COL 1:9 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, red:negative.
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 Because of this, from the day we heard this, we also have not stopped praying for you and asking that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

UST Because of everything that Epaphras told us, since the time when he first told us about you, we have joined him in consistently praying for you. When we pray for you, we ask God to show you everything that he wants you to do and to make you able to understand everything that God’s Spirit is teaching you.

BLB Because of this also, we from the day we heard, do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding

AICNT For this reason, we also, since the day we heard, do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

OEB And therefore we, from the very day that we heard this, have never ceased praying for you, or asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of the will of God, which comes through all true spiritual wisdom and insight.

WEBBE For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

LSV Because of this, we also, from the day in which we heard, do not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

FBV Because of this we continue to pray for you from the time we heard about you, asking God to give you understanding of what he wants you to do and to give you every kind of spiritual wisdom and understanding.

TCNT For this reason, from the day we heard this, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

T4T Because of what we heard about you, we have also been praying [LIT] very often to God for you [HYP], ever since we heard this report about you. We pray that you will truly know all that God wants you to do; that is, that you will become very wise, and that you will understand spiritual matters well.

LEB ¶ Because of this also we, from the day we heard about it,[fn] did not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual insight,

1:9 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

BBE For this reason, we, from the day when we had word of it, keep on in prayer for you, that you may be full of the knowledge of his purpose, with all wisdom and experience of the Spirit,

Moff Hence, from the day we heard of it, we have never ceased to pray for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and insight,

Wymth For this reason we also, from the day we first received these tidings, have never ceased to pray for you and to entreat that you may be filled with a clear knowledge of His will accompanied by thorough wisdom and discernment in spiritual things;

ASV For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

DRA Therefore we also, from the day that we heard it, cease not to pray for you, and to beg that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom, and spiritual understanding:

YLT Because of this, we also, from the day in which we heard, do not cease praying for you, and asking that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

Drby For this reason we also, from the day we heard [of your faith and love], do not cease praying and asking for you, to the end that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

RV For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
(For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye/you_all may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, )

SLT For this also we, from the day which we heard, ceased not praying for you, and asking that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Wbstr For this cause we also, since the day we heard it , do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

KJB-1769 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
(For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye/you_all might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; )

KJB-1611 For this cause wee also, since the day we heard it, doe not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisedome and spirituall vnderstanding:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps For this cause we also, sence ye day we hearde, haue not ceassed to pray for you, and to desire that ye myght be fulfylled with knowledge of his wyll, in all wisdome & spiritual vnderstandyng,
(For this cause we also, since ye/you_all day we heard, have not ceased to pray for you, and to desire that ye/you_all might be fulfilled with knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,)

Gnva For this cause wee also, since the day wee heard of it, cease not to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be fulfilled with knowledge of his will in all wisdome, and spirituall vnderstanding,
(For this cause we also, since the day we heard of it, cease not to pray for you, and to desire that ye/you_all might be fulfilled with knowledge of his will in all wisdom, and spiritual understanding, )

Cvdl For this cause we also, sence the daye yt we herde of it, ceasse not to praye for you, & desyre that ye mighte be fulfylled with the knowlege of his will, in all wyssdome and spirituall vnderstondinge,
(For this cause we also, since the day it we herd/heard of it, cease not to pray for you, and desire that ye/you_all might be fulfilled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,)

TNT For this cause we also sence the daye we herde of it have not ceasyd prayinge for you and desyringe
(For this cause we also since the day we herd/heard of it have not ceasyd prayinge for you and desyringe )

Wycl Therfor we fro the dai in which we herden, ceessen not to preye for you, and to axe, that ye be fillid with the knowing of his wille in al wisdom and goostli vndurstondyng;
(Therefore we from the day in which we heard, ceessen not to pray for you, and to axe, that ye/you_all be filled with the knowing of his will in all wisdom and ghostli understanding;)

Luth Derhalben auch wir von dem Tage an, da wir‘s gehöret haben, hören wir nicht auf, für euch zu beten und zu bitten, daß ihr erfüllet werdet mit Erkenntnis seines Willens in allerlei geistlicher Weisheit und Verstand,
(Therefore also we/us from to_him days an, there we/us belongs/pertains have, hear/listen we/us not on/in/to, for/in_favour_of you to/for pray and to/for ask, that you(pl)/their/her fulfilled become with knowledge his Wills in all_sorts_of_things spiritualer wise_(people) and mind,)

ClVg Ideo et nos ex qua die audivimus, non cessamus pro vobis orantes, et postulantes ut impleamini agnitione voluntatis ejus, in omni sapientia et intellectu spiritali:[fn]
(Therefore/For_that_reason and us from which day we_heard, not/no cessamus for to_you(pl) orantes, and postulantes as impleamini lambtione of_will his, in/into/on all wisdom and with_understanding spiritali: )

1.9 Impleamini in omni. Magnum est plene scire quid Deus velit, in omnibus rebus activæ vitæ et contemplativæ.

1.9 Impleamini in/into/on omni. Great it_is fully/completely to_know what God wants, in/into/on to_all things activæ of_life and contemplativæ.

UGNT διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀφ’ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν, οὐ παυόμεθα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καὶ αἰτούμενοι, ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ,
(dia touto kai haʸmeis, af’ haʸs haʸmeras aʸkousamen, ou pauometha huper humōn proseuⱪomenoi kai aitoumenoi, hina plaʸrōthaʸte taʸn epignōsin tou thelaʸmatos autou en pasaʸ sofia kai sunesei pneumatikaʸ,)

SBL-GNT Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν, οὐ παυόμεθα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καὶ αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ,
(Dia touto kai haʸmeis, afʼ haʸs haʸmeras aʸkousamen, ou pauometha huper humōn proseuⱪomenoi kai aitoumenoi hina plaʸrōthaʸte taʸn epignōsin tou thelaʸmatos autou en pasaʸ sofia kai sunesei pneumatikaʸ,)

RP-GNT Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀφ' ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν, οὐ παυόμεθα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι, καὶ αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ,
(Dia touto kai haʸmeis, af' haʸs haʸmeras aʸkousamen, ou pauometha huper humōn proseuⱪomenoi, kai aitoumenoi hina plaʸrōthaʸte taʸn epignōsin tou thelaʸmatos autou en pasaʸ sofia kai sunesei pneumatikaʸ,)

TC-GNT Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀφ᾽ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν, οὐ παυόμεθα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι, καὶ αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ,
(Dia touto kai haʸmeis, af haʸs haʸmeras aʸkousamen, ou pauometha huper humōn proseuⱪomenoi, kai aitoumenoi hina plaʸrōthaʸte taʸn epignōsin tou thelaʸmatos autou en pasaʸ sofia kai sunesei pneumatikaʸ, )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, 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.

1:9a

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you

¶ Because we^(excl) have heard this good report about you, we^(excl) have been praying continually for you since the day we^(excl) first heard it.
¶ Since the time Epaphras/people told us^(excl) this news about you, we^(excl) have been constantly asking God to help you.

For this reason: These words connect 1:9–12 with what Paul said in 1:3–8. Because of the news Paul had heard about the Colossians, he prayed for them.

we have not stopped praying for you: This is another hyperbole (see 1:6b). It does not mean that Paul prayed for the Colossian believers all day and all night and never stopped. It means that he prayed for them often and regularly. If it is more natural in your language, you could translate not stopped praying in a positive way. For example:

we have always prayed for you (GNT)

1:9b

and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will

We^(excl) have been asking God to help you to know fully what he wants you to do.
We^(excl) have been requesting that God would help you to understand everything that he wants you to do.

to fill you with the knowledge of: This is a figure of speech. To be “filled with knowledge of something” means “to know something fully, to understand it completely.”

His will: God’s will is what God wants and desires. So Paul was praying that God would cause the Colossians to know fully what he wanted for them. He was praying that they would understand all that God wanted them to do.

1:9c

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

We^(excl) have been asking God to do this by making you very wise about spiritual matters and enabling you to understand them well.

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding: The Greek preposition en that the BSB translates in has many possible meanings depending on the context. Because of this, commentators have three opinions of how to connect 1:9b and 1:9c:

1:9c is the means by which a person is filled with the knowledge of God’s will (1:9b). So 1:9b–c means: “[We ask God] to cause you to know fully all that he wants you to do by means of him making you very wise and enabling you to understand spiritual things.” (NIV, GW, NJB)
1:9c is a restatement of 1:9b. So 1:9b–c means: “[We ask God] to cause you to know fully all that he wants you to do; that is, we ask him to make you very wise and to enable you to understand spiritual things.” No English version follows this, but several commentaries support it.
1:9c is something that accompanies 1:9b. So Paul not only prayed that God would fill the Colossians with the knowledge of God’s will, but also with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (GNT, CEV, NCV, NLT)

All these options are possible. The Display follows the first interpretation (1) because it has strong support from both English versions and commentaries. If you wish to follow the second option, you could say:

that is, that God will fill you with all spiritual wisdom and understanding

all spiritual wisdom and understanding: The order of the words in Greek here is: “all wisdom and understanding spiritual.” It is not clear from this word order how the adjectives all and spiritual are connected to the nouns wisdom and understanding. There are two main possibilities:

The adjectives all and spiritual modify both nouns, so it is translated all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (BSB, NIV, GNT, RSV, CEV, GW, NET, NLT)
The adjective all only modifies the noun wisdom and the adjective spiritual only modifies the noun understanding. For example:
perfect (all) wisdom and spiritual understanding (NJB) (NJB, see also SSA)

It is recommended you follow the first interpretation (1) like the majority of English versions and commentaries do. This means that Paul was not simply praying that the Colossians would be wise, but that they would be wise “spiritually.”

spiritual: There are two ways to understand spiritual in this context:

It means being wise about and understanding spiritual matters, that is, about God and his ways. (NCV)
It means that the wisdom and understanding come from the Holy Spirit. (GNT, CEV)

Either of these interpretations is acceptable. Most English versions are ambiguous. The Display follows the first interpretation (1), which is supported by many commentaries. If you wish to follow the second interpretation you could say:

we^(excl) ask God to make you very wise and cause you to understand his ways by means of the Holy Spirit helping you

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

ἡμεῖς & ἠκούσαμεν, οὐ παυόμεθα

we & ˱we˲_heard_‹it› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο καί ἡμεῖς ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν οὒ παυόμεθα ὑπέρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καί αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τήν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καί συνέσει πνευματικῇ)

The word we here does not include the Colossians.

ἀφ’ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν

from that day ˱we˲_heard_‹it›

Alternate translation: [from the day Epaphras told us these things]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

οὐ παυόμεθα

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο καί ἡμεῖς ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν οὒ παυόμεθα ὑπέρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καί αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τήν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καί συνέσει πνευματικῇ)

Here, have not stopped is an exaggeration that the Colossians would have understood to mean that Paul and Timothy pray often for the Colossians. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that indicates frequency. Alternate translation: [have been frequently] or [have made a habit of]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / litotes

οὐ παυόμεθα

Paul uses a figure of speech that expresses a strong positive meaning by using a negative word together with a word that is the opposite of the intended meaning. If this is confusing in your language, you could express the meaning positively. Alternate translation: [have kept] or [are continually]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ

in_order_that ˱you_all˲_˓may_be˒_filled (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο καί ἡμεῖς ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν οὒ παυόμεθα ὑπέρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καί αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τήν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καί συνέσει πνευματικῇ)

Paul speaks of the Colossian believers as though they were containers that could be filled up. By speaking this way, he emphasizes that the Colossians should know God’s will in every area of their lives. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this plainly. Alternate translation: [that God would enable you to understand fully what he wants you to do]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

πληρωθῆτε

˱you_all˲_˓may_be˒_filled

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in an active form, with God as the subject. Alternate translation: [God would fill you with]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ

˱you_all˲_˓may_be˒_filled (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο καί ἡμεῖς ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν οὒ παυόμεθα ὑπέρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καί αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τήν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καί συνέσει πνευματικῇ)

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas behind the words knowledge and will, you could express those ideas in another way, such as with verbs. Alternate translation: [you might fully know what he has planned for you]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ,

Here, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding identifies how the Colossians are filled. The phrase does not describe God’s will. If it would be helpful in your language, you could move the phrase so that it appears immediately after filled. Alternate translation: [you might be filled in all wisdom and spiritual understanding with the knowledge of his will]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ

in all wisdom (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο καί ἡμεῖς ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν οὒ παυόμεθα ὑπέρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καί αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τήν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καί συνέσει πνευματικῇ)

If your language does not use abstract nouns to express the ideas behind wisdom and understanding, you could express the ideas with adjectives or verbs. If you use the following alternate translation, you may need to add a comma before it. Alternate translation: [which includes being spiritually very wise and intelligent]

σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ

wisdom (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διά τοῦτο καί ἡμεῖς ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν οὒ παυόμεθα ὑπέρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καί αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τήν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καί συνέσει πνευματικῇ)

Here, wisdom and spiritual understanding could refer to: (1) wisdom and understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit. Alternate translation: [wisdom and understanding given by the Holy Spirit] (2) wisdom and understanding in spiritual matters. Alternate translation: [wisdom and understanding about spiritual things]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet