Kolossensern 1
1 Paulus, Kristi Jesu Apostel ved Guds Villie, og Broderen Timotheus
I, Paul, [am writing this letter to you], and our fellow believer Timothy [is with me]. I am an apostle who represents Christ Jesus, because that is what God wanted.
2 til de hellige og troende Brødre i Kristus i Kolossæ: Naade være med eder og Fred fra Gud vor Fader!
[I am sending this letter] to you who are in Colossae [city], and who are God’s people, and our faithful fellow believers who have a close relationship with Christ. We pray that God our Father will be acting kindly towards you, and that he will cause you to have [inner] peace.
3 Vi takke Gud og vor Herres Jesu Kristi Fader altid, naar vi bede for eder,
Very often [HYP] we thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, while we are praying for you,
4 da vi have hørt om eders Tro paa Kristus Jesus og den Kærlighed, som I have til alle de hellige
because we have heard that you believe in Christ Jesus, and that you love all God’s people.
5 paa Grund af det Haab, som er henlagt til eder i Himlene, om hvilket I forud have hørt i Evangeliets Sandheds Ord,
You do that because you confidently expect to receive that which God is (reserving/keeping safe) for you in heaven, which you heard about previously when you heard the true message, that is, the message [about Christ].
6 der er kommet til eder, ligesom det ogsaa er i den hele Verden, idet det bærer Frugt og vokser, ligesom det ogsaa gør iblandt eder fra den Dag, I hørte og erkendte Guds Naade i Sandhed,
[People] proclaimed it [PRS] to you, just like [people] have proclaimed it in many different countries [HYP, IDM]. The true message is changing more and more people’s lives, just like it changed your lives because you heard it and you truly experienced that God acts kindly towards us in ways we do not deserve.
7 saaledes som I have lært af Epafras, vor elskede Medtjener, som er en tro Kristi Tjener for eder,
That is just what Epaphras taught you [would happen]. We love Epaphras. He serves Christ together with us and works for Christ faithfully for your benefit.
8 han, som ogsaa gav os eders Kærlighed i Aanden til Kende.
He told us that you love [all God’s people], just like God’s Spirit [has enabled you to] (OR, spiritually).
9 Derfor have ogsaa vi fra den Dag, vi hørte det, ikke ophørt at bede for eder og begære, at I maatte fyldes med Erkendelsen af hans Villie i al Visdom og aandelig Indsigt
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.
10 til at vandre Herren værdigt, til alt Velbehag, idet I bære Frugt og vokse i al god Gerning ved Erkendelsen af Gud,
We have been praying like that in order that you will conduct yourselves as the Lord’s people should conduct themselves, in order that you will please the Lord in every way. Specifically, we have been praying like that in order that you will be doing every sort of good deed [IDM] and in order that you will be getting to know God truly, more and more.
11 idet I styrkes med al Styrke efter hans Herligheds Kraft til al Udholdenhed og Taalmodighed med Glæde
And we pray that [God] will greatly strengthen you [spiritually] with the mighty power that he has shown [to people], in order that you will always be steadfast and patient [when you experience difficulties], while [at the same time] you will be rejoicing.
12 og takke Faderen, som gjorde os dygtige til at have Del i de helliges Arvelod i Lyset,
And we pray that you will be thanking God our Father, because he has enabled you/us to receive the things that he will give to his people in heaven [SYN].
13 han, som friede os ud af Mørkets Magt og satte os over i sin elskede Søns Rige,
God our Father rescued us [spiritually] so that the evil one no longer rules us [MET, MTY], and he caused us now to be ruled by his Son, whom he loves.
14 i hvem vi have Forløsningen, Syndernes Forladelse,
That is, because of our relationship with his Son (OR, because of what the one who is also God did), God has redeemed/bought us; in particular, he has forgiven our sins.
15 han, som er den usynlige Guds Billede, al Skabnings førstefødte;
God’s Son reveals perfectly what God, his Father, is like, whom no one can see. God’s Son existed before and ranks above everything that God has created.
16 thi i ham bleve alle Ting skabte i Himlene og paa Jorden, de synlige og de usynlige, være sig Troner eller Herredømmer eller Magter eller Myndigheder. Alle Ting ere skabte ved ham og til ham;
When God created everything that is on the earth, he did it by having his Son do it. He created everything that [people] can see, and also everything which is in heaven that [people] cannot see. In particular, his Son created all ranks of important spirit beings. [And his Son ranks above everything], because God by the work of had his Son, and because by his Son all things were created {because [God] had his Son create everything} in order that everything might praise his Son,
17 og han er forud for alle Ting, og alle Ting bestaa ved ham.
and because it is his Son who existed before anything else existed, and because God sustains everything by what his Son [does].
18 Og han er Legemets Hoved, nemlig Menighedens, han, som er Begyndelsen, førstefødt ud af de døde, for at han skulde blive den ypperste i alle Ting;
And [God’s Son ranks above everything], because it is his Son who [rules over his people] [MET] [as a person’s] head [controls his physical] body, because his Son causes his people to live [spiritually]. [God’s Son] is the first one who became alive again, in order that he should become more important than anything and everyone.
19 thi det behagede Gud, at i ham skulde hele Fylden bo,
[God’s Son reveals perfectly what God his Father is like], because his Father chose to live completely in him.
20 og ved ham at forlige alle Ting med sig, være sig dem paa Jorden eller dem i Himlene, idet han stiftede Fred ved hans Kors's Blod.
[God our Father caused his Son to rule us], because he decided to reconcile with himself everything that is on earth and that is in heaven by what his Son did, in order that everything might honor his Son; that is, God our Father decided to reconcile everything to himself as a result of his [Son’s] blood [flowing when he died] on the cross. [The chiastic material is rearranged below so that the directly related propositional clusters are joined together.] 13 God our Father rescued us [spiritually] so that we are no longer ruled by the evil one, and God our Father caused us now to be ruled by his Son (OR, the man who is also God) whom he loves. 14a That is, by means of what his Son did, we have been redeemed by God, our Father. 14b In particular, our sins have been forgiven by God, our Father. 20 God, our Father, has done this because he decided to reconcile to himself, by means of his Son, everything that is on earth and that is in heaven, in order that his Son might be honored; that is, God, our Father decided to reconcile everything to himself by means of God’s Son’s blood [flowing out when he died] on the cross. 15b God cannot be seen by anyone, 15a but his Son reveals perfectly what God—his Father—is like, 19a because it is in his Son that the Father chose 19b that he himself would dwell completely. 15c God’s Son ranks above everything 15d that has been created, 16 because it was by means of God’s Son that God created everything that is on the earth and that can be seen by people, and also everything that is in heaven and that cannot be seen by people. In particular, all types of important spirit beings were created by means of him, since everything has been created by God by means of God’s Son. And his Son ranks above everything, because everything has been created by God, in order that God’s Son might be honored by everything, 17 and because it is he who existed before anything else existed, and since everything is sustained by God by means of God’s Son. 18 And God’s Son ranks above everything because it is he who [rules over all believers, just like a person’s] head [controls his physical body, because he causes all believers to live spiritually]. His Son is the first one who rose from among those who have died, in order that he should become more important than everything and everyone.
21 Ogsaa eder, som fordum vare fremmedgjorte og fjendske af Sindelag i eders onde Gerninger,
As for you, [although] formerly God [considered you his] enemies (OR, [God considered you] as alienated [from him]) and [although] you were formerly hostile [to God] because you thought evil thoughts and because you did evil deeds,
22 har han dog nu forligt i sit Køds Legeme ved Døden for at fremstille eder hellige og ulastelige og ustraffelige for sit Aasyn,
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.
23 saa sandt I blive i Troen, grundfæstede og faste, uden at lade eder rokke fra Haabet i det Evangelium, som I have hørt, hvilket er blevet prædiket i al Skabningen under Himmelen, og hvis Tjener jeg Paulus er bleven.
He wants you to continue [DOU] to believe the message about Christ; specifically, he wants you to continue to be stable/steadfast and to continue to confidently expect to receive that which you heard about when you heard that message. That message has been proclaimed {They have proclaimed that message} to people in very many places [HYP]; and I, Paul, also become someone who tells it to people.
24 Nu glæder jeg mig over mine Lidelser for eder, og hvad der fattes i Kristi Trængsler, udfylder jeg i mit Kød for hans Legeme, som er Menigheden,
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.
25 hvis Tjener jeg er bleven efter den Guds Husholdning, som blev given mig over for eder, nemlig fuldelig at forkynde Guds Ord,
I myself became someone who serves God’s people, because I was appointed {[God] appointed me} to be responsible to [help] you [who are non-Jews]. I became one who serves God’s people in order that I should make known to you non-Jews the whole message from/about God.
26 den Hemmelighed, der var skjult igennem alle Tider og Slægter, men nu er bleven aabenbaret for hans hellige, (aiōn g165)
[We did not know this message previously; that is, God] concealed it from [the people who lived in all] the previous ages, but he has now revealed it to his people. (aiōn g165)
27 hvem Gud vilde tilkendegive, hvilken Rigdom paa Herlighed iblandt Hedningerne der ligger i denne Hemmelighed, som er Kristus i eder, Herlighedens Haab,
That is, God decided to reveal to them this message, which declares that he will greatly bless the non-Jews. Specifically, this message declares that Christ, [by his Spirit], will live in you who are non-Jews, with the result that you confidently expect that you will experience how glorious [God is].
28 hvem vi forkynde, idet vi paaminde hvert Menneske og lære hvert Menneske med al Visdom, for at vi kunne fremstille hvert Menneske som fuldkomment i Kristus;
We tell about Christ [to every class of persons]; we warn them, and specifically, we teach everyone very wisely. We do this in order that every person who (has a close relationship with/is united to) Christ may be (all that God wants them to be/perfect) when we present them to Christ.
29 hvorpaa jeg ogsaa arbejder, idet jeg kæmper ifølge hans Kraft, som virker mægtigt i mig.
In order that I might [achieve/accomplish this], I am also working very hard, depending on Christ to empowering me very greatly.
