Colossians 4

1 You masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, because you know that you have a master who is in heaven [who will say whether he approves of what you have done].

οἱ κύριοι, τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα τοῖς δούλοις παρέχεσθε, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔχετε κύριον ἐν ⸀οὐρανῷ

2 Pray to God persistently, and as you pray, be alert and be thanking God.

Τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτερεῖτε, γρηγοροῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ,

3 Since I am in prison [MTY] because [I declared the message about Christ] that God has now revealed, pray also for me that God will give me opportunities [MTY] to speak, in order that I might declare it.

προσευχόμενοι ἅμα καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν, ἵνα ὁ θεὸς ἀνοίξῃ ἡμῖν θύραν τοῦ λόγου, λαλῆσαι τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, διʼ ὃ καὶ δέδεμαι,

4 That is, pray for me that [God will enable me to] make his message known publicly. I need to do this because I know that I should declare it.

ἵνα φανερώσω αὐτὸ ὡς δεῖ με λαλῆσαι.

5 Act wisely towards those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus [MTY]; use every opportunity to do that.

Ἐν σοφίᾳ περιπατεῖτε πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω, τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαγοραζόμενοι.

6 In particular, always speak graciously and in a pleasant way [to those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus]. As a result, you will come to know in what manner you should answer each one of them.

ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν πάντοτε ἐν χάριτι, ἅλατι ἠρτυμένος, εἰδέναι πῶς δεῖ ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ ἀποκρίνεσθαι.

7 Tychicus will tell you all that has been happening to me. He is a fellow believer whom I/we [(exc)] love and who helps me faithfully and who serves the Lord [Jesus] together with me.

Τὰ κατʼ ἐμὲ πάντα γνωρίσει ὑμῖν Τυχικὸς ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἀδελφὸς καὶ πιστὸς διάκονος καὶ σύνδουλος ἐν κυρίῳ,

8 The reason that I am sending Tychicus to you [with this letter] is that he might know how you are and in order that he might strengthen you [spiritually]. (OR, in order that you might know about us [(exc)] and in order that he might comfort you.)

ὃν ἔπεμψα πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἵνα ⸀γνῶτετὰ περὶ ⸀ἡμῶνκαὶ παρακαλέσῃ τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν,

9 I am sending him to you with Onesimus, who is a faithful fellow believer whom I/we [(inc)] love and who is your fellow townsman. They will tell you all about what has been happening here.

σὺν Ὀνησίμῳ τῷ πιστῷ καὶ ἀγαπητῷ ἀδελφῷ, ὅς ἐστιν ἐξ ὑμῶν· πάντα ὑμῖν γνωρίσουσιν τὰ ὧδε.

10 Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, and Mark, who is Barnabas’ cousin, (say that they are thinking fondly about you/send you their greetings). I have instructed you about Mark, so if he comes to you, welcome him.

Ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ συναιχμάλωτός μου, καὶ Μᾶρκος ὁ ἀνεψιὸς Βαρναβᾶ (περὶ οὗ ἐλάβετε ἐντολάς, ἐὰν ἔλθῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς δέξασθε αὐτόν),

11 Jesus, who is also called Justus, also (says that he is thinking fondly about you/greets you/sends you his greetings). These three men are the only Jewish [believers] who are working with me in order that people would submit to God as their king, and they have all comforted me.

καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Ἰοῦστος, οἱ ὄντες ἐκ περιτομῆς, οὗτοι μόνοι συνεργοὶ εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ, οἵτινες ἐγενήθησάν μοι παρηγορία.

12 Epaphras, who is your fellow townsman and who serves Christ Jesus, (says that he is thinking fondly about you/greets you/sends you his greetings). Epaphras prays earnestly for you very often, that you might be spiritually mature and that you might know fully all that God wills for you.

ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Ἐπαφρᾶς ὁ ἐξ ὑμῶν, δοῦλος ⸀Χριστοῦ πάντοτε ἀγωνιζόμενος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς, ἵνα ⸀σταθῆτετέλειοι καὶ ⸀πεπληροφορημένοιἐν παντὶ θελήματι τοῦ θεοῦ.

13 I can assure you that he prays this because he is deeply concerned for you, for those who live in Laodicea [city], and for those who live in Hierapolis [city].

μαρτυρῶ γὰρ αὐτῷ ὅτι ἔχει ⸂πολὺν πόνον ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ καὶ τῶν ἐν Ἱεραπόλει.

14 Luke, the doctor, whom I/we [(exc)] love, and Demas (say that they are thinking fondly about you/send you their greetings).

ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Λουκᾶς ὁ ἰατρὸς ὁ ἀγαπητὸς καὶ Δημᾶς.

15 Tell the fellow believers who live in Laodicea [city] and Nympha and the congregation that [meets] in her house that we (are thinking fondly about them/send them our greetings).

ἀσπάσασθε τοὺς ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ ⸂Νύμφαν καὶ τὴν κατʼ οἶκον αὐτῆς ἐκκλησίαν.

16 After [someone] reads this letter [publicly] to you, cause [someone] to also read it to the congregation that is in Laodicea [city]. And as for the [letter that I wrote to the congregation that is in] Laodicea [city], make sure that it is also read among you {you should also read that letter} publicly.

καὶ ὅταν ἀναγνωσθῇ παρʼ ὑμῖν ἡ ἐπιστολή, ποιήσατε ἵνα καὶ ἐν τῇ ⸀Λαοδικέωνἐκκλησίᾳ ἀναγνωσθῇ, καὶ τὴν ἐκ Λαοδικείας ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀναγνῶτε.

17 Say to Archippus, “Make sure that you complete the task that God appointed you to do, because you have a close relationship with the Lord Jesus.”

καὶ εἴπατε Ἀρχίππῳ· Βλέπε τὴν διακονίαν ἣν παρέλαβες ἐν κυρίῳ, ἵνα αὐτὴν πληροῖς.

18 I, Paul, (am thinking fondly about you/send you my greetings). Having taken the pen from my scribe, I am now writing this myself in order that you may know that I have truly sent this letter. Remember to pray about the fact that I am in prison [MTY]. I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ would continue to act graciously towards you all.

Ὁ ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου. μνημονεύετέ μου τῶν δεσμῶν. ἡ χάρις μεθʼ ⸀ὑμῶν