COL 3:11 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.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, 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 where there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

UST Since you are all new people, it is not important whether anyone is a non-Jew or a Jew, or whether anyone is circumcised or not, or whether anyone is a foreigner or an uncivilized person, or whether anyone is a slave or not. Instead, it is the Messiah who is most important, and God has united him to all of you.

BLB where there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free; but Christ is all and in all.

AICNT where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but [the] all and in all is Christ.

OEB In that new life there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all! – and in all!

WEBBE where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all, and in all.

WMBB where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Messiah is all, and in all.

NET Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.

LSV where there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, foreigner, Scythian, servant, freeman, but Christ [is] all and in all.

FBV In this new situation there's no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, foreigner, barbarian,[fn] slave or free, for Christ is everything, and he lives in all of us.

3:11 Literally, “Scythian,” a “barbarian” people from what is now southern Russia, the Ukraine, and Central Asia.

TCNT Here there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all and in all.

T4T As a result of that, it is not important whether anyone is a non-Jew or a Jew, or whether anyone is circumcised or not, or whether anyone is a foreigner, or even uncivilized, or whether anyone is a slave or not a slave. But what is important is Christ, who is supremely important in every way.

LEB where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all, and in all.

BBE Where there is no Greek or Jew, no one with circumcision or without circumcision, no division between nations, no servant or free man: but Christ is all and in all.

Moff In it there is no room for Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free man; Christ is everything and everywhere.

Wymth In that new creation there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free man, but Christ is everything and is in all of us.

ASV where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.

DRA Where there is neither Gentile nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. But Christ is all, and in all.

YLT where there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, foreigner, Scythian, servant, freeman — but the all and in all — Christ.

Drby wherein there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ [is] everything, and in all.

RV where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman: but Christ is all, and in all.

SLT Where no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, foreigner, Scythian, servant, free: but Christ all things, and in all.

Wbstr Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

KJB-1769 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

KJB-1611 Where there is neither Greeke, nor Iew, circumcision, nor vncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Where is neither Greke nor Iewe, circumcision nor vncircumcision, Barbarian, Sythian, bonde, free: but Christe is all, and in all.
(Where is neither Greek nor Yewe, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Sythian, bonde, free: but Christ is all, and in all.)

Gnva Where is neither Grecian nor Iewe, circumcision nor vncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond, free: But Christ is all, and in all things.
(Where is neither Grecian nor Yewe, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond, free: But Christ is all, and in all things. )

Cvdl where there is no Greke, Iewe, circumcision, vncircumcision, Barbarous, Sithian, bode, fre: but Christ is all and in all.
(where there is no Greek, Yewe, circumcision, uncircumcision, Barbarous, Sithian, bode, fre: but Christ is all and in all.)

TNT where is nether gentile ner Iewe circumcision nor vncircumcision Barbarous or Sithian bonde or fre: but Christe is all in all thynges.
(where is neither gentile nor Yewe circumcision nor uncircumcision Barbarous or Sithian bond or fre: but Christ is all in all things. )

Wycl where is not male and female, hethene man and Jew, circumcisioun and prepucie, barbarus and Scita, bonde man and fre man, but alle thingis and in alle thingis Crist.
(where is not male and female, heathen man and Yew, circumcision and prepucie, barbarus and Scita, bond man and free man, but all things and in all things Christ.)

Luth da nicht ist Grieche, Jude, Beschneidung, Vorhaut, Ungrieche, Scythe, Knecht, Freier, sondern alles und in allen Christus.
(there not is Grieche, Yude, Beschneidung, foreskin, Ungrieche, Scythe, servant/farmhand, Freier, rather all/everything and in all/everyone Christ.)

ClVg ubi non est gentilis et Judæus, circumcisio et præputium, Barbarus et Scytha, servus et liber: sed omnia, et in omnibus Christus.
(where not/no it_is Gentile and Yudahus, circumcision and foreskin, Barbarus and Scytha, servant and liber: but everything, and in/into/on to_all Christ/Messiah. )

UGNT ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν Χριστός.
(hopou ouk eni Hellaʸn kai Youdaios, peritomaʸ kai akrobustia, barbaros, Skuthaʸs, doulos, eleutheros, alla panta kai en pasin Ⱪristos.)

SBL-GNT ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ ⸀τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν Χριστός.
(hopou ouk eni Hellaʸn kai Youdaios, peritomaʸ kai akrobustia, barbaros, Skuthaʸs, doulos, eleutheros, alla ⸀ta panta kai en pasin Ⱪristos.)

RP-GNT ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος· ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν χριστός.
(hopou ouk eni Hellaʸn kai Youdaios, peritomaʸ kai akrobustia, barbaros, Skuthaʸs, doulos, eleutheros; alla ta panta kai en pasin ⱪristos.)

TC-GNT ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος· ἀλλὰ [fn]τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσι Χριστός.
(hopou ouk eni Hellaʸn kai Youdaios, peritomaʸ kai akrobustia, barbaros, Skuthaʸs, doulos, eleutheros; alla ta panta kai en pasi Ⱪristos. )

3:11 τα ¦ — TH WH

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–17: Behave in ways that please God

Theme: Paul told the Colossians that they should decide to please only God. That is, they should not do evil deeds, they should love one another, they should live peacefully with one another, and they should continually learn more and more about God.

Paragraph 3:5–11

Theme: Paul commanded the Colossians not to do what was evil.

3:11

This verse is the result of 3:10, that is, as a result of the new life believers have in Christ, differences between people are no longer important—only Christ is. 3:11 is similar to Galatians 3:27–28, 6:15, and Romans 10:12. If you have already translated these passages, you should compare them with this verse.

3:11a

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised,

Because God has made you a new person, it does not matter if you are a Jew or a non-Jew, or whether you are circumcised or not.
As a result of this, it is not important whether you are a circumcised Jew or an uncircumcised Greek.

Here: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Here does not literally mean “in the place where I am.” It means, “in this new life God has given to you.”

there is no Greek or Jew: If the phrase there is no Greek or Jew is translated literally, people may misunderstand it to mean, “Greeks and Jews do not exist,” or “there are no Greek or Jewish believers.” This phrase is an idiom that means that differences between Jews and Greeks are not important, and it does not matter whether a person is a Jew or Greek.

Greek: Paul was probably using the word Greek to mean “Gentile,” that is, non-Jewish people. GNT and NLT translate it “Gentiles.”

circumcised or uncircumcised: This phrase is parallel to the phrase “Greek or Jew.” Jews were circumcised and this marked them as God’s special people. Greeks/Gentiles were not circumcised.

If your language does not use a lot of parallel phrases, you could combine these two phrases and say:

It does not matter if you are a Jew, circumcised according to the law of Moses, or an uncircumcised Gentile…

3:11b

barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free,

It does not matter if you are a foreigner or from uncivilized people. It does not matter if you are a slave or a free person.
It is not important whether you are foreign or uncivilized, a slave or someone who is not a slave.

barbarian: The Greeks called any person who was not Greek a barbarian. It means “foreigner” and implies someone who was uncultured.

Scythian: The Scythians were a fierce, savage people who invaded other peoples’ countries and killed the occupants and caused other sorts of damage. People were afraid of them and considered them one of the worst kinds of “barbarians.” You can translate this using a term in your language that refers to people who are primitive or uncivilized.

slave: A slave was a servant who had been bought by someone and therefore belonged to this person. He had no freedom to do what he wanted to do or to go where he wanted to go. He had no possessions of his own and was completely dependent on his owners for everything.

free: This is the opposite of a “slave.” The word free can be translated as “free person,” or “person who is not a slave.”

3:11c

but Christ is all

It is Christ who is supremely important,
But Christ is the only thing that matters,

but Christ is all: This contrasts with 3:11a–b. Paul was saying that all these differences between people did not matter—the only thing that was important was Christ. He is the most important thing in the universe, he is supreme over all things and over all people.

3:11d

and is in all.

and he lives in each one of you.
and he lives in all his people.

and is in all: Most scholars believe that this means that Christ “lives in all believers.” The CEV, NCV, and NLT make this explicit in their translation.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὅπου

where

Here Paul refers to the “new man” from the previous verse as if it were a place one could be in. This means that the word where refers to the new situation of those who have put on this “new man.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this idea by identifying those who have put on the “new man” as the ones addressed by this verse. Alternate translation: (start a new sentence) [For those who have put on the new man,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

οὐκ ἔνι

not there_is

Here, Paul speaks as if none of the kinds of people he mentions exist in this new situation. The Colossians would have understood this as a way to emphasize how little the differences between all these kinds of people matter once they have died and risen with Christ. They all fit into the category of the “new man” now. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this idea without the hyperbole by emphasizing the new unity of people from all these categories. Alternate translation: [all people are the same,]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος

not there_is Greek (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καί Ἰουδαῖος περιτομή καί ἀκροβυστία βάρβαρος Σκύθης δοῦλος ἐλεύθερος ἀλλά παντᾶ καί ἐν πᾶσιν Χριστός)

All these terms are nouns that refer to groups of people that are characterized by the trait that the noun names. These words do not refer to just one person. If your language has a way to categorize people by characteristics, you could use that form here. Alternate translation: [there are no Greek and Jewish people, circumcised and uncircumcised people, barbaric people, Scythian people, enslaved people, free people]

Note 4 topic: translate-unknown

βάρβαρος

foreigner

The word barbarian was used by people who spoke Greek to describe anyone who did not speak Greek. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this idea with a word such as “foreign.” Alternate translation: [alien]

Note 5 topic: translate-unknown

Σκύθης

Scythian

The word Scythian was used to describe a nomadic group of people who were fierce warriors. It was also used to describe those who behaved in similar ways, who were often considered rough or rude. If it would be helpful in your language, you could add an adjective before Scythian to clarify its connotation, or you could use a comparable label. Alternate translation: [uncivilized Scythian] or [rough Scythian]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

πάντα καὶ & Χριστός

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καί Ἰουδαῖος περιτομή καί ἀκροβυστία βάρβαρος Σκύθης δοῦλος ἐλεύθερος ἀλλά παντᾶ καί ἐν πᾶσιν Χριστός)

Here Paul speaks of Christ as being all things. By this, he means that none of the categories he just listed matter because Christ is the only person who matters. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea with a verb such as “matters” or a noun such as “importance.” Alternate translation: [Christ is all that matters, and he is]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐν πᾶσιν

in all_‹things›

Again, Paul speaks of those who have died and risen with Christ. Here, instead of speaking of the Colossians being “in Christ,” he reverses the form, just as he did in [1:27](../01/27.md): Christ is in all of those who believe in him. If possible, translate this expression the same way you translated “Christ in you” in [1:27](../01/27.md). Alternate translation: [is united to all of you]