Colossiens 1
1 Paul, apôtre de Jésus-Christ par la volonté de Dieu, et Timothée, notre frère,
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 aux saints et fidèles frères en Christ qui sont à Colosses: Grâce et paix à vous de la part de Dieu notre Père et du Seigneur Jésus-Christ.
[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 Nous rendons grâces à Dieu, le Père de notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ, en priant toujours pour vous,
Very often [HYP] we thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, while we are praying for you,
4 ayant entendu parler de votre foi en Jésus-Christ et de l'amour que vous avez pour tous les saints,
because we have heard that you believe in Christ Jesus, and that you love all God’s people.
5 à cause de l'espérance qui vous est réservée dans les cieux, et dont vous avez entendu parler auparavant dans la parole de vérité de la Bonne Nouvelle
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 qui vous est parvenue, comme elle est dans le monde entier, et qu'elle porte du fruit et croît, comme elle croît aussi en vous, depuis le jour où vous avez entendu et connu la grâce de Dieu dans la vérité,
[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 ainsi que vous l'avez appris d'Épaphras, notre bien-aimé compagnon de service, fidèle serviteur de Christ en votre faveur,
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 qui nous a aussi déclaré votre amour dans l'Esprit.
He told us that you love [all God’s people], just like God’s Spirit [has enabled you to] (OR, spiritually).
9 C'est pourquoi, nous aussi, depuis le jour où nous l'avons appris, nous ne cessons de prier et de demander pour vous, afin que vous soyez remplis de la connaissance de sa volonté en toute sagesse et intelligence spirituelles,
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 afin que vous marchiez d'une manière digne du Seigneur, pour lui plaire à tous égards, portant du fruit en toute bonne œuvre et croissant dans la connaissance de Dieu,
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 fortifiés de toute puissance, selon la puissance de sa gloire, pour toute endurance et persévérance dans la joie,
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 en rendant grâces au Père, qui nous a rendus aptes à participer à l'héritage des saints dans la lumière,
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 qui nous a délivrés de la puissance des ténèbres et nous a transportés dans le royaume du Fils de son amour,
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 en qui nous avons notre rédemption, le pardon de nos péchés.
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 Il est l'image du Dieu invisible, le premier-né de toute la création.
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 Car par lui tout a été créé dans les cieux et sur la terre, les choses visibles et les choses invisibles, qu'il s'agisse de trônes, de dominations, de principautés ou de pouvoirs. Toutes choses ont été créées par lui et pour lui.
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 Il est avant toutes choses, et toutes choses subsistent en lui.
and because it is his Son who existed before anything else existed, and because God sustains everything by what his Son [does].
18 Il est la tête du corps, de l'assemblée, lui qui est le commencement, le premier-né d'entre les morts, afin d'avoir en toutes choses la prééminence.
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 Car il a plu à toute la plénitude d'habiter en lui,
[God’s Son reveals perfectly what God his Father is like], because his Father chose to live completely in him.
20 et de réconcilier par lui toutes choses avec lui-même, tant celles qui sont sur la terre que celles qui sont dans les cieux, ayant établi la paix par le sang de sa croix.
[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 Vous qui, autrefois, étiez aliénés et ennemis dans votre esprit par vos mauvaises actions,
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 il vous a maintenant réconciliés par la mort dans le corps de sa chair, afin de vous présenter saints, irréprochables et sans défaut devant lui,
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 si du moins vous persévérez dans la foi, fondés et inébranlables, sans vous détourner de l'espérance de la Bonne Nouvelle que vous avez entendue et qui est proclamée dans toute la création sous le ciel, dont moi, Paul, j'ai été fait serviteur.
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 Or, je me réjouis de mes souffrances à cause de vous, et je comble de mon côté ce qui manque aux souffrances de Christ dans ma chair, pour l'amour de son corps, qui est l'assemblée,
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 dont j'ai été fait serviteur selon l'office de Dieu qui m'a été confié envers vous pour l'accomplissement de la parole de Dieu,
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 mystère caché depuis des siècles et des générations. Mais maintenant il a été révélé à ses saints, (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 à qui Dieu a voulu faire connaître quelle est la richesse de la gloire de ce mystère parmi les païens, qui est le Christ en vous, l'espérance de la gloire.
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 Nous l'annonçons, en exhortant tout homme et en l'instruisant en toute sagesse, afin de rendre tout homme parfait en Jésus-Christ.
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 C'est à quoi je m'efforce, moi aussi, selon son opération qui agit puissamment en moi.
In order that I might [achieve/accomplish this], I am also working very hard, depending on Christ to empowering me very greatly.
