetition of the first part of the sentence. Though the expression when your life was dominated by them does seem to involve more than what is expressed in the previous statement, it is essentially a means of emphasizing the previous clause, and accordingly it may be possible to coalesce the two statements into a single one by making the combined statement more emphatic. This may be done in some cases by adding adverbial expressions such as “completely” or “entirely.”

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 .