Colossians 1:21

Colossians 1:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
• New International Version (NIV)Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled

Context of Colossians 1:21

19God chose to put his nature in Christ completely. 20He decided that Christ would die on the cross as a sacrifice. In that way, God would bring all things back to himself. Then everything could live in peace with God. That includes everything on the earth and everything in heaven. As for you, you were far away from God at one time. You thought bad things and you did bad things. As a result, you were God's enemies. 22But now you have become God's friends. This happened because Christ's human body died on the cross. As a result, God has brought you to himself. As you stand in front of him, you are completely good and clean inside. He sees nothing in you that is bad. 23But you must continue to believe God's true message. Do not turn away from it. Continue to trust God, as you did when you first heard the good news. People have told this good news to everyone all over the world. And God has chosen me, Paul, as his servant to tell this good news.

Colossians 1:21 word by word

καὶ ὑμᾶς ποτε ὄντας ἀπηλλοτριωμένους καὶ ἐχθροὺς τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• youσύsu · youG4771
• that wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• sometimeποτέpote · once/whenG4218
• alienatedἀπαλλοτριόωapallotrioō · to alienateG526
• enemiesἐχθρόςechthros · enemyG2190
• inδιάνοιαdianoia · mindG1271
• byἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• wickedπονηρόςponēros · evil/badG4190
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• yetδέde · thenG1161
• nowνυνίnuni · nowG3570
• hath he reconciledἀποκαταλλάσσωapokatallassō · to reconcileG604

Cross-references for Colossians 1:21

• Romans 1:30They tell lies about people. They hate God. They insult other people. They are proud and they say how important they are. They think of many ways to do bad things. They do not obey their parents.
• Romans 5:9Because Christ died on the cross, God has accepted us as right with himself. So we certainly know that Christ will save us when God judges everyone. Because of Jesus, God will not be angry with us and punish us.
• Romans 8:7If our weak human thoughts rule us, we become God's enemies. People like that do not want to obey God's Law. They are not even able to obey it.
• 1 Corinthians 6:9People who do wrong things like that will never belong to God's kingdom. You surely know that. Do not think that people like this will receive God's good things: People who have sex in wrong ways. People who worship idols. People who have sex with anyone that they are not married to. Men who have sex with other men.
• Ephesians 2:1Remember how you lived before. You did wrong things and bad things. As a result, you were dead in your spirits.
• Ephesians 4:18They cannot understand God's true message because their minds are in the dark. They have not accepted the life that God gives. They have decided that they do not want to know about God. They do not even try to understand.
• James 4:4You are turning away from God, like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. You choose to be friends with people who are against God. So you yourselves become enemies of God. You should know that!

Commentaries on Colossians 1:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21And you, that were sometime alienated - All men are alienated from God, and all are enemies in their minds to him, and show it by their wicked works; but this is spoken particularly of the Gentiles. The word , which we render to alienate, to give to another, to estrange, expresses the state of the Gentiles: while the Jews were, at least by profession, dedicated to God, the Gentiles were alienated, that is, given up to others; they worshipped not the true…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21And you, that were sometime alienated - In this work of reconciling heaven and earth, you at Colossae, who were once enemies of God, have been reached. The benefit of that great plan has been extended to you, and it has accomplished in you what it is designed to effect everywhere - to reconcile enemies to God. The word “sometime” here - pote- means “formerly.” In common with all other men they were, by nature, in a state of enmity against God; compare the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 Christ in his human nature, is the visible discovery of the invisible God, and he that hath seen Him hath seen the Father. Let us adore these mysteries in humble faith, and behold the glory of the Lord in Christ Jesus. He was born or begotten before all the creation, before any creature was made; which is the Scripture way of representing eternity, and by which the eternity of God is represented to us. All things being created by Him, were…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21The phrase alienated from God probably refers to their former status as Gentiles, who were not part of God's covenant people (see Ephesians 2:12).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. The Colossians are included in this general reconciliation (compare Ep 2:1, 12). sometime--"once." alienated--from God and salvation: objectively banished from God, through the barrier which God's justice interposed against your sin: subjectively estranged through the alienation of your own wills from God. The former is the prominent thought (compare Ro 5:10), as the second follows, "enemies in your mind." "Actual alienation makes habitual 'enemies'"…Read the comment

Topics related to Colossians 1:21

• Atonement
• Character
• Depravity of Man
• God
• Godlessness
• Jesus, the Christ
• Perfection
• Propitiation
• Reconciliation
• Redemption
• Salvation
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Consist
• Darkness
• Dominion
• Fill
• Mightily
• Reconcilation
• Reconcile
• Redemption
• Throne
• Alien

Commentaries on Colossians 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings