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OET (OET-LV) For/Because I_am_wanting you_all to_have_known how_much a_struggle I_am_having for you_all and the ones in Laodikeia, and as_many_as have_ not _seen the face of_me in the_flesh,
OET (OET-RV) I want you all to know how much I struggle for you and for those in Laodicea and for those who’ve never actually set eyes on me.
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 was deeply committed to helping the Colossians to understand God’s message about Christ. He knew it was important for them to understand it fully so that no one would deceive them.
For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you
¶ I want you to know that I am deeply committed to helping you in Colossae,
¶ I want you to know that I am doing all I can to help you Christians in Colossae,
For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For introduces more information about how hard Paul works (1:29). Some English versions do not translate this conjunction.
how much I am struggling: The Greek word agōna that the BSB translates struggling has the same root as the word that Paul used in 1:29b. It refers to a physical struggle, for example, an athletic contest or a battle, but also emphasizes the emotions that are involved: “I am struggling/agonizing.” In 1:28–29 Paul had said that he was struggling so that everyone might be perfect in Christ. Here in 2:1 he said that he was struggling specifically for the Christians in Colossae and for others whom he had never met and therefore had never taught.
Because Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter, he could not literally work for the Colossians by preaching or helping them in other ways, so he probably was referring to struggling by praying intensively and letter writing. You could translate this verse part as:
I want you to know how concerned I am for you.
and for those at Laodicea,
and also the Christians in the town of Laodicea,
and I am also doing all I can to help the believers in Laodicea,
Laodicea: Laodicea was a town northwest of Colossae, further down the Lycos river. Paul probably mentioned Laodicea because it was close to Colossae, and because he knew that the believers in Laodicea would later read this letter (see 4:16b).
and for all who have not met me face to face,
and all the other Christians who have not met me personally.
as well as all the other believers whom I have not met.
and for all who have not met me face to face: Paul had never preached the gospel in either Colossae or Laodicea, but he was still concerned for believers there and in other places where he had not personally worked. In your translation, you may need to clarify that the believers in Colossae and Laodicea are included in the larger group of all who have not met me face to face. One way to do this is to translate 2:1c as:
…and for all other believers who have not met me.
Another way to do this is to reverse the order of the clauses in 2:1. For example:
I want to tell you how hard I have worked for all the believers who have never met me personally, including you there in Colossae and also the believers in Laodicea.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλω Γάρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί τῶν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ καί ὅσοι οὐχ ἑόρακαν τό πρόσωπον μού ἐν σαρκί)
The word For introduces the reason why Paul told them in [1:29](../01/29.md) about how hard he works. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make the transition more explicit. Alternate translation: [I tell you about my hard work because]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν
how_much ˓a˒_struggle ˱I˲_˓am˒_having (Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλω Γάρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί τῶν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ καί ὅσοι οὐχ ἑόρακαν τό πρόσωπον μού ἐν σαρκί)
Here, the word struggle is directly related to the word “striving” in [1:29](../01/29.md). Just as in that verse, it is usually used for striving to win a contest, whether athletic, legal, or military. Paul uses the word here to indicate how much he cares for the Colossians and how hard he works for their benefit. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [how much care I have in your behalf]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω
how_much ˓a˒_struggle ˱I˲_˓am˒_having
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind struggle, you could express the idea behind this abstract noun by combining it with the verb have and using a verb such as “struggle.” Alternate translation: [how much I struggle]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ τῶν ἐν Λαοδικίᾳ, καὶ ὅσοι οὐχ ἑόρακαν τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἐν σαρκί
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλω Γάρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί τῶν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ καί ὅσοι οὐχ ἑόρακαν τό πρόσωπον μού ἐν σαρκί)
This list includes the Colossians and the Laodiceans among those who have not seen Paul’s face in the flesh. If it would be helpful in your language, you could reverse the order of the list and include you and the ones at Laodicea among those who have not seen Paul’s face. Alternate translation: [for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, including you and those at Laodicea]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλω Γάρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί τῶν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ καί ὅσοι οὐχ ἑόρακαν τό πρόσωπον μού ἐν σαρκί)
Paul implies that he has a great struggle in order to help you and the believers in other places. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [in order to help you]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τῶν
the_‹ones›
Paul implies that these are believers, not just anyone who lives in Laodicea. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [the believers]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
οὐχ ἑόρακαν τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἐν σαρκί
not ˓have˒_seen (Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλω Γάρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί τῶν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ καί ὅσοι οὐχ ἑόρακαν τό πρόσωπον μού ἐν σαρκί)
In Paul’s culture, seeing a face in the flesh refers to meeting someone in person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable idiom or express the idea in plain language. Alternate translation: [I have not visited] or [have not seen me]
OET (OET-LV) For/Because I_am_wanting you_all to_have_known how_much a_struggle I_am_having for you_all and the ones in Laodikeia, and as_many_as have_ not _seen the face of_me in the_flesh,
OET (OET-RV) I want you all to know how much I struggle for you and for those in Laodicea and for those who’ve never actually set eyes on me.
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.