New English Translation
Colossians 3:2
2Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth,
Colossians 3:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
- New International Version (NIV)Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Context of Colossians 3:2
1Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.
Read all of Colossians 3Colossians 3:2 word by word
τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖτε μὴ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Colossians 3:2
- Colossians 3:1Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
- 1 Chronicles 22:19Now seek the Lord your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being! Get up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God! Then you can bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy items dedicated to God’s service into the temple that is built to honor the Lord.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:3Now, to show my commitment to the temple of my God, I donate my personal treasure of gold and silver to the temple of my God, in addition to all that I have already supplied for this holy temple.
- Psalms 62:10Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! If wealth increases, do not become attached to it!
- Psalms 91:14The Lord says, “Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he is loyal to me.
- Psalms 119:36Give me a desire for your rules, rather than for wealth gained unjustly.
- Proverbs 23:5When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle!
- Ecclesiastes 7:14In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.
- Matthew 16:23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”
- Romans 8:4so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
- Philippians 1:23I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,
- 1 John 2:15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,
- Colossians 3:5So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.
- Psalms 49:11Their grave becomes their permanent residence, their eternal dwelling place. They name their lands after themselves,
- Matthew 6:19“Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
- Luke 12:15Then he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Commentaries on Colossians 3:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Set your affection on things above - · Love heavenly things; study them; let your hearts be entirely engrossed by them. Now, that ye are converted to God, act in reference to heavenly things as ye did formerly in reference to those of earth; and vice versa. This is a very good general rule: "Be as much in earnest for heavenly and eternal things, as ye formerly were for those that are earthly and perishing."Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Set your affection - Margin, “or mind.” Greek” think of” - ͂ phroneiteThe thoughts should be occupied about the things where Christ now dwells, where our final home is to be, where our great interests are. Since we are raised from the death of sin, and are made to live anew, the great object of our contemplation should be the heavenly world. Not on things on the earth - Wealth, honor, pleasure. Our affections should not be fixed on houses and lands; on…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-11Paul calls on the Colossians to adopt a new mindset that leads to a different way of living.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Translate, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things," &c. (Col 2:20). Contrast "who mind earthly things" (Php 3:19). Whatever we make an idol of, will either be a cross to us if we be believers, or a curse to us if unbelievers.Read the comment
Topics related to Colossians 3:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Colossians 3
- 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
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