Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wyc SR-GNT UHB Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
interlinearVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL JOB YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
OET (OET-LV) Epafras who is of you_all is_greeting you_all, a_slave of_chosen_one/messiah Yaʸsous, always striving for you_all in the prayers, in_order_that you_all_may_be_stood mature and having_been_fully_assured in all the_will of_ the _god.
OET (OET-RV) Epaphras sends his greetings. He’s another one from your place and a slave of messiah Yeshua who always prays for you that you will stand mature and fully confident in all of God’s will.
Note 1 topic: translate-names
Ἐπαφρᾶς
Epaphras
Epaphras is the name of a man. He was the one who first preached the good news to the people in Colossae (See: Colossians 1:7).
ἀσπάζεται
/is/_greeting
As was customary in this culture, Paul concludes the letter by extending greetings from people who are with him and who know the people to whom he is writing. Your language may have a particular way of sharing greetings in a letter. If so, you could use that form here. Alternate translation: “asks to be remembered to” or “says hello to”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ὁ ἐξ ὑμῶν
who_‹is› of you_all
The phrase from among you means that Epaphras used to live with the Colossians and was part of the group to whom Paul is writing the letter. To express this idea, you could use a word or phrase that indicates in your language that a person belongs to a specific group of people. Alternate translation: “He is from your town” or “He used to live with you”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole
πάντοτε
always
Here, always is an exaggeration that the Colossians would have understood to mean that Epaphras prays for them very often. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word that indicates frequency. Alternate translation: “consistently” or “frequently”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἀγωνιζόμενος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς
striving for you_all in the prayers
The word striving is usually used for attempting to win a contest, whether that is athletic, military, or legal. While Epaphras is not actually participating in an athletic or military contest, Paul uses the metaphor to explain how earnestly Epaphras prays for the Colossians. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable metaphor or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: “praying zealously for you” or “spending much effort on his prayers for you”
Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal
ἵνα
in_order_that
The phrase so that could introduce: (1) the content of Epaphras’ prayers. Alternate translation: “asking that” (2) the purpose or goal of Epaphras’ prayers. Alternate translation: “in order that”
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
σταθῆτε τέλειοι καὶ πεπληροφορημένοι ἐν παντὶ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ
˱you_all˲_/may_be/_stood mature and /having_been/_fully_assured in all /the/_will ¬the ˱of˲_God
Here Paul speaks as if the Colossians can stand complete and fully assured in all the will of God. By this, he means that they should consistently do God’s will, just as if God’s will served as a foundation underneath them. The words complete and fully assured explain the way in which they are supposed to stand or continue to obey. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable metaphor or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: “you may be complete and fully assured as you consistently do all the will of God”
Note 7 topic: translate-unknown
τέλειοι
mature
The word complete in this context means that a person is what he or she is supposed to be and is able to do what he or she is called to do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word that has this meaning, such as “perfect” or “excellent,” or translate complete with a short phrase. Alternate translation: “fit for what God has called you to be”
Note 8 topic: translate-unknown
πεπληροφορημένοι
/having_been/_fully_assured
The phrase fully assured describes people who are confident or sure of what they believe and do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this idea with a short phrase. Alternate translation: “convinced about what you know” or “without doubts”
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἐν παντὶ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ
in in all /the/_will ¬the ˱of˲_God
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind will, you could express the idea by using a verb such as “wants” or “desires.” Alternate translation: “in whatever God desires”
4:7-18 Most New Testament letters end with a series of greetings and references to co-workers and travel plans, but this part of Colossians is longer than normal. Paul, being unable to travel, might have been seeking to ensure that the Colossians maintain connections with his co-workers. This would help them not to fall for the enticements of the false teachers.
OET (OET-LV) Epafras who is of you_all is_greeting you_all, a_slave of_chosen_one/messiah Yaʸsous, always striving for you_all in the prayers, in_order_that you_all_may_be_stood mature and having_been_fully_assured in all the_will of_ the _god.
OET (OET-RV) Epaphras sends his greetings. He’s another one from your place and a slave of messiah Yeshua who always prays for you that you will stand mature and fully confident in all of God’s will.
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 SR-GNT.