Paragraph 4:10–14
Theme: Paul wrote greetings to the Colossians from the friends who were with him.
4:10a
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus: This man was from Thessalonica. He had traveled to Rome with Paul when Paul was a prisoner (Acts 27:3). While Paul was writing this letter, Aristarchus was in prison with Paul, either voluntarily, so he could help Paul, or because he too had been arrested.
4:10b
Mark the cousin of Barnabas: By using the word cousin, Paul meant that one of Mark’s parents was the sibling of one of Barnabas’ parents. Every language has its own way to refer to such a relationship. In some languages, there may be several terms for cousin in English/Greek, depending on whether the two men’s mothers were sisters or their fathers were brothers. However, we do not know this specific information because Greek (and English) do not distinguish the terms in this way. If you need to know this for your language, you may have to use a more general term instead, like “Barnabas’ relative.”
4:10c
You have already received instructions about him: Paul was reminding the Colossian believers that they have already received instructions about Mark.
received instructions: This means that at some time in the past, Paul or someone else had sent a message introducing Mark and instructing them about what to do if he came to Colossae. If possible, translate this in a general way, such as “You have already received a letter about Mark,” or “I know that you have already been told about Mark.” Only if it is necessary in your language to say who told the Colossians, should you add this information. Then you could say,
I ⌊Paul⌋ have already sent a message about him.
If he comes to you, welcome him: When Paul wrote this letter, he was definitely planning to send Tychicus to Colossae. However he did not know if Mark would go to Colossae or not.
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