COL 1:24 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, light-green:nominative/subject, 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 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh the lack of the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church,

UST At the present time I suffer cheerfully because it is for your benefit. I am suffering physically to complete my part of the suffering that the Messiah began on behalf of his people, the church, which is like the Messiah’s own body.

BSB Now I rejoice in [my] sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

BLB Now I rejoice in the sufferings for you, and I am filling up in my flesh that which is lacking of the tribulations of Christ for His body, which is the church,

AICNT Now I rejoice in {the}[fn] sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

1:24, the: Later manuscripts read “my.” TR

OEB ¶ Now at last I can rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf, and in my own person I supplement the afflictions endured by the Christ, for the sake of his body, the church;

WEBBE Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly,

WMBB Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Messiah in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly,

NET Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

LSV I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for His body, which is the Assembly,

FBV I'm happy to have trouble for your sake, for by means of what happens to me physically I'm part of Christ's sufferings that he continues to experience for the sake of his body, the church.

TCNT I rejoice now in my sufferings for you, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.

T4T At the present time I am rejoicing that I am suffering for your benefit; that is, I am completing what Christ decided that I should suffer physically for the benefit of all believers, who are as dear to him as his own body.

LEB ¶ Now I rejoice in my sufferings on behalf of you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ, on behalf of his body which is the church,

BBE Now I have joy in my pain because of you, and in my flesh I undergo whatever is still needed to make the sorrows of Christ complete, for the salvation of his body, the church;

Moff I am suffering now on your behalf, but I rejoice in that; I would make up the full sum of all that Christ has to suffer in my person on behalf of the church, his Body;

Wymth Now I can find joy amid my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my own person whatever is lacking in Christ's afflictions on behalf of His Body, the Church.

ASV Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church;

DRA Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church:

YLT I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly,

Drby Now, I rejoice in sufferings for you, and I fill up that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the assembly;

RV Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church;

SLT Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill again the necessities of the pressures of Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the church.

Wbstr Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

KJB-1769 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

KJB-1611 Who now reioyce in my sufferings for you, and fill vp that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his bodies sake, which is the Church,
(Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his bodies sake, which is the Church,)

Bshps Nowe iowe I in my sufferynges for you, and fulfyll that which is behynde of the passions of Christe, in my fleshe, for his bodyes sake, which is ye Church:
(Now iowe I in my sufferings for you, and fulfil that which is behind of the passions of Christ, in my flesh, for his bodies sake, which is ye/you_all Church:)

Gnva Now reioyce I in my suffrings for you, and fulfill the rest of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his bodies sake, which is the Church,
(Now rejoice I in my suffrings for you, and fulfil the rest of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his bodies sake, which is the Church, )

Cvdl Now ioye I in my sufferynges, which I suffre for you, and fulfill that which is behynde of the passions of Christ in my flesh, for his bodyes sake, which is the congregacion,
(Now joy I in my sufferings, which I suffer for you, and fulfil that which is behind of the passions of Christ in my flesh, for his bodies sake, which is the congregation,)

TNT Now ioye I in my soferinges which I suffre for you and fulfill that which is behynde of the passions of Christ in my flesshe for his bodies sake which is the congregacion
(Now joy I in my soferinges which I suffer for you and fulfil that which is behind of the passions of Christ in my flesh for his bodies sake which is the congregation )

Wycl and now Y haue ioye in passioun for you, and Y fille tho thingis that failen of the passiouns of Crist in my fleisch, for his bodi, that is the chirche.
(and now I have joy in passioun for you, and I fill those things that failen of the passiouns of Christ in my flesh, for his body, that is the church.)

Luth Nun freue ich mich in meinem Leiden, das ich für euch leide, und erstatte an meinem Fleisch, was noch mangelt an Trübsalen in Christo für seinen Leib, welcher ist die Gemeinde,
(Now am_happy I me in my Leiden, the I for/in_favour_of you suffer, and erstatte at/to my flesh, what/which still lacking at/to gloom/sorrow/afflictionsen in Christo for/in_favour_of his Leib, which is the Gemeinde,)

ClVg Qui nunc gaudeo in passionibus pro vobis, et adimpleo ea quæ desunt passionem Christi, in carne mea pro corpore ejus, quod est Ecclesia:[fn]
(Who now gaudeo in/into/on passionbus for to_you(pl), and adimpleo them which desunt passion Christi, in/into/on flesh/meat my for body his, that it_is Assembly/Church: )

1.24 Adimpleo. Ea passionum quæ Christus sustinuit, vel quæ modo sustinere præcepit, quæ adhuc desunt adimpleo, id est paratus sum pati.

1.24 Adimpleo. Ea passionum which Christ/Messiah endured, or which just/only to_endure ordered, which still desunt adimpleo, that it_is ready I_am to_suffer.

UGNT νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία;
(nun ⱪairō en tois pathaʸmasin huper humōn, kai antanaplaʸrō ta husteraʸmata tōn thlipseōn tou Ⱪristou en taʸ sarki mou huper tou sōmatos autou, ho estin haʸ ekklaʸsia;)

SBL-GNT Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία,
(Nun ⱪairō en tois pathaʸmasin huper humōn, kai antanaplaʸrō ta husteraʸmata tōn thlipseōn tou Ⱪristou en taʸ sarki mou huper tou sōmatos autou, ho estin haʸ ekklaʸsia,)

RP-GNT Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία·
(Nun ⱪairō en tois pathaʸmasin huper humōn, kai antanaplaʸrō ta husteraʸmata tōn thlipseōn tou ⱪristou en taʸ sarki mou huper tou sōmatos autou, ho estin haʸ ekklaʸsia;)

TC-GNT [fn]Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς [fn]παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία·
(Nun ⱪairō en tois pathaʸmasin huper humōn, kai antanaplaʸrō ta husteraʸmata tōn thlipseōn tou Ⱪristou en taʸ sarki mou huper tou sōmatos autou, ho estin haʸ ekklaʸsia; )

1:24 νυν ¦ ος νυν SCR

1:24 παθημασιν ¦ παθημασι μου ANT PCK TR

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:24–2:5: Paul told about the way he worked hard to tell the gospel to the non-Jews

Theme: Paul willingly suffered and worked hard so that the Colossians, most of whom were not Jews, would understand the true message about Christ so thoroughly that no one would be able to deceive them.

Paragraph 1:24–29

Theme: Paul willingly suffered so that the Colossians, most of whom were not Jews, would know the message about Christ.

1:24a

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you,

¶ At present I am happy because I know that what I am suffering here as a prisoner benefits you.
¶ I am suffering because of the work I have done to help you Gentiles. But I do this willingly now.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you: Paul was writing about what he had suffered. Here is another way to translate this clause:

And now I am happy about my sufferings for you (GNT)

I rejoice: Paul was not saying that he enjoyed suffering. Rather he was saying that he was willing to suffer for the Christians in Colossae and other places.

for you: The words for you mean “in order to help you,” or “to benefit you.” In this section, 1:24–2:5, Paul spoke mainly about his work to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (those who were not Jews), and so the pronoun you means, “you Gentile Christians.”

The reason Paul had been suffering was that when he preached the gospel, especially to the Gentiles, his enemies had often persecuted him and put him in prison.

1:24b

and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions

And I willingly suffer all that Christ requires me to suffer on his behalf
As Christians, we must continue to endure suffering. Just as Christ suffered, so I willingly suffer physically all that is necessary

I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions: This is a difficult expression to understand and scholars disagree about what it means. It is not possible in these notes to explain all the different possibilities. Because of this, these notes present one major view among the many. For other views, you need to consult commentaries.

I fill up: The Greek verb antanaplērō that the BSB translates I fill up means, “I complete (something) by adding what is lacking.” Here it means, “I am completing what Christ has appointed for me to suffer,” or “I am completing my responsibility to suffer [on behalf of Christ].” Paul did this willingly (see the note on 1:24a).

in my flesh: This means that Paul was writing about physical suffering (see GNT).

what is lacking: This clause implies what Christ taught, that is, that all Christians will suffer persecution. So here Paul meant that he was suffering what still needed to be suffered.

in regard to Christ’s afflictions: The Greek word thlipsis that the BSB translates afflictions is not used in the NT to refer to what Christ suffered when he died on the cross. It refers to the persecution, difficulties, and other physical and emotional hardships that Christians suffer. For example, it is used in Matthew 24:9, John 16:33, and Revelation 7:14.

Biblical scholars have different opinions about what the phrase Christ’s afflictions means in this context. The three most common opinions are as follows:

“I am suffering on behalf of Christ.”
“I am suffering the sufferings of Christ”—that is, “through my suffering, as a member of the body of Christ, it is as if Christ himself were suffering.”
“I am suffering in the same way Christ suffered.”

It is recommended that you follow the first option (1). Since Paul was writing about his own sufferings, it seems more likely that he was saying that he was suffering on behalf of Christ, that is, for the sake of Christ. (See Acts 9:16.)

Paul was not saying that what Christ suffered on the cross lacked something. This would imply that Jesus’ death was not sufficient to save those who believe in him. Your translation should be worded carefully to avoid suggesting this.

1:24c

for the sake of His body, which is the church.

in order to help his people, who are like his body.

His body, which is the church: See the notes on body and church in 1:18a.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

νῦν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί ἀνταναπληρῶ τά ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μού ὑπέρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ ὅ ἐστίν ἡ ἐκκλησία)

The word Now indicates that Paul wishes to tell the Colossians how he is currently serving the gospel. It does not indicate a change of topic, as it sometimes does in English. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a longer phrase to express this idea. Alternate translation: [While I write this letter,]

ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν

in the sufferings in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί ἀνταναπληρῶ τά ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μού ὑπέρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ ὅ ἐστίν ἡ ἐκκλησία)

Alternate translation: [while I suffer for your sake]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου

˱I˲_˓am˒_filling_up (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί ἀνταναπληρῶ τά ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μού ὑπέρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ ὅ ἐστίν ἡ ἐκκλησία)

Paul speaks of his flesh as if it were a container that could fill up with afflictions. By this, he means that his bodily sufferings function to satisfy a specific purpose, which here is to finish what Christ started with his afflictions. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [with my bodily suffering, I finish what the Messiah started when he suffered. I do this]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ

Paul assumes that his readers will understand that he is not saying that there is a lack in Christ’s afflictions because those afflictions did not succeed in doing what they were supposed to do. Instead, the lack refers to what Christ wished for his disciples to do as his servants. The lack, then, is something that Christ intentionally did not accomplish, because he wanted Paul to do it. If it would be helpful in your language, you could rephrase lack so that it is clearer that Christ intentionally left something for Paul to do. Alternate translation: [the afflictions that Christ has called me to suffer to complete his work]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ

Paul uses two possessive forms to speak about the lack that characterizes the afflictions that Christ suffered. If your language would not use possessive forms to express that idea, you could express the idea with a relative clause or two clauses. Alternate translation: [what Christ, when he suffered, left for me to suffer]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία

˱of˲_the the body ˱of˲_him which (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπέρ ὑμῶν καί ἀνταναπληρῶ τά ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μού ὑπέρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ ὅ ἐστίν ἡ ἐκκλησία)

Paul speaks of the church as if it were Christ’s body, and he provides the explanation of what body means. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer to the church first and then identify it as his body. Alternate translation: [the church, which is his body]

Parallel COL 1:24

Section 1:24–2:5: Paul told about the way he worked hard to tell the gospel to the non-Jews

Paragraph 1:24–29

1:24a

1:24b

1:24c