I am sending translates what is called the epistolary aorist, that is, it looks at the action from the point of view of the recipients as they read the letter (Revised Standard Version “I have sent” could be understood to mean Tychicus had been sent before Paul wrote to the Colossians).

Languages differ considerably in the way in which they treat tense forms in letters. Sometimes the tense forms depend upon the time of the writing; in other instances, the time of the receiving of the letter, that is to say, the way in which the letter is read. In still other instances, am sending in this context may be expressed as a future since Paul would be sending Tychicus presumably after he had finished the writing. In order to avoid serious misunderstanding, it is important to adjust the tense forms to the requirements of the language in to which a translation is being made.

Cheer you up or “encourage you” (see Revised Standard Version): the same language as in 2.2. The rendering cheer you up implies that the believers in Colossae had become discouraged or at least apprehensive about what they had heard concerning Paul. Therefore, it may be appropriate to translate cheer you up as “cause you to be happy again” or, as expressed figuratively in some languages, “cause your heart to return.”

“You may know how we are” (Revised Standard Version) represents the best form of the text. Some manuscripts, however, have “he may know how you are” (compare King James Version “he might know your estate”; Moffatt). How all of us are getting along may be expressed as “what is happening to all of us” or “what all of us are experiencing.”

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 .