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OET (OET-LV) Which things is an_account indeed having of_wisdom in personal_religion and humility, and severity of_the_body, not in any honour against the_indulgence of_the flesh.
OET (OET-RV) They seem to be wise and make you more religious or humble as you strictly obey them, but don’t honour the realities of our worldly desires.
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 warned the Colossians that they should not obey once more all those regulations that were based only on human ideas. They had abandoned that old way of living.
Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom,
These rules do indeed appear to be wise,
These rules seem to show a wise way to behave,
have an appearance of wisdom: Or “…have a reputation for wisdom.” Paul was saying that these rules seemed to be wise—but they were not. They appeared to be rules that taught people the correct way to behave, but (2:23e) they did not succeed.
with their self-prescribed worship,
for they teach people to be willing to do things that require great effort in order to show that they are devoted to God,
self-prescribed worship: The first “wise” rule that Paul specified concerned self-prescribed worship. The meaning of the Greek word is difficult to understand, so English versions translate it in many different ways. The basic meaning seems to be that the people attempt to please God by willingly forcing themselves to follow difficult religious rules.
their false humility,
to humble themselves,
their false humility: See the note on verse 2:18a.
and their harsh treatment of the body;
and to treat their bodies harshly.
and to make themselves suffer because they think this will please God.
their harsh treatment of the body: These rules also told people to treat their bodies harshly. This included fasting or only eating poor food, forcing themselves to stay awake for a long time, sitting outside in the cold for a long time, or beating themselves. People did things like these because they thought that by doing them they could please God.
but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
But in fact these rules do not help people to control their evil desires.
But even when people obey these rules, they still cannot stop behaving sinfully.
but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh: This means: “But these rules are useless. They cannot help people to control their evil desires.” This part of the verse contrasts with 2:23a. Paul was saying, “these rules seem to be wise but they are actually useless.”
In some languages you can clarify the contrast in this verse by rearranging it. One way to do this would be:
These rules tell you to willingly submit to strict religious rites, humble yourselves, and make your bodies suffer in order to please God. This may seem like a wise way to behave, but actually these rules do not help people to control their evil desires.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας
˓an˒_account (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἅτινα ἐστίν λόγον μέν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καί ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καί ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινί πρός πλησμονήν τῆς σαρκός)
Commands that have a word of wisdom are commands that come from wise thinking or require wise behavior. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this idiom with a comparable expression, or express it plainly. Alternate translation: [being indeed characterized by wisdom]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
λόγον
˓an˒_account
Here, a word represents a message that is made up of words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [a message] or [a lesson]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo
ἅτινά & λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκείᾳ καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ, ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἅτινα ἐστίν λόγον μέν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καί ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καί ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινί πρός πλησμονήν τῆς σαρκός)
While there is no grammatical marker for a condition here, the word in functionally introduces a condition: these commands have a word of wisdom “if” one values self-made religion and false humility and severity of the body. It is only if one values these things that the commands have wisdom. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this idea by using a conditional expression, or use the word “seem.” Alternate translation: [which, having indeed a word of wisdom if one values self-made religion and false humility and severity of the body] or [which, seeming to have a word or wisdom for those who practice self-made religion and false humility and severity of the body]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκείᾳ καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ, ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος,
˓an˒_account (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἅτινα ἐστίν λόγον μέν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καί ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καί ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινί πρός πλησμονήν τῆς σαρκός)
If your language does not use abstract nouns to express the ideas behind wisdom, religion, humility, and severity, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [having indeed a word that seems wise according to people who serve God in their own way, who humble themselves for gain, and who act severely to their bodies]
Note 5 topic: translate-unknown
ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος
severity ˱of˲_˓the˒_body
The phrase severity of the body refers to treating one’s body harshly as part of one’s religious practice. This could include beating oneself, not eating enough, or practicing other ascetic practices. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an expression that refers to religious practice or translate the idea with a verbal phrase. Alternate translation: [and wounding one’s body] or [and torturing one’s body]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἐστιν & οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἅτινα ἐστίν λόγον μέν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καί ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καί ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινί πρός πλησμονήν τῆς σαρκός)
If your language does not use an abstract noun to express the idea behind value, you could combine it with the verbal phrase are not to create a new phrase. Alternate translation: [do nothing] or [are ineffective]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
πλησμονὴν τῆς σαρκός
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἅτινα ἐστίν λόγον μέν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καί ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καί ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινί πρός πλησμονήν τῆς σαρκός)
Paul uses the possessive form to speak of indulgence one gives to the flesh. If your language would not use the possessive form to express this idea, you could translate indulgence with a verb such as “indulging.” Alternate translation: [indulging the flesh.]
Note 8 topic: translate-unknown
πλησμονὴν τῆς σαρκός
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἅτινα ἐστίν λόγον μέν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καί ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καί ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινί πρός πλησμονήν τῆς σαρκός)
If one indulges the flesh, this means that one behaves in ways that satisfy the desires of one’s weak and sinful parts. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea by using a word for “sin.” Alternate translation: [sin] or [giving in to sin]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
πλησμονὴν τῆς σαρκός
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἅτινα ἐστίν λόγον μέν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καί ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καί ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινί πρός πλησμονήν τῆς σαρκός)
If your language does not use an abstract noun to express the idea behind indulgence, you could use a verb such as “indulge.” Alternate translation: [indulging the flesh]
OET (OET-LV) Which things is an_account indeed having of_wisdom in personal_religion and humility, and severity of_the_body, not in any honour against the_indulgence of_the flesh.
OET (OET-RV) They seem to be wise and make you more religious or humble as you strictly obey them, but don’t honour the realities of our worldly desires.
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.