OET interlinear COL 1:20

1:20a

through Him to reconcile to Himself all things: 1:20a is parallel to the second part of 1:19. In other words, God was pleased to do two things: (1) to have all his fullness dwell in Christ (1:19), and (2) to reconcile to Himself all things (1:20a).

through Him: The pronoun Him refers to Christ here, as it does in 1:19, and Paul placed the words at the beginning of the verse to emphasize them.In some Greek manuscripts the words “through him” occur twice. In the UBS Greek text, the second occurrence of “through him” is in brackets. This means it is doubtful that these words were in the original letter that Paul wrote. The UBS Greek text of 1:20 literally reads:and through him to reconcile all things to him, having made peace through the blood of his cross, [through him] whether things on the earth or the things in the heavens.The KJV includes this second “through him” in its translation. The important thing to remember in your translation is that “through him,” whether it occurs once or twice, is emphatic. Make sure Christ is the topic of these verses in your translation.

reconcile: The word reconcile means “to change people from being enemies to being friends” or “to make peace between people who were once friends but have become enemies of one another.” When God created the world, he intended that everything and everybody should live in harmony and peace with him. But when Adam and Eve sinned, that peace and harmony was destroyed. When Christ died on the cross, he made it possible for people to have peace with God again.

all things: The words all things mean “everything that has been created.” Remember that in 1:16–17 Paul used these same words, all things, four times to refer to everything that God created. So Paul was saying that God not only reconciled all people to himself, but he also reconciled everything he had created.We know from teachings in other parts of the Bible that not everyone will be saved. There will be people, as well as Satan and his angels, in hell. But when we read in Colossians 1:19–20 that “God was pleased…to reconcile to himself all things,” it sounds as if Paul was saying that God would make all things right with himself, and so all people would be saved. Be careful of trying to “explain” what Paul said in your translation. In 1:20 Paul made a strong universal statement. It is best if you translate his statement simply and clearly. Do not try to “make it fit” what the Bible teaches in other passages.

1:20b

whether things on earth or things in heaven: This is almost the same as what Paul wrote in 1:16b and the meaning is the same in both verses—it means “everything.”

1:20c

by making peace: The phrase making peace means almost the same as “reconcile” in 1:20a. It means “to cause people to be in harmony.” It does not mean that God caused all things to be at peace with one another, rather it means that he made peace between them and himself.

through the blood of His cross: This explains more clearly what Paul meant by “through Him” in 1:20a. The word blood refers to the way Christ died. God required that blood be shed in order for him to forgive sins (Hebrews 9:22). So Christ’s blood is an important symbol in the Bible, and therefore you should keep it in your translation. One way you could clarify it would be to say:

by sending Christ to shed his blood and die on a cross