COL 2:5 Parallel View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. This view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on the version abbreviation to see the verse in more of its context.

Key: yellow:verbs, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT For even if I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your good order and the strength of your faith in Christ.

UST You can know that those who argue persuasively are wrong because I care about you and think about you, even though I am not with you in person. I am very happy to see that you are behaving properly and that you firmly believe in the Messiah.

BSB For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.

BLB Truly indeed, if I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

AICNT For even though I am absent in the flesh, yet in the spirit I am with you, rejoicing and observing your order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

OEB It is true that I am not with you in person, but I am with you in spirit, and am glad to see the good order and the unbroken front resulting from your faith in Christ.

WEB For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

WMB For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Messiah.

NET For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

LSV for if even in the flesh I am absent—yet in the spirit I am with you, rejoicing and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in regard to Christ;

FBV Even though I'm not physically there with you, I'm with you in spirit. I'm so happy to see the way you stick together and how firm you are in your trust in Christ.

TCNT For though I am absent in body, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

T4T because, even though I am absent from you physically, I am very concerned about you. At the same time, I am rejoicing because I know that you are united with each other and that you believe firmly in Christ.

LEB for even if I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
¶ 

BBE For though I am not present in the flesh, still I am with you in the spirit, seeing with joy your order, and your unchanging faith in Christ.

MOF No MOF COL book available

ASV For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

DRA For though I be absent in body, yet in spirit I am with you; rejoicing, and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith which is in Christ.

YLT for if even in the flesh I am absent — yet in the spirit I am with you, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in regard to Christ;

DBY For if indeed in the flesh I am absent, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

RV For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

WBS For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

KJB For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

BB For though I be absent in the fleshe, yet am I with you in the spirite, ioying and beholdyng your order, and your stedfast fayth in Christe.
(For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, ioying and beholdyng your order, and your stedfast faith in Christ.)

GNV For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, reioycing and beholding your order, and your stedfast faith in Christ.

CB For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I present with you in the sprete: ioyenge, and beholdinge youre order and the stedfastnes of youre faith in Christ.
(For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I present with you in the spirit: ioyenge, and beholdinge your(pl) order and the stedfastnes of your(pl) faith in Christ.)

TNT For though I be absent in the flesshe yet am I present with you in the sprete ioyinge and beholdinge the order that ye kepe and youre stedfast fayth in Christ.
(For though I be absent in the flesh yet am I present with you in the spirit ioyinge and beholdinge the order that ye/you_all keep and your(pl) stedfast faith in Christ. )

WYC For thouy Y be absent in bodi, bi spirit Y am with you, ioiynge and seynge youre ordre and the sadnesse of youre bileue that is in Crist.
(For though I be absent in bodi, by spirit I am with you, ioiynge and seeing your(pl) ordre and the sadnesse of your(pl) believe that is in Christ.)

LUT Denn ob ich wohl nach dem Fleisch nicht da bin, so bin ich aber im Geist bei euch, freue mich und sehe eure Ordnung und euren festen Glauben an Christum.
(Because ob I wohl nach to_him flesh not there bin, so bin I but in_the spirit bei you, freue me and sehe your Ordnung and yours festen faith at Christum.)

CLV Nam etsi corpore absens sum, sed spiritu vobiscum sum: gaudens, et videns ordinem vestrum, et firmamentum ejus, quæ in Christo est, fidei vestræ.[fn]
(Nam etsi corpore absens sum, but spiritu with_you sum: gaudens, and videns ordinem of_you, and firmamentum his, which in Christo it_is, of_faith vestræ.)

2.5 Sed et spiritu. Sanctis datum est in spiritu videre remota. Caveant ergo sibi quorum actus magistrum non latent. Gaudens. Per hoc promptiores facit circa Evangelium, quia gaudere se dicit in dispositione conversationis eorum et fidei stabilitate, ut scientes unde placeant Deo in eo fierent firmiores.

2.5 Sed and spiritu. Sanctis datum it_is in spiritu videre remota. Caveant ergo sibi quorum actus magistrum not/no latent. Gaudens. Per hoc promptiores facit circa Evangelium, because gaudere se dicit in dispositione conversationis eorum and of_faith stabilitate, as scientes whence placeant Deo in eo fierent firmiores.

UGNT εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ἄπειμι, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύματι σὺν ὑμῖν εἰμι, χαίρων καὶ βλέπων ὑμῶν τὴν τάξιν, καὶ τὸ στερέωμα τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως ὑμῶν.
(ei gar kai taʸ sarki apeimi, alla tōi pneumati sun humin eimi, ⱪairōn kai blepōn humōn taʸn taxin, kai to stereōma taʸs eis Ⱪriston pisteōs humōn.)

SBL-GNT εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ἄπειμι, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύματι σὺν ὑμῖν εἰμι, χαίρων καὶ βλέπων ὑμῶν τὴν τάξιν καὶ τὸ στερέωμα τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως ὑμῶν.
(ei gar kai taʸ sarki apeimi, alla tōi pneumati sun humin eimi, ⱪairōn kai blepōn humōn taʸn taxin kai to stereōma taʸs eis Ⱪriston pisteōs humōn. )

TC-GNT Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ἄπειμι, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύματι σὺν ὑμῖν εἰμι, χαίρων καὶ βλέπων ὑμῶν τὴν τάξιν, καὶ τὸ στερέωμα τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως ὑμῶν.
(Ei gar kai taʸ sarki apeimi, alla tōi pneumati sun humin eimi, ⱪairōn kai blepōn humōn taʸn taxin, kai to stereōma taʸs eis Ⱪriston pisteōs humōn. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

γὰρ

for

The word For introduces further support for why the Colossians should not be “deceived” (2:4). Even if Paul is physically absent, he is thinking about them and caring for them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could specify what the word For is supporting. Alternate translation: “Do not let yourselves be deceived, because”

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact

εἰ & καὶ

if & also

Paul speaks as if being absent were a hypothetical possibility, but he means that it is actually true. If your language would not use a conditional statement for something that is a current fact, you could translate these words as an affirmation. Alternate translation: “while” or “although”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

τῇ σαρκὶ ἄπειμι

˱in˲_the flesh ˱I˲_/am/_being_absent

In Paul’s culture, being absent in the flesh is a figurative way to speak about not being present in person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable expression or translate the idea plainly. Alternate translation: “I am not there with you” or “I am not present with you”

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

ἀλλὰ

but

The word yet introduces a contrast with absent in the flesh. While the Colossians might expect that, since Paul is absent in the flesh, he is also absent “in the spirit,” Paul says the opposite: he is with them in the spirit. Use a word that indicates contrast or contraexpectation in your language. Alternate translation: “despite this” or “you may be sure”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

τῷ πνεύματι σὺν ὑμῖν εἰμι

¬the ˱in˲_spirit with you_all ˱I˲_am

In Paul’s culture, being with someone in the spirit is a figurative way to speak of thinking about and caring about that person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea with a comparable metaphor or plainly. Alternate translation: “I am still connected to you” or “it is as though I were present”

τῷ πνεύματι

¬the ˱in˲_spirit

Here, the spirit could refer to: (1) Paul’s spirit, which would be the part of him that rejoices over the Colossians from a distance. Alternate translation: “in my spirit” (2) the Holy Spirit, which connects Paul with the Colossians, even though they are not physically together. Alternate translation: “in God’s Spirit” or “by the power of God’s Spirit”

Note 6 topic: grammar-connect-time-simultaneous

χαίρων καὶ βλέπων

rejoicing and seeing

Here, rejoicing and seeing are what Paul does while he is with them in the spirit. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make the relationship between the ideas more explicit. Alternate translation: (adding a period after “spirit”) “When I think about you, I rejoice and see”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys

χαίρων καὶ βλέπων

rejoicing and seeing

Paul here expresses a single idea with the two words rejoicing and seeing. He means that he “rejoices” when he “sees.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea by translating rejoicing as an adverb or prepositional phrase. Alternate translation: “joyfully seeing” or “delighting to witness”

Note 8 topic: translate-unknown

ὑμῶν τὴν τάξιν

˱of˲_you_all the order

The phrase good order refers to behavior that properly fits into a larger pattern or arrangement. In the context, that larger pattern is what God expects of his people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable term or translate the idea with a short phrase. Alternate translation: “the fact that you behave according to God’s standards”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὸ στερέωμα & πίστεως ὑμῶν

the firmness & faith ˱of˲_you_all

Paul uses the possessive form to describe the Colossians’ faith as something that has strength. If your language does not use the possessive form to express this idea, you could express the idea by translating strength with an adjective such as “strong.” Alternate translation: “your strong faith”

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὸ στερέωμα & πίστεως ὑμῶν

the firmness & faith ˱of˲_you_all

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas behind the words strength and faith, you could express the ideas behind these abstract nouns in another way. Alternate translation: “how strongly you believe” or “the fact that you firmly believe”

Parallel COL 2:5