COL 1:12 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Then you’ll all be thanking the father, the one who qualified you all for a part of the inheritance of godly people who live in the light.

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT giving thanks to the Father, the one having made you able to share the inheritance of the saints in the light. [fn]

Some versions read, the one having made us able to have a share.

UST Then you will continually thank God our Father, because he has made you worthy to take part in everything that he has to give to his people when they are with him.

BSB giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[fn] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

MSB giving thanks to the Father,[fn] who has qualified us[fn] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

BLB giving thanks to the Father, the One having qualified you for the share of the inheritance of the saints in light,

AICNT Giving thanks to {God}[fn] the Father, who has qualified {you}[fn] for the share of the inheritance of the holy ones in the light;

1:12, God: Later manuscripts add.

1:12, you: Later manuscripts read “us.” BYZ TR

OEB and you will give thanks to the Father who made you fit to share the lot which awaits Christ’s people in the realms of light.

WEBBE giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,

WMBB giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the holy ones in light,

NET giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

LSV Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us for the participation of the inheritance of the holy ones in the light,

FBV May you happily praise the Father, who has made it possible for us to share in the inheritance of God's people who live in the light.

TCNT giving thanks to [fn]the Father, who has enabled [fn]us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

1:12 the ¦ our God and ANT

1:12 us ¦ you CT

T4T And we pray that you will be thanking God our Father, because he has enabled you/us to receive the things that he will give to his people in heaven [SYN].

LEB giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you for a share of the inheritance of the saints in light,

BBE Giving praise to the Father who has given us a part in the heritage of the saints in light;

Moff thanking the Father who has qualified us to share the lot of the saints in the Light,

Wymth and give thanks to the Father who has made us fit to receive our share of the inheritance of God's people in Light.

ASV giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;

DRA Giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light:

YLT Giving thanks to the Father who did make us meet for the participation of the inheritance of the saints in the light,

Drby giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for sharing the portion of the saints in light,

RV giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;

SLT Returning thanks to the Father, having rendered us fitting for the portion of the lot of the holy in light:

Wbstr Giving thanks to the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

KJB-1769 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
(Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath/has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: )

KJB-1611 Giuing thanks vnto the Father, which hath made vs meete to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light:
(Giuing thanks unto the Father, which hath/has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light:)

Bshps Geuyng thankes vnto ye father, which hath made vs meete to be partakers of the inheritaunce of the saintes in lyght.
(Geuing thanks unto ye/you_all father, which hath/has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.)

Gnva Giuing thankes vnto the Father, which hath made vs meete to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saintes in light,
(Giuing thanks unto the Father, which hath/has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light, )

Cvdl and geue thankes vnto the father, which hath made vs mete for the enheritaunce of sayntes in lighte.
(and give thanks unto the father, which hath/has made us meet for the inheritance of saints in lighte.)

TNT gevynge thankes vnto the father which hath made vs mete to be part takers of the enheritaunce of sainctes in light.
(geving thanks unto the father which hath/has made us meet to be part takers of the inheritance of sainctes in light. )

Wycl that ye do thankyngis to God and to the fadir, which made you worthi in to the part of eritage of hooli men in liyt.
(that ye/you_all do thankings to God and to the father, which made you worthy in to the part of heritage of holy men in light.)

Luth und danksaget dem Vater, der uns tüchtig gemacht hat zu dem Erbteil der Heiligen im Licht,
(and danksaget to_him father, the/of_the us/to_us/ourselves efficient/proficient made has to/for to_him inheritance the/of_the saints/holy_ones in_the light(n),)

ClVg gratias agentes Deo Patri, qui dignos nos fecit in partem sortis sanctorum in lumine:[fn]
(graces agents to_God Patri, who/which worthy us he_did in/into/on part sortis holy_place in/into/on the_light: )

1.12 Gratias agentes. Jam incipit dicere quod lex non prodest, sed nocet, et Christus ad omnia bona sufficit: quod inde potest sciri, cum ipse et alii apostoli (qui in legalibus fuerant) eis dimissis ad Christum confugerunt: Quasi dicat: Pro vobis oramus nos, gratias agentes Deo, ideo quia nos dignos facit, quod nunquam lex potuit. Dignos nos fecit. Non in lege, sed in lumine, id est per Deum qui est lumen de lumine, cujus gratia illuminamur. Vel in lumine, id est in clara cognitione, a quo devians cadit in tenebras. Sortis. Voluntas Dei, in humano genere sors est apud quem non est iniquitas, sed omnia facit per justitiam, etsi occultam.

1.12 Graces agents. Now begins to_say that the_law not/no benefit, but nocet, and Christ/Messiah to everything good(s) enough: that therefore/from_there can sciri, when/with exactly_that/himself and others apostles (qui in/into/on legalibus they_had_been) to_them dimissis to Christ/Messiah confugerunt: As_if let_him_say: For to_you(pl) coast/edgeus us, graces agents to_God, therefore/for_that_reason because us worthy he_does, that never/certainly_not the_law could. Dignos us he_did. Not/No in/into/on lawfully, but in/into/on the_light, that it_is through God who/which it_is the_light from/about the_light, whose grace illuminamur. Or in/into/on the_light, that it_is in/into/on clara knowledge, from where devians falls in/into/on darkness. Sortis. Voluntas of_God, in/into/on human in_general fate/divination it_is at which not/no it_is iniquity, but everything he_does through justice, even_though hiddenm.

UGNT εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Πατρὶ, τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί,
(euⱪaristountes tōi Patri, tōi hikanōsanti humas eis taʸn merida tou klaʸrou tōn hagiōn en tōi fōti,)

SBL-GNT εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ⸀ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί,
(euⱪaristountes tōi patri tōi hikanōsanti ⸀humas eis taʸn merida tou klaʸrou tōn hagiōn en tōi fōti,)

RP-GNT εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί,
(euⱪaristountes tōi patri tōi hikanōsanti haʸmas eis taʸn merida tou klaʸrou tōn hagiōn en tōi fōti,)

TC-GNT εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ [fn]πατρὶ τῷ ἱκανώσαντι [fn]ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί,
(euⱪaristountes tōi patri tōi hikanōsanti haʸmas eis taʸn merida tou klaʸrou tōn hagiōn en tōi fōti, )

1:12 πατρι ¦ θεω και πατρι ANT

1:12 ημας ¦ υμας CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:3–12: Paul thanked God for the Colossians and prayed for them

In this section, Paul told the Colossian Christians that he often thanked God for them. He was grateful to God that they had trusted in Christ Jesus, and that they loved all God’s people. He told them about his prayers for them—that God would cause them to be wise and help them to know what he wanted them to do.

Epaphras had come from Colossae to visit Paul in prison. He brought news to Paul about the Christian congregations in Colossae and the towns nearby. Paul was happy to hear that the Christians in Colossae were trusting firmly in Jesus. However, he was concerned to hear that there were some people among them who wanted to continue to practice their old religious beliefs, and others who said that Christians must obey the Jewish laws. In this section of his letter, Paul concentrated on the good news he had heard from Epaphras.

Paragraph 1:9–12

Theme: Paul was constantly asking God to help the Colossians to know all that God wanted them to do.

In these verses Paul was not actually praying. Rather, he was telling the Colossians what he usually prayed for them. In Greek these four verses are one long sentence. You will probably need to divide this sentence into several sentences in your translation, as most English versions do. The main part of the long sentence is “we have not stopped praying for you and asking God…” (1:9a–b). The rest of these verses contain a list of what Paul was praying for the Colossians.

Study the different ways the English versions have broken 1:9–12 into different sentences. Consider how you can arrange the sentences and connect them together to make Paul’s prayer sound natural in your language. One way to do this would be to repeat, “We pray that…” at the beginning of each subject Paul prayed for the Colossians.

1:12b

who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

who has made you worthy to share in all that he has prepared for his own people in heaven.
It is he who has made you his people, and because of this you are worthy to share in what he has promised to give to his own people in his kingdom of light.

1:12a-b

Father, who has qualified you: The Greek verb hikanoō that the BSB translates qualified means to make something or someone fit or capable for a task. The important thing here is that Paul said that it was God who had made the Colossians “fit” or “capable,” it was not something they had done for themselves.

1:12a

giving thanks to the Father,

May you continually thank God our^(incl) Father,

you: There is a textual problem in this verse:

Some Greek manuscripts have the pronoun you here. This is followed by nearly every English version. (BSB, NIV, GNT, CEV, GW, NCV, NET, NJB, NLT, NRSV, REB)
Other Greek manuscripts have the pronoun “us.” This is only followed by some older English versions. (RSV, KJV, NASB)

You should follow the first option (1) since it has the best manuscript support. Also, the majority of English versions follow this option.

to share in the inheritance: The Greek word klēros that the BSB has translated as inheritance means “portion, what has been allotted/promised to someone.” Here it is a figure of speech to refer to what God has promised to give Christians in heaven.

saints: See the note on 1:4b.

in the light: The BSB translates the Greek text literally as in the light. Some other English versions translate this phrase as “kingdom of light” (NIV, GNT, CEV, NCV, REB) to contrast this verse with 1:13a which talks about “the dominion/power of darkness.”

There are two ways to interpret the phrase “in the light”:

It is a figure of speech and means “heaven” (SSA). God has promised that all Christians will be with him in heaven—that is the inheritance he has promised that they will all share. It is described as light because God is pure, that is, without sin, and, therefore, heaven is pure. It also refers to the great light surrounding God in heaven.
It refers to the morally upright way in which Christians should behave in this world (as in 1 John 1:5–7, 2:9–10). That is, light refers to moral purity; it refers to Christians behaving in the way that pleases God. For example:
to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light (NLT)

Both these meanings are possible and many English versions leave it ambiguous. If you cannot leave it ambiguous in your translation, it is recommended that you follow the first option for the following two reasons:

Receiving “the lot” or “inheritance” is almost always spoken of in Scripture as something in the future. So it is more logical to see the light here as the light of heaven.
Paul was probably comparing the inheritance that had been promised to Christians to the inheritance that had been promised to the Israelites in the OT. Each Israelite family received their portion/share of the land when they entered the land of Canaan, just as God had promised them. In the same way, Christians will receive what God has promised them when they enter heaven.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

εὐχαριστοῦντες

giving_thanks

Some Bible versions connect the phrase “with joy” at the end of verse 11 to the phrase at the beginning of verse 12, instead of connecting it to verse 11. Alternate translation: [with joy giving thanks]

Note 1 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples

τῷ Πατρὶ

˱to˲_the the_‹one› the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Πατρί τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς τήν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί)

Father is an important title that describes the relationship between God and Jesus, and it also describes the relationship between God and believers, who are adopted children. Alternate translation: [God the Father]

ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς

˓having˒_qualified you_all

Alternate translation: [who has qualified you]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal

εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων

for (Some words not found in SR-GNT: εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Πατρί τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς τήν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί)

This is a purpose clause. Paul is stating the purpose for which God made the Colossians able. In your translation, follow the conventions of your language for purpose clauses. Alternate translation (without a comma preceding): [so that you could share the inheritance of the saints]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Πατρί τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς τήν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί)

Paul is using the possessive form to describe a share that is characterized by inheritance. If your language does not use this form to express that meaning, you could use a verbal phrase like “receive your portion of” or “take part in.” Alternate translation: [to take part in the inheritance]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων

˱of˲_the allotment ˱of˲_the holy_‹ones›

Paul uses the possessive form to indicate that the inheritance is for the saints. If your language does not use this form to express that meaning, you could use a descriptive phrase such as “that God is keeping for” or “that belongs to” instead. Alternate translation: [the inheritance that belongs to the saints]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐν τῷ φωτί

in the light

Here, in the light is the opposite of the “authority of the darkness” in the next verse ([1:13](../01/13.md)) and refers to belonging to God and being part of his kingdom. The metaphor of light representing God, goodness, and heaven is very common in the Bible, and it would be useful to retain it if it communicates well. However, you could express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [in the spiritual kingdom of God] or [in God’s glorious presence]

Parallel COL 1:12

Section 1:3–12: Paul thanked God for the Colossians and prayed for them

Paragraph 1:9–12

1:12b

1:12a-b

1:12a