Kolose 2:5

2:5 For though ¹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²  your morale ³  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Kolose 4:12

4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ⁴  of Christ, ⁵  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ⁶  in all the will of God.

[2:5]  ¹ tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).

[2:5]  ² tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ³ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[4:12]  ⁴ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:12]  ⁵ tc ‡ Strong Alexandrian testimony, along with some other witnesses, suggests that ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) follows Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”; so א A B C I L 0278 33 81 365 629 1175 2464 al lat), but the evidence for the shorter reading is diverse (Ì⁴⁶ D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï it sy Hier), cutting across all major texttypes. There can be little motivation for omitting the name of Jesus; hence, the shorter reading is judged to be original. NA²⁷ has ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:12]  ⁶ tn Or “filled.”