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Col 1 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29

OET interlinear COL 1:15

← COL 1:15 ↓ → ► ║ ©

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

    1. Greek word
    2. Greek lemma
    3. OET-LV words
    4. OET-RV words
    5. Strongs
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. ὅς
    2. hos
    3. who
    4. -
    5. 37390
    6. R····NMS
    7. who
    8. who
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132790
    1. ἐστίν
    2. eimi
    3. is
    4. -
    5. 15100
    6. VIPA3··S
    7. is
    8. is
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132791
    1. εἰκών
    2. eikōn
    3. +the image
    4. image
    5. 15040
    6. N····NFS
    7. ˓the˒ image
    8. ˓the˒ image
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132792
    1. τοῦ
    2. ho
    3. of the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····GMS
    7. ˱of˲ the
    8. ˱of˲ the
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132793
    1. Θεοῦ
    2. theos
    3. god
    4. God
    5. 23160
    6. N····GMS
    7. god
    8. God
    9. GN
    10. Y64; Person=God
    11. 132794
    1. τοῦ
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····GMS
    7. ¬the
    8. ¬the
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132795
    1. ἀοράτου
    2. aoratos
    3. invisible
    4. invisible
    5. 5170
    6. A····GMS
    7. invisible
    8. invisible
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132796
    1. Θεοῦ
    2. theos
    3. -
    4. -
    5. 23160
    6. N····GMS
    7. god
    8. God
    9. GN
    10. Person=God
    11. 132797
    1. πρωτότοκος
    2. prōtotokos
    3. +the firstborn
    4. firstborn
    5. 44160
    6. S····NMS
    7. ˓the˒ firstborn
    8. ˓the˒ firstborn
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132798
    1. πάσης
    2. pas
    3. of all
    4. -
    5. 39560
    6. E····GFS
    7. ˱of˲ all
    8. ˱of˲ all
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132799
    1. κτίσεως
    2. ktisis
    3. creation
    4. creation
    5. 29370
    6. N····GFS
    7. creation
    8. creation
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132800

OET (OET-LV) who is the_image of_the the invisible god, the_firstborn of_all creation,

OET (OET-RV) The son is the visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:13–23: Jesus Christ is greater than everything

In this section, Paul stated these things: Jesus is equal to God in every way. He has always been with God and he (with God) created the world. God has freed Christians from the power of Satan and has placed them under the rule of his Son, Christ Jesus. God has accepted those who believe in Jesus as his own people. This was possible because Jesus died on the cross instead of them.

Paragraph 1:15–20

Theme: Jesus Christ has shown exactly what God is like. He is the great ruler over everything that he, with God, created.

In this paragraph Paul was emphasizing how great Jesus is. This was in order to oppose the following things that the false teachers were teaching the Colossian Christians.

  1. The Greek people believed that evil spirits created and then controlled the world. A summary of Paul’s response to that false teaching is: No, Jesus, who is equal to God, created the world and now controls it.

  2. The Greeks also said that God’s Messiah would never live in a human body. A summary of Paul’s response is: When Jesus, God’s Messiah, became a man, he retained all the character and power of God.

1:15a

The Son is the image of the invisible God,

The Son: The Greek word that the BSB translates as The Son is literally the pronoun “he,” as in the NIV. It refers back to “His beloved Son” in 1:13b. See the note in 1:14a about Paul’s use of pronouns in this section. Refer to Jesus in a way that is natural in your language.

the image of the invisible God: When Jesus, who is God, became a man, he retained all the characteristics of God, yet people could see him. Therefore, when people saw Jesus they saw exactly what God is like, that is, they saw the character of God. This is why Paul called Jesus the image of God. Be sure that your translation does not cause your readers to think that Jesus merely showed people what God looked like.

1:15b

the firstborn over all creation.

the firstborn over all creation: This does not refer to when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, nor does it mean that Jesus was the first person that God created. No one created Jesus. He has always existed with God and is one with God.

Scholars interpret this phrase in one of three ways:

  1. Some biblical scholars believe that the word firstborn in this verse means, “the one who has the authority that the firstborn son has.” Therefore, the firstborn over all creation means, “the one who has supreme authority over all creation.” The word firstborn is used this way in Psalm 89:27:

    And I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.

  2. Other scholars believe that the firstborn over all creation means, “the one who existed before anything was created.”

  3. The other main interpretation is that it means both, that is, “the one who existed from the beginning of time and who has supreme authority over all creation.”

Throughout this section Paul was emphasizing that Christ rules over everything, so the first interpretation is the most likely. The GNT clarifies this by saying:

He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. (GNT)

Here are some other ways you could translate this part of the verse:

He is more important than everything God created.

He is higher in rank/authority than everything God created.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου

who (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅς ἐστίν εἰκών τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως)

Here, image does not mean a representation of something that is visible, like a photo or a reflection. Instead, image refers to how the Son perfectly reveals the Father. If it would be helpful in your language, you could replace image with an expression that emphasizes how the Son reveals the Father. Alternate translation: [What the invisible God is like can be seen in his Son]

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου

˱of˲_the God ¬the invisible

The word invisible does not mean that God the Father could be seen by people but hides himself. Instead, it means that human sight is unable to perceive God the Father, since he is not part of the created world. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase to clarify the idea. Alternate translation: [of God, whom humans are unable to see]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως

˓the˒_firstborn ˱of˲_all creation

The word firstborn does not refer to when Jesus was born. Instead, it refers to his position as the eternal Son of God the Father. In this sense, firstborn is a metaphor that means that he existed as God before God created anything and that he is most important. You could emphasize either or both of these ideas in your translation. Alternate translation: [God’s Son, the most important one over all creation] or [God’s Son, who existed as God before all creation]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

πάσης κτίσεως

˱of˲_all creation

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind creation, you could express the idea by using a verb such as “create.” Alternate translation: [of all that God created]

TSN Tyndale Study Notes:

1:15 visible image: In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, eikōn (“image, representation”) is used to refer to human beings having been made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27) and also to the wisdom figure in Jewish writings (see Wisdom of Solomon 7:25-26). The New Testament writers speak about Christ as God’s wisdom to help explain his significance (cp. 1 Cor 1:24, 30).
• He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation (or He is the firstborn of all creation): This phrase figured prominently in early Christian debates about the nature of Christ. Firstborn does not mean he was created; it is a title, drawn from the Old Testament, indicating supremacy of rank and priority in time (see, e.g., Ps 89:27).

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Greek word
    5. Greek lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. who
    2. -
    3. 37390
    5. hos
    6. R-····NMS
    7. who
    8. who
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132790
    1. is
    2. -
    3. 15100
    5. eimi
    6. V-IPA3··S
    7. is
    8. is
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132791
    1. +the image
    2. image
    3. 15040
    5. eikōn
    6. N-····NFS
    7. ˓the˒ image
    8. ˓the˒ image
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132792
    1. of the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····GMS
    7. ˱of˲ the
    8. ˱of˲ the
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132793
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····GMS
    7. ¬the
    8. ¬the
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132795
    1. invisible
    2. invisible
    3. 5170
    5. aoratos
    6. A-····GMS
    7. invisible
    8. invisible
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132796
    1. god
    2. God
    3. 23160
    4. GN
    5. theos
    6. N-····GMS
    7. god
    8. God
    9. GN
    10. Y64; Person=God
    11. 132794
    1. +the firstborn
    2. firstborn
    3. 44160
    5. prōtotokos
    6. S-····NMS
    7. ˓the˒ firstborn
    8. ˓the˒ firstborn
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132798
    1. of all
    2. -
    3. 39560
    5. pas
    6. E-····GFS
    7. ˱of˲ all
    8. ˱of˲ all
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132799
    1. creation
    2. creation
    3. 29370
    5. ktisis
    6. N-····GFS
    7. creation
    8. creation
    9. -
    10. Y64
    11. 132800

OET (OET-LV) who is the_image of_the the invisible god, the_firstborn of_all creation,

OET (OET-RV) The son is the visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

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← COL 1:15 ↑ → ► ║ ©