Continuing his admonition about relations with non-Christians, Paul says that the Colossians’ conversation with them should always be pleasant. The phrase en chariti means “charming, pleasant, attractive.”

Your speech does not refer to enunciation or pronunciation but to the content of what is said. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to translate “your words” or “when you talk with people, what you say should be pleasant and interesting.”

The next phrase, “seasoned with salt” (Revised Standard Version), is understood to mean that their conversation should be witty, interesting, pointed, not insipid or dull. And finally their conversation should always be adapted to the needs of everyone with whom they speak of the Christian message (for a similar idea see 1 Peter 3.15).

Rather than talking about words being “pleasant and interesting,” many languages relate these characteristics to the response of persons who receive the communication, for example, “people should always be pleased and interested in what you say” or “what you say should always cause people to be pleased and interested.”

Some rendering of the right answer may suggest “the polite answer,” for in many societies a polite response is the correct one, not necessarily a true response. In some instances, one may render the second clause of verse 6 as “you should know how to answer everyone as you should” or “you should know how to answer everyone in a true way.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .