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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 3 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25
OET (OET-LV) And everything, whatever anything if you_all_may_be_doing in message or in work, all things in the_name of_the_master Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) do, giving_thanks to_ the _god the_father through him.
OET (OET-RV) Then give thanks to God the father through the name of Messiah Yeshua in everything—whatever you’re all saying or doing.
Theme: Paul told the Colossians that they should decide to please only God. That is, they should not do evil deeds, they should love one another, they should live peacefully with one another, and they should continually learn more and more about God.
Theme: Paul reminded the Colossians that they belonged to the Lord Jesus. Therefore, they should do everything that people who belong to him should do.
This verse is a summary of all that Paul had commanded/urged the Colossians to do since 2:6.
And whatever you do, in word or deed,
¶ Whatever you say and whatever you do,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
do everything as a representative of the Lord Jesus,
do everything in a way that shows that you represent the Lord Jesus,
in the name of the Lord Jesus: To do something in the name of someone else is to do it as that person’s representative, or as one who acts under his authority. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus (NLT)
You could reorder 3:17a–b as follows:
Since we are all representatives of the Lord Jesus, we should speak as he wants us to speak, and we should do things in the way he wants us to do them.
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
continually thanking God the Father by means of the Lord Jesus.
and always thanking our(incl) Father God by means of the Lord Jesus acting as a mediator.
God the Father: In some languages, it is more natural to say “God our(incl) Father,” than God the Father.
through Him: That is, “through Jesus.” This means that Christians should thank God the Father “by means of the Lord Jesus.” Jesus is our mediator—he is the “go-between.” Christ takes our thanks and presents them to God the Father.
It could also mean that it is by means of Jesus and what he did that Christians can approach God to pray and give thanks. One way to express this is to say:
Always say thank you to our Father God. You can approach him to say thank you because Jesus has made it possible for you.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
πᾶν, ὅ τι ἐὰν ποιῆτε ἐν λόγῳ ἢ ἐν ἔργῳ, πάντα ἐν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί παν ὅ τὶ ἐάν ποιῆτε ἐν λόγῳ ἤ ἐν ἔργῳ παντᾶ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ Πατρί διʼ αὐτοῦ)
The word all refers back to everything, whatever you might do in word or in deed. If your language would not write the object (everything, whatever you might do in word or in deed) first, you could put it where all is, after the verb. Or, you could change the object into a relative clause. Alternate translation: [do everything, whatever you might do in word or in deed, in]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
πᾶν, ὅ τι ἐὰν ποιῆτε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί παν ὅ τὶ ἐάν ποιῆτε ἐν λόγῳ ἤ ἐν ἔργῳ παντᾶ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ Πατρί διʼ αὐτοῦ)
In Paul’s culture, this is a natural way to refer to anything someone might do, including all possibilities. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a customary way to refer to all possible actions. Alternate translation: [anything you do]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἐν λόγῳ ἢ ἐν ἔργῳ
in word in in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί παν ὅ τὶ ἐάν ποιῆτε ἐν λόγῳ ἤ ἐν ἔργῳ παντᾶ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ Πατρί διʼ αὐτοῦ)
If your language does not use abstract nouns to express the ideas behind word and deed, you could express the idea with verbs such as “speak” and “act.” Alternate translation: [in speaking or in acting] or [when you speak or act]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ
in in in ˓the˒_name ˱of˲_˓the˒_Lord Jesus_‹do›
Acting in the name of a person means representing that person. Representatives, those who do anything in the name of someone else, should act so as to help others think well of and honor the people they represent. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable idiom for representing someone or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [as representatives of the Lord Jesus] or [in a way that leads to honor for the Lord Jesus]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
δι’ αὐτοῦ
through him
The phrase through him does not mean that the prayers of thanks are mediated to God the Father by God the Son. Rather, it is through the Son that the Colossians are able to give thanks. This means that they can give thanks because of what the Son has done for them. If that meaning of through him would not be understood in your language, you could express the idea with a preposition such as “because” or clarify that it is through the “work” of the Son. Alternate translation: [because of what he has done] or [through his work]
3:17 as a representative of the Lord Jesus (literally in the name of the Lord Jesus): In the Bible, a person’s name represents that person. To do something in the name of the Lord Jesus is therefore to act in a way that is in harmony with his identity and under his authority.
OET (OET-LV) And everything, whatever anything if you_all_may_be_doing in message or in work, all things in the_name of_the_master Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) do, giving_thanks to_ the _god the_father through him.
OET (OET-RV) Then give thanks to God the father through the name of Messiah Yeshua in everything—whatever you’re all saying or doing.
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.