Colossians 3

So then, since you were raised to new life with Christ, go after the things that are above, where Christ is seated at God's right hand.

1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Note"The right hand" of a king was the place of highest honor and authority next to him, the seat given to the person who acted with the king's own power. The phrase describes position and rank, not anatomy.

2Keep your mind set on the things above, not on the things of this earth.

2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

NoteKJV "set your affection" translates a verb that covers the whole orientation of the mind: what you think about, value, and aim at. It is wider than feeling.

3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

NoteThe verb is a simple past: something already happened to them. "Hid" here carries the sense of stored away safely and out of sight, like something kept in a strongbox, not of being lost.

4When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you will appear with him in glory.

4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

NoteManuscripts divide here between "our life" and "your life." The KJV and this rendering follow the first; many modern translations follow the second. The two Greek words differ by a letter.

5So put to death whatever in you belongs to this earthly life: sexual sin, impurity, uncontrolled desire, evil craving, and greed, which is a kind of idol worship.

5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

NoteKJV "Mortify" simply means put to death. "Your members" means the parts of the body, so the phrase pictures amputating limbs. "Inordinate affection" is passion that has slipped its bounds, and "concupiscence" is strong craving; neither word carries its modern narrowness. Idolatry is the worship of images or of anything treated as a god, so calling greed idolatry says that what a person wants most is what that person actually serves.

6It is because of these things that God's anger is coming on those who disobey him.

6For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

Note"Children of disobedience" is a Semitic turn of phrase in which "children of" or "sons of" marks the quality that characterizes a person, as "sons of light" means those belonging to light. It means people whose lives are defined by disobedience, not literal offspring.

7You used to live that way yourselves, back when your life was wrapped up in these things.

7In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

NoteKJV "some time" is old English for "at one time, formerly." It does not mean occasionally.

8But now you must get rid of all of them: anger, rage, meanness, insults, and filthy talk from your mouth.

8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

NoteIn 1611 "blasphemy" covered abusive speech against anyone, human or divine, so here it means slander or insult rather than only irreverence toward God. "Communication" meant speech in general, and "filthy communication" is obscene talk.

9Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self along with the things it used to do,

9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

Note"Put off" and "put on" in verses 9 to 14 are the ordinary words for taking off and putting on clothes. The whole passage runs on that one image: stripping off one set of garments and dressing in another.

10and have put on the new self, which is being made new in knowledge, shaped to look like the God who created it.

10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

NoteKJV "the new man" and "the old man" use "man" in its older inclusive sense of a human being, the self or person, not a male. The word translated "renewed" is a present continuous form: the process is ongoing, not finished.

11In this new self there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free. Christ is everything, and he is in everyone.

11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

NoteEach pair names a line that divided people in the ancient world. Greek and Jew is the basic cultural divide of the eastern Mediterranean; circumcision, the surgical mark carried by Jewish males as the sign of their covenant with God, was the visible token of that divide, so "circumcision nor uncircumcision" is shorthand for Jew and non-Jew. "Barbarian" was a Greek word for anyone who did not speak Greek, said to imitate the babbling "bar bar" such speech sounded like to Greek ears. Scythians were nomadic peoples from north of the Black Sea, proverbial among Greeks and Romans for savagery, so they stood at the far end of the scale even from ordinary barbarians. "Bond" means enslaved.

12So, as God's chosen people, set apart and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart full of compassion, and with kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

NoteKJV "bowels of mercies" sounds odd now, but ancient writers located the emotions in the inner organs much as English locates them in the heart, so the phrase means deeply felt compassion. "The elect" simply means the chosen. "Longsuffering" is patience held out over a long stretch of provocation, and "meekness" in older English is strength under control, not weakness.

13Put up with one another, and forgive one another. If anyone has a complaint against someone, forgive as Christ forgave you.

13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

NoteKJV "quarrel" here means a grievance or a legitimate complaint against someone, closer to a case you could bring than to an argument you are having.

14And on top of all of these, put on love, which ties everything together in perfect unity.

14And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

NoteKJV "charity" is the older English word for love, and has nothing to do with giving to the poor. The word rendered "bond" means a band or ligament, the thing that ties a bundle together, continuing the clothing picture: love is the belt that holds the rest of the outfit in place.

15Let the peace of God be what decides things in your hearts, since you were called to that peace as parts of one body. And be thankful.

15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

NoteThe verb behind "rule" is an athletic term for the umpire who makes the call and settles disputes at the games. The picture is of peace acting as the decider when a matter is contested. "One body" is Paul's standing image for a community whose members belong to each other as limbs belong to a single body.

16Let the message of Christ live in you richly. Teach and correct one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankful hearts to the Lord.

16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

NoteThe three musical terms overlap and were not sharply separated in the first century. "Psalms" would naturally suggest the Old Testament Psalms, sung with instrumental accompaniment; "hymns" were songs of praise; "spiritual songs" were songs prompted by the Spirit. "Admonishing" means warning or correcting, not scolding.

17And whatever you do, in what you say or what you do, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

NoteTo act "in the name of" someone in ancient usage meant to act as that person's representative and on that person's authority, the way an envoy transacted business in a king's name.

18Wives, put yourselves under the leadership of your own husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.

18Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

NoteVerses 18 to 25 follow a recognized ancient form, a household code, which Greek and Roman moral writers used to set out the duties owed within a household by wives, children and slaves. The form here is unusual in addressing each group directly as responsible persons and in laying obligations on husbands, fathers and masters in return. KJV "as it is fit" means as is proper or appropriate.

19Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh or bitter toward them.

19Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

20Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

21Fathers, do not keep pushing your children until they are angry, or they will lose heart.

21Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

NoteThe word behind "discouraged" means to lose heart or go slack, the state of a person who has stopped trying because nothing is ever good enough.

22Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Do not work only when they are watching, trying to look good to them, but with an honest heart, out of respect for God.

22Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

NoteKJV "Servants" translates a word that means slaves. Slavery in the Roman world was a legal condition covering everything from field labor to physicians and household managers, and slaves were property, not employees. "According to the flesh" means human or earthly, distinguishing these owners from the heavenly Master named in the next verses. "Eyeservice" is work done only while the boss is looking, and "menpleasers" are people who perform for an audience. "Fearing God" here means reverence and awe rather than terror.

23Whatever you do, put your whole self into it, working for the Lord and not for people.

23And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

24You know that the Lord will pay you back with the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

NoteThe point would have struck the original hearers sharply: under Roman law a slave could not inherit, since inheritance passed to sons. Slaves are being promised the one thing their legal status excluded them from.

25But anyone who does wrong will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and no one gets special treatment.

25But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

Note"Respect of persons" is a literal rendering of an idiom meaning to receive someone's face, that is, to decide a case by who the person is, their rank, wealth or connections, rather than by the facts. It means favoritism.