God’s Word Translation
Colossians 1:21
21Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude.
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 was pleased to have all of himself live in Christ. 20God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross. Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude. 22But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in his physical body. He did this so that you could come into God’s presence without sin, fault, or blame. 23This is on the condition that you continue in faith without being moved from the solid foundation of the hope that the Good News contains. You’ve heard this Good News of which I, Paul, became a servant. It has been spread throughout all creation under heaven.
Read all of Colossians 1Colossians 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 1:30slanderers, haters of God, haughty, arrogant, and boastful. They think up new ways to be cruel. They don’t obey their parents,
- Romans 5:9Since Christ’s blood has now given us God’s approval, we are even more certain that Christ will save us from God’s anger.
- Romans 8:7This is so because the corrupt nature has a hostile attitude toward God. It refuses to place itself under the authority of God’s standards because it can’t.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9Don’t you know that wicked people won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Stop deceiving yourselves! People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals,
- Ephesians 2:1You were once dead because of your failures and sins.
- Ephesians 4:18They can’t understand because they are in the dark. They are excluded from the life that God approves of because of their ignorance and stubbornness.
- James 4:4You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that love for this ⌞evil⌟ world is hatred toward God? Whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God.
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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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