COL 1:22 Parallel Verse View

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

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 But now you have been reconciled by the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

UST But that has all changed now that you believe in Jesus! God the Father has repaired the relationship between himself and you by working through his Son when his Son became human and died. God the Father repaired the relationship so that you can dwell with him as people who are completely free from sin.

BSB But now He has reconciled [you] by [Christ’s] physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—

MSB But now He has reconciled [you][fn] by [Christ’s] physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—

BLB but now He has reconciled in His body of flesh through death, to present you holy and unblemished and blameless before Him,

AICNT he has now reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

OEB but now he has reconciled you to himself by the sacrifice of Christ’s earthly body in death – it has pleased God that you should stand in his presence holy, pure, and blameless,

WEBBE yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him –

LSV in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before Himself,

FBV but now he has reconciled you through his dying human body, bringing you into his presence where you stand holy, pure, and faultless.

TCNT through the death of Christ in his physical body, [fn]in order to bring you into his own presence as holy, unblemished, and above reproach,

1:22 in order to ¦ so that he might SBL

T4T nevertheless, God our Father has now reconciled you with himself. He did that as a result of his Son dying physically. He did it in order that you should be completely holy when he brings you into his presence.

LEB but now you have been reconciled[fn] by _⌊his physical body_⌋[fn] through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

1:22 Some manuscripts have “he has reconciled you”

1:22 Literally “the body of his flesh”

BBE In the body of his flesh through death, so that you might be holy and without sin and free from all evil before him:

Moff so as to set you consecrated and unblemished and irreproachable in his presence--

Wymth He has now, in His human body, reconciled to God by His death, to bring you, holy and faultless and irreproachable, into His presence;

ASV yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him:

DRA Yet now he hath reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unspotted, and blameless before him:

YLT in the body of his flesh through the death, to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before himself,

Drby in the body of his flesh through death; to present you holy and unblamable and irreproachable before it,

RV in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him:

SLT In the body of his flesh by death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable before him:

Wbstr In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight:

KJB-1769 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

KJB-1611 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy & vnblameable, and vnreprooueable in his sight,
(In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable, and unreprooueable in his sight,)

Bshps In the body of his fleshe, through death, to present you holye, and vnblameable, & without fault in his syght:
(In the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy, and unblameable, and without fault in his sight:)

Gnva In that body of his flesh through death, to make you holy, and vnblameable and without fault in his sight,
(In that body of his flesh through death, to make you holy, and unblameable and without fault in his sight, )

Cvdl in the body of his flesh thorow death, to make you holy, and vnblameable & with out faute in his awne sighte,
(in the body of his flesh through death, to make you holy, and unblameable and with out fault in his own sight,)

TNT in the body of his flesshe thorowe deeth to make you holy vnblameable and with out faut in his awne syght
(in the body of his flesh through death to make you holy unblameable and with out faut in his own sight )

Wycl now he hath recounselid you in the bodi of his fleisch bi deth, to haue you hooli, and vnwemmyd, and with out repreef bifor hym.
(now he hath/has recounselid you in the body of his flesh by death, to have you holy, and unwemmyd, and with out repreef before him.)

Luth nun aber hat er euch versöhnet mit dem Leibe seines Fleisches durch den Tod, auf daß er euch darstellete heilig und unsträflich und ohne Tadel vor ihm selbst,
(now but has he you reconciled with to_him body his fleshes through the Tod, on/in/to that he you darstellete holy and blameless and without Tadel before/in_front_of him himself/itself,)

ClVg nunc autem reconciliavit in corpore carnis ejus per mortem, exhibere vos sanctos, et immaculatos, et irreprehensibiles coram ipso:[fn]
(now however reconciliavit in/into/on body of_flesh his through death, exhibere you(pl) saints, and spotless/unblemished, and irreprehensibiles before himself: )

1.22 Reconciliavit in corpore. Si mortalis et mortuus potuit reconciliare, jam immortalis potest omnia facere.

1.22 Reconciliavit in/into/on body. When/But_if mortalis and dead could reconciliare, already immortalis can everything to_do.

UGNT νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ, διὰ τοῦ θανάτου, παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους, καὶ ἀμώμους, καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους, κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ—
(nuni de apokataʸllagaʸte en tōi sōmati taʸs sarkos autou, dia tou thanatou, parastaʸsai humas hagious, kai amōmous, kai anegklaʸtous, katenōpion autou—)

SBL-GNT νυνὶ δὲ ⸀ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου— παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ,
(nuni de ⸀apokataʸllagaʸte en tōi sōmati taʸs sarkos autou dia tou thanatou— parastaʸsai humas hagious kai amōmous kai anegklaʸtous katenōpion autou,)

RP-GNT ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου, παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ·
(en tōi sōmati taʸs sarkos autou dia tou thanatou, parastaʸsai humas hagious kai amōmous kai anegklaʸtous katenōpion autou;)

TC-GNT ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ [fn]θανάτου, παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ·
(en tōi sōmati taʸs sarkos autou dia tou thanatou, parastaʸsai humas hagious kai amōmous kai anegklaʸtous katenōpion autou; )

1:22 θανατου ¦ θανατου αυτου PCK

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

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 1:13–23: Jesus Christ is greater than everything

In this section, Paul stated these things: Jesus is equal to God in every way. He has always been with God and he (with God) created the world. God has freed Christians from the power of Satan and has placed them under the rule of his Son, Christ Jesus. God has accepted those who believe in Jesus as his own people. This was possible because Jesus died on the cross instead of them.

Paragraph 1:21–23

Theme: Although the Colossians had previously been God’s enemies, he had now made them his own people.

1:21–23 is one sentence in Greek. You will probably need to divide it into several sentences in your translation. The main verb of this sentence is “he has reconciled you” (1:22). In the previous paragraph Paul said that God’s plan was to reconcile all things to himself (1:20). In this paragraph Paul applied this directly to the Colossians.

1:22a

But now He has reconciled you

But now God has restored harmony between himself and you,
But even though you were like that in the past, now God has caused you to be at peace with himself.

But now: In this verse Paul contrasted the way the Colossians were before they believed in Christ with the way they were now, that is, after they had become believers.

He has reconciled you: See the note on 1:20a. You should translate the word reconciled here the same way as you did in 1:20.

He: There are a number of pronouns in the Greek text of this verse and it is not clear to whom they refer. Scholars do not agree about who is the subject of the verb “reconciled.” It could be either God or Christ. Most commentators and English versions prefer God as the subject, and this is consistent with all that the NT teaches. So it is recommended that you clarify that God is the subject in your translation.

1:22b

by Christ’s physical body through death

by having his Son become human and die on the cross.
The way God did this was by means of Christ becoming a man and dying.

by Christ’s physical body through death: This is similar to what Paul said in 1:20c. God reconciled the Colossians to himself by means of Christ’s…death.

Christ’s physical body: The Greek literally says, “the body of his flesh” (see RSV). Paul was emphasizing that Christ had a physical body, a human body.Why did Paul talk about “Christ’s physical body” in Colossians 1:22, and 2:9? Some scholars believe that the false teachers in Colossae taught that people needed the help of spiritual beings, such as angels, in order to be made acceptable to God. So, in order to fight against this false teaching, Paul wrote that God had reconciled us to himself, not with the help of angels or other spiritual creatures, but by Christ and Christ alone. All of God was in Christ bodily (2:9). His physical body literally died on a cross and his blood poured out (1:20c, 1:22b).

1:22c

to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—

God did this so that when he brings you to be where he is in the future, you will be pure and without any sin or guilt.
God reconciled you by having Christ die so that when you stand before God at the time when he judges all people he will consider you to be completely pure, without sin, and no one will have any reason to accuse you of doing anything wrong.

to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence: This states the purpose of 1:22a. God had reconciled the Colossians to himself in order to present them holy, unblemished, and blameless. The subject of this part of the verse is the same as the subject of 1:22a, that is, God. See the note on 1:22a. So Paul was saying, “God has reconciled you…in order that he God can present you…”

to present you…in His presence: This means, “to cause you to be in his presence,” or “to bring you to be where he is.” Scholars do not agree about when this happens:

Many scholars say that these words refer to the future, that is, to the day when God will judge everyone.
Some scholars believe that Paul was writing about something that is already true. By means of Christ’s death, God has already brought those who believe in him into his presence and caused them to be holy and pure. (CEV, NLT)

Both these interpretations are true, and are taught elsewhere in the Bible. Many English versions are ambiguous because the Greek text could mean either. The Display follows the first interpretation (1), since most commentaries prefer it.

holy, unblemished, and blameless: In 1:22c–d Paul said that God’s purpose was to make us “to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence.” Paul was not talking about our actual behavior. No Christian behaves perfectly and never sins. But God has forgiven us for our sins and has justified us. So, now when God judges us, he considers us no longer guilty of sin. He now considers us righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:1–4) and “holy…unblemished, and blameless.” And in the future, when God raises us from the dead and gives us new bodies, he will make us truly holy in our actions also.: Paul uses three words or phrases that mean almost the same thing.

holy: The Greek word hagios that the BSB translates holy normally means “dedicated to God.” In this context, the meaning is “pure.” (See “holy” in KBT and meaning 2 in the glossary).

unblemished: The Greek word amōmos that the BSB translates unblemished is a term that is used to describe an animal that has no cuts, bruises, or other physical problems—an animal that is acceptable as a sacrifice (1 Peter 1:19; Exodus 12:5). Here it means “morally pure, having no sins.”

blameless: The Greek word anegklētos which the BSB translates blameless means that no one can accuse believers before God and say they are guilty of sinning.

If your language does not have three different terms for these concepts, there are several ways you can combine them. The main reason Paul used three separate words with similar meanings was to strengthen his statement. The SSA suggests that the meaning is simply, “in order that you should be completely holy.” Another way to translate these three terms is:

completely pure and without blame in any way

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

δὲ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: νυνί δέ ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκός αὐτοῦ διά τοῦ θανάτου παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καί ἀμώμους καί ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ)

The word But here introduces a strong contrast from the previous sentence. Use a natural way in your language for introducing a strong contrast from what was just said. Alternate translation: [Instead of that,]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-time-sequential

νυνὶ

The word now does not refer to the moment at which Paul writes this letter or the moment at which it is read to the Colossians. Instead, it refers to the time since they believed, including the present moment. This follows as a sequence to the previous verse, which referred to the time when they had not yet believed. If the meaning of now would be misunderstood your language, you could add a phrase such as “that you have believed.” Alternate translation: [now that you have faith in Jesus,]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ

in the body ˱of˲_the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: νυνί δέ ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκός αὐτοῦ διά τοῦ θανάτου παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καί ἀμώμους καί ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ)

Paul uses the phrase the body of his flesh to refer to Jesus and everything that he did while in a human body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [by Jesus in his physical body]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ

the body ˱of˲_the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: νυνί δέ ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκός αὐτοῦ διά τοῦ θανάτου παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καί ἀμώμους καί ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ)

Paul describes Jesus’ body that is characterized by flesh. This refers to Jesus’ body during his earthly life, not his glorified body after the resurrection. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an expression that makes this idea clear. Alternate translation: [his physical body] or [his body before the resurrection]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

διὰ τοῦ θανάτου

Paul has not stated whose death this is. This death is not that of the Colossians but that of Jesus on the cross. If your language would state who died, you could add a possessive word to clarify. Alternate translation: [through his death] or [through Jesus’ death]

Note 6 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς

˓to˒_present you_all

Here, to present you gives the purpose for which God reconciled the Colossians by the death of his Son. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a purpose phrase such as “so that” or “in order to.” Alternate translation: [so that he might present you]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους, καὶ ἀμώμους, καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους, κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ

˓to˒_present you_all holy (Some words not found in SR-GNT: νυνί δέ ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκός αὐτοῦ διά τοῦ θανάτου παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καί ἀμώμους καί ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ)

Paul is describing the Colossians as though Jesus had brought them to stand before God the Father, by which he means that Jesus has made them acceptable to God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this idea in plain language. Alternate translation: [to make you acceptable before him, holy and blameless and above reproach]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

ἁγίους, καὶ ἀμώμους, καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους

holy (Some words not found in SR-GNT: νυνί δέ ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκός αὐτοῦ διά τοῦ θανάτου παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καί ἀμώμους καί ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ)

These words, holy, blameless, and above reproach, mean basically the same thing here. The repetition is used to emphasize the completeness of what the Son did to take away the Colossians’ sin. After trusting in Jesus, they are now completely morally pure. If your language does not use repetition in this way or you do not have three words that mean this, you could use fewer words and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [completely pure] or [without any sin at all]

Parallel COL 1:22

Section 1:13–23: Jesus Christ is greater than everything

Paragraph 1:21–23

1:22a

1:22b

1:22c