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OET (OET-LV) and not taking_hold_of the head, from whom all the body by its joints and ligaments being_supplied and being_held_together, is_growing with_the growth of_ the _god.
OET (OET-RV) They’re not listening to the head which controls all the joints and ligaments of the body and holds it all together as God causes it to grow.
Theme: Paul told the Colossians to behave correctly because they belong to Christ. They should not follow those who teach a false message. He also reminded them that God had accepted them completely because they belong to Christ.
In 1:13–2:5 Paul had reminded the Colossians what is true about Christ and had told them that God had always planned to make them his people. Beginning in 2:6, Paul urged them to continue to believe in Christ. He assured them that this was the same message that Epaphras and others had taught them. Therefore, they should continue to trust in Christ more and more and act in ways that honor God. They should not believe any other message.
Theme: Paul told the Colossians not to believe the teachings of those people who wanted them to obey their rules. They should trust only in Christ.
He has lost connection to the head,
He has stopped believing and teaching the true message about Christ, the head of the body.
He has lost connection to the head: The Greek literally says “not holding on to the head.” Obviously Paul did not mean holding on physically to “the head” (Christ). There are two ways to understand this figure of speech:
Paul meant that such people did not “hold firmly to the true teachings about Christ.” This means that they did not faithfully believe and teach what is true about Christ.
Paul meant that such people no longer trusted in Christ to save them. This could be translated: “he is no longer loyal to Christ,” or “he ceases to depend on Christ” (UBS Handbook).
The first interpretation is recommended (1) because it fits best with the warning Paul was giving the Colossian believers in this letter—that they should not follow the false teachings these people taught.
head: This refers to Christ. The figure of speech here is the same as in 1:18a; that is, Christ is like the head of a body, and his people, Christians, are like the body. In your translation, you should translate this figure of speech here like you did in 1:18.
from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows
Just as a head directs a body, so Christ directs all his people so they remain united and held together as ligaments and sinews hold a body together,
It is Christ who causes his people to grow spiritually just like the head causes the body to grow physically. He joins it together by ligaments and sinews,
from whom the whole body…grows: The words from whom mean “from Christ.” Paul said that Christ controls the spiritual growth of the church in the same way that the head of a person controls the physical growth of his body. One way to say this is “It is only by being connected/united to Christ that the whole body grows.”
the whole body: This means the whole body of Christ, which means the church, all believers.
grows: In this context grows means “to grow spiritually,” “to continue to know God more and more,” or “to continue to understand more about God.” It does not mean, “to grow numerically,” that is, to have more and more people become Christians.
supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments: The Greek words that the BSB translates joints and ligaments refer to the tough, stringy parts inside the body that connect all the other parts together. Paul was saying that just as joints and ligaments support and join together the parts of the body, so the church is held together and supported by Christ’s control.
as God causes it to grow.
and it grows the way God has planned.
as God causes it to grow: The Greek literally says, “grows a growth of God.” This can mean:
The growth is the way God has planned/desired. This could be expressed, “as God wants them to grow,” or “the way God has planned”. (GNT, GW, NCV, REB, SSA)
The growth is from God. This could be expressed, “as God causes the church to grow spiritually. (BSB, NIV, CEV, NET, NLT)
The Display follows the first interpretation (1).
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οὐ κρατῶν τὴν κεφαλήν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί οὒ κρατῶν τήν κεφαλήν ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα διά τῶν ἁφῶν καί συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ)
Paul describes the false teachers as if they had let go of the head, which is Christ. This means that they have stopped treating Christ as the source and authority behind their teaching. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable expression or translate the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [not staying connected to the head] or [ceasing to depend on Christ, who is the head]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor
τὴν κεφαλήν, ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον, αὔξει τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί οὒ κρατῶν τήν κεφαλήν ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα διά τῶν ἁφῶν καί συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ)
In this verse Paul uses an extended metaphor in which Christ is the head of the body, which is his church, which has joints and ligaments, and which grows. Paul uses this metaphor to describe how Christ leads, directs, nourishes, and unifies his church to help it become what he wants it to be. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea using the language of analogy, or express it plainly. Alternate translation: [to the Messiah, from whom the whole church receives nourishment and leadership and in whom the church is united as it grows with the growth from God]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον
from whom (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί οὒ κρατῶν τήν κεφαλήν ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα διά τῶν ἁφῶν καί συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the sentence in active form. Alternate translation: [which supplies and holds the whole body together throughout the joints and ligaments]
Note 4 topic: translate-unknown
τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσμων
its joints (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί οὒ κρατῶν τήν κεφαλήν ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα διά τῶν ἁφῶν καί συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ)
The word joints refers to where parts of the body are connected together, while the word translated ligaments refers to what holds these parts together. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use technical terms that correspond to joints and ligaments, or you could use more general language for what holds the body together. Alternate translation: [what holds it together] or [all its parts]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
αὔξει τὴν αὔξησιν
˓is˒_growing (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί οὒ κρατῶν τήν κεφαλήν ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα διά τῶν ἁφῶν καί συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ)
The words grows and growth are directly related and may be redundant in your language. If your language does not use repetition in this way, you could use just one form of “grow.” Alternate translation: [experiences the growth]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί οὒ κρατῶν τήν κεφαλήν ἐξ οὗ παν τό σῶμα διά τῶν ἁφῶν καί συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καί συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τήν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ)
Paul here speaks of growth that is from God to show that the church’s growth is given by God and fits with what God desires. If your language would not use this form to express that idea, you could express the idea with a relative clause. Alternate translation: [with the growth that God gives] or [with the growth that God enables]
OET (OET-LV) and not taking_hold_of the head, from whom all the body by its joints and ligaments being_supplied and being_held_together, is_growing with_the growth of_ the _god.
OET (OET-RV) They’re not listening to the head which controls all the joints and ligaments of the body and holds it all together as God causes it to grow.
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.