2:13–15

In Greek, 2:13–15 is one long, complicated sentence. Most English versions divide it into several sentences. You will probably need to do this in your translation, too.

2:13a

you: Paul used an emphatic pronoun you here. In English, this can be expressed “It was you…” If you have special pronouns in your language to show such emphasis, you should use one here.

dead in your trespasses: Paul was writing about what the Colossians were like before they believed in Jesus. This is a figure of speech that means, “you were spiritually dead because you were continually behaving in sinful ways.” Because of the sinful things they did, it was not possible for them to have eternal life and be with God forever.

If you want to keep the figure of speech dead in your translation, you may need to clarify that Paul was not writing about physical death. For example, you could say:

it was as if you were dead
-or-
you were dead spiritually

If you cannot keep the figure of speech in your translation, you could say:

you were separated from God because you had sinned

trespasses: Paul did not use the normal Greek word for trespasses here, but he used the word paraptōma, which means “transgressions, actions that break the law.” Most modern English versions use the word “sins.” Unless you have a word that specifically means “transgressions,” you should probably also use your normal term for “sins” in this verse.

2:13b

and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature: Here Paul gave a second reason why the Colossians had been dead spiritually. There are two main interpretations of this part of the verse:

(1) Some scholars think that Paul was talking about spiritual circumcision, as in 2:11. For example:

you were uncircumcised ⌊spiritually⌋, that is, you ⌊were controlled⌋ by your evil nature (SSA)
-or-
your sinful nature was not yet cut away (New Living Translation (2004))

(God’s Word, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004), SSA)

(2) Some scholars think that Paul meant literal circumcision, that is, that the Colossians were Gentiles and so had not been circumcised according to the law of Moses. For example:

you were Gentiles without the Law (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)

Both interpretations have strong commentary support. The Display follows the first interpretation—that Paul used the term uncircumcision as a figure of speech, similar to 2:11. The uncircumcision of your sinful nature means “your sinful nature had not been removed,” or “God had not freed you from the power of your sinful nature.”

However, if you want to follow the second interpretation, you could say:

You were spiritually dead…because you were Gentiles and did not know God.

2:13c

God made you alive with Christ: This is similar to what Paul said in 2:12b: “[you were] raised with him/[Christ].” Paul was saying that although the Colossians had been spiritually dead (2:13a), when they became Christians, God made them spiritually alive.

2:13d

He forgave us all our trespasses: He refers to God. Notice that Paul changed here from saying “you” to us.

trespasses: This is the same word Paul used in 2:13a. You should translate it in the same way here.

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