Colossians 4

Colossians 4:1

You that are masters, deal justly and indifferently with your servants; require no more than they are able to perform; give them what is fit for them; reward the more diligent with more kindness; and the same dealing that you desire to receive from God do you shew to them.

Colossians 4:2

Have your daily, constant, frequent hours of prayer, and use all diligence to have your hearts intent upon that performance, and with petitions for supply of your wants join your thankful acknowledgments for what ye have received.

Colossians 4:3

And let this be one constant request in your prayers, that God will give me plentiful opportunities and liberty publicly to preach the gospel, which, contrary to the expectation of the world, is now sent to the Gentiles, (for the preaching to whom I am in bonds at this time;)

Colossians 4:4

And that I may do it in such a manner as is my duty to do.

Colossians 4:5

Behave yourselves with all Christian circumspection in respect of the heathens among whom ye live; that ye neither be corrupted by their sensual baits, nor give them any matter of scandal or aversion to the faith; but considering the danger of your present condition, apply yourselves to it as circumspectly and as prudently as ye can: (see note [c] Ephes. v.)

Colossians 4:6

Let your discourse be always gracious, pure and Christian, (see note [c] Ephes. v.) or cheerful and merry; but then, as it is such on one side, so must it be also savoury, discreet and seasonable; seasoned with prudence that may make it wholesome to the hearers, accommodating it dexterously and skilfully to every man’s condition and capacity and wants.

Colossians 4:7

All things wherein I am concerned shall be declared to you by Tychicus, one that is employed by me as an assistant, and intrusted (for his approved fidelity) in preaching the gospel to those I cannot come to:

¹ afford right and equality, τὸ βίωσιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα παρέχωθε. ³ Or, speak with boldness: for the King’s MS. reads ἐν ταρρησίᾳ. me, τὰ κατ’ ἐμὶ πάντα. ² on it, ἐν αὐτῇ. ⁴ All that concerns T 2

Colossians 4:8

Whom I have therefore sent to you, that he might make you a relation of all that concerns me, and comfort you by doing so. (who hath been recommended to you, (probably by letters from Barnabas,) to which also I desire to add mine, and request you to treat him with all respect when he comes unto you;)

Colossians 4:11

Which Mark, and Jesus, called by the Romans Justus, are Jews, and are the only men that have here of late at Rome assisted me in any work of the gospel, and from whom I have received great comfort and advantage.

Colossians 4:12

Epaphras, that preached the gospel among you, ch. i. 7, and is now elsewhere performing service to Christ, wishes you all happiness; and daily prays earnestly to Christ for you, that ye may continue undefiled from the seduction of heretics, and grow to a full maturity of Christian knowledge and practice.

Colossians 4:13

And I can testify for him, that he is extremely kind, and industrious for your good; and not for yours only, but for those two other cities of Phrygia, in the converting of which he was made use of, Laodicea and Hierapolis. meets together in his house.

Colossians 4:16

[a] from Laodicea] If the right reading in this place be τὴν ἐκ Λαοδικείας, that from Laodicea, then the meaning of it may be, That Epistle which the Laodiceans have received, do you, when you send them a copy of this, require a copy of, and when you have received it, read it in your assembly. But if τὴν Λαοδικείας, without ἐκ, be the truer reading, then it must be rendered that of Laodicea, noting again some epistle sent to them, and in their possession, according to that of the civil law, L. si Epistolam, D. de Acquir. Rer. Domin. Literæ ejus sunt cujus tabellario sunt traditæ, multo magis ubi sunt redditæ, “An epistle is his to whose messenger it is delivered, especially when it is received by him.” And so which way soever it is, it refers to some epistle sent to the Laodiceans, which Tertullian against Marcion seems to affirm of that Epistle which is now inscribed to the Ephesians, that a copy of it was written to the Laodiceans, which, if it were done by St. Paul, is yet very reasonable to imagine to be sent from Ephesus to them. For Ephesus being the chief metropolis of Asia, and Laodicea being a church within that circuit, as appears Rev. i. 11, as the Epistle written to the Corinthians belonged to all the churches of Achaia, 2 Cor. i. 1; and so no doubt was copied out and communicated to them, and as the letter from the council of Jerusalem to the church of Antioch did belong also to all Syria and Cilicia, and was by Paul communicated to all the churches thereof, Acts xvi. 4, and as the Epistles to the Thessalonians are said to belong also to Philippi, another metropolis of Macedonia, (and thereupon Polycarp, in his Epistle to the Philippians, mentions ἐπιστολαί, epistles in the plural, which Paul had sent to them, whereas there is but one now known to be inscribed to the Philippians,) and lastly, as here the Epistle to the Colossians is expressly directed to be communicated to the Laodiceans, and this to be sent from Laodicea to Colossæ, so there is no difficulty to conceive that the Epistle to the Ephesians was by them communicated (as by Paul meant) to the Laodiceans also, and so may fitly be called ἡ Λαοδικείας, the Epistle of Laodicea, or which the church of Laodicea had received.

Colossians 4:17

[b] Archippus] It is the opinion of some that Epaphras was at this time bishop of Colossæ, but imprisoned at Rome with Paul, and that Archippus did now in his absence supply his place. That Epaphras was about this time prisoner at Rome, is concluded probably by Philem. 23, where he calls him συναιχμάλωτον, his fellow-prisoner, (for that that Epistle to Philemon and this were written from Rome about the

Colossians 4:21

[d] provoke] Ἐρεβίσμα is ὕβρις, contumely, saith Phavorinus, and ἐρεθίζετε κακολογίαν δηλοί παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ, “it signifies evil speaking in Homer,” and πᾶς ἐρεθισμός ἐν χαλεποῖς μύθοις γίνεσθαι δοκεῖ, “it consists in hard or bitter words.” The word signifies contumelious, harsh language; and that is most likely to be the meaning here, because of the mention of the ἀθυμῶσιν, that is here added, such words in parents being apt to discourage children.