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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Col 1 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V28 V29
OET (OET-LV) to_whom the god willed to_make_known what is the riches of_the glory of_ the this _mystery among the pagans, which is chosen_one/messiah in you_all, the hope of_ the _glory,
OET (OET-RV) God wanted them to explain the riches of this incredible mystery among the pagans: the messiah in you all bringing the hope of reaching God.
Theme: Paul willingly suffered and worked hard so that the Colossians, most of whom were not Jews, would understand the true message about Christ so thoroughly that no one would be able to deceive them.
Theme: Paul willingly suffered so that the Colossians, most of whom were not Jews, would know the message about Christ.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery,
God decided to make known to his people how truly wonderful his plan is for the Gentiles.
To all his people God has chosen to reveal his secret plan. He wants them all to know that his plan is extremely important to help those who are not Jews.
To them: This refers to “the saints” in 1:26b.
God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery: There are two ways to connect the phrase among the Gentiles to the rest of the verse:
The phrase among the Gentiles should be connected to the glorious riches. So this verse means that God wanted the saints to understand that the glorious riches of this mystery were for the benefit of the Gentiles—the Gentiles are included in the riches of his glory. (RSV)
The phrase among the Gentiles should be connected to the verb make known in 1:27a. So the BSB interprets this verse to mean that God wanted the gospel to be made known among the Gentiles. (BSB)
It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).
Gentiles: This refers to all people who were not Jews.
the glorious riches of this mystery: See meaning 1 of “glory” in the glossary.
which is Christ in you,
God’s plan is this: that Christ is in you Gentiles,
This plan is that Christ dwells in you who are not Jews also,
Christ in you: In 1:26 Paul began writing about the “mystery” (God’s secret plan). In this phrase he explains what the “mystery” is. It is that Christ dwells in Gentiles who believe in him. When Paul says in you, he means “in you Gentiles.”It is the Spirit of Christ, that is, the Holy Spirit, who lives in those who belong to Christ (see Romans 8:9–10, John 14:16–18). If you use cross references or footnotes, you may want to refer to the above passages, and also to Ephesians 3:17, Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 6:16.
The Greek text translated literally says Christ in you—there is no verb. However, in your translation you will probably need to use a verb. For example:
Christ is in you
Christ lives/dwells in you
Paul was writing about something that was already true when he wrote the letter—Christ was now in the hearts of the believers.
the hope of glory.
and so you can confidently expect to share God’s glory in heaven.
and, as a result, you can be confident that you will receive the glory God has promised.
the hope of glory: The phrase hope of glory means “the glory you hope for” or “the glory you expect to receive.” Most scholars believe that this refers to the future glory Christians can expect to receive in heaven. Some English versions express this as “your hope of sharing God’s glory” (CEV, see also NLT, GNT).
glory: See meaning 2 of “glory” in the glossary.
In Greek it is not clear how to connect this part of the verse, “the hope of glory,” to 1:27c, “Christ in you.” However, most scholars believe that Paul was saying that “the hope of glory” is the result of Christ being in someone: that is, “Christ is in you, and as a result you confidently expect to have glory.”
Paul had written about the “mystery” in 1:26 and 1:27a–b, but he did not say specifically what the mystery was until 1:27c. In some languages it may be necessary to rearrange 1:26–27 to help people understand this. A possible way to do this would be:
God decided to tell his people how wonderful his plan was for you who are not Jews. His plan was this: that Christ should live in you, so you can confidently expect to share God’s glory. In the past, God did not reveal this plan to people. But now he has told his people about it.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἷς ἠθέλησεν ὁ Θεός γνωρίσαι τί τό πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὅ ἐστίν Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς δόξης)
Paul emphasizes the scope of the glory by speaking as if it had wealth or riches. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable statement or express the idea with an adverb such as “very” or an adjective such as “abundant.” Alternate translation: [the abundant glory of this mystery]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἷς ἠθέλησεν ὁ Θεός γνωρίσαι τί τό πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὅ ἐστίν Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς δόξης)
Paul uses the possessive form to connect riches to glory, which then characterizes the mystery. If your language would not use the possessive form to express that idea, you could translate both riches and glory as adjectives or adverbs describing the mystery. Alternate translation: [this richly glorious mystery]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἷς ἠθέλησεν ὁ Θεός γνωρίσαι τί τό πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὅ ἐστίν Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς δόξης)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind the word glory, you could express that idea in another way, such as with a description word. Alternate translation: [this richly glorious mystery] or [this abundantly wonderful mystery]
ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν
among the pagans
This phrase could refer to: (1) how the mystery applies to all people, including Gentiles. Alternate translation: [that applies to every person, including the Gentiles] (2) where God makes the mystery known. Alternate translation: [to the Gentiles]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἷς ἠθέλησεν ὁ Θεός γνωρίσαι τί τό πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὅ ἐστίν Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς δόξης)
Paul speaks of the believers as if they were containers in which Christ is present. The expression means basically the same thing as “you in Christ.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could use the same translation you have used for being “in Christ.” Alternate translation: [your union with Christ]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἷς ἠθέλησεν ὁ Θεός γνωρίσαι τί τό πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὅ ἐστίν Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς δόξης)
Paul speaks of a hope that relates to glory. This could refer to: (1) hoping for, or expecting, glory. Alternate translation: [the expectation of becoming glorious] (2) a hope that is glorious. Alternate translation: [the glorious hope]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἷς ἠθέλησεν ὁ Θεός γνωρίσαι τί τό πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὅ ἐστίν Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς δόξης)
If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas behind the words hope and glory, you could express those ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [with whom we can expect to share his glorious life] or [who makes us confidently hope for living with him in heaven]
OET (OET-LV) to_whom the god willed to_make_known what is the riches of_the glory of_ the this _mystery among the pagans, which is chosen_one/messiah in you_all, the hope of_ the _glory,
OET (OET-RV) God wanted them to explain the riches of this incredible mystery among the pagans: the messiah in you all bringing the hope of reaching God.
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.