Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Colossians 1:21

For this verse cf. Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:12. Usually καὶ ὑμᾶς is made to begin a new sentence. Even with the reading ἀποκατήλλαξεν the construction is not quite regular, but with the probably correct reading, ἀποκατηλλάγητε, a violent break in the context is involved, since Paul begins with the second person as the object and suddenly makes it the subject. Such an anacoluthon is possible in dictation, but very improbable unless several words had intervened, so that the beginning of the sentence should be forgotten. This is not the case here. Lachmann (followed by Lightf. and others) takes νυνὶ δὲ … θανάτου as a parenthesis, in which case παραστῆσαι depends on εὐδόκησε, and ὑμᾶς is repeated “to disentangle the construction”. The irregularity is thus avoided. Haupt objects that it is unlikely that Paul should have continued after so long a sentence as Colossians 1:20 with the same construction, and also that the thought in this part of the sentence, “to present you holy,” is not co-ordinated to the thoughts in κατοικ. and ἀποκατ. For in the latter the thought is that it is the Son in whom the fulness dwells and through whom reconciliation is effected. But this thought of the pre-eminence of the Son in the work of salvation is not continued in Colossians 1:22, where the thought is of the Christian standing of the Colossians before God. It is therefore unlikely that παραστ. should depend on εὐδοκ. Accordingly, with Haupt and Weiss, a comma should be placed at the end of Colossians 1:20, and a full stop at the end of Colossians 1:21. ὑμᾶς in Colossians 1:21 will then depend on ἀποκατ. It might seem an anti-climax after the wide sweep of Colossians 1:20 to narrow down the reference to the Colossians. But we have a similar case in Colossians 1:6, and the personal application of a universal truth is anti-climax only to a rhetorician. The danger of the Colossians makes it peculiarly appropriate here. καὶ ὑμᾶς : “you also”. ὄντας emphasises that this state was continuous. ἀπηλλοτριωμένους : “estranged,” i.e., from God, probably not to be taken as counted as aliens by God, but as expressing their attitude to God. ἐχθροὺς τῇ διανοίᾳ. Meyer takes ἐχθ. as passive, regarded as enemies by God, but the qualification τῇ διαν. and the further addition ἐν. τ. ἔργ. τ. πον. makes this very improbable. It involves the translation of τῇ διαν. “on account of your state of mind,” for which διά with the accusative would have been expected. But it is much simpler to take διαν. as dative of the part affected, and ἐχθ. as active, hostile to God in your mind. διανοία (used only here and Ephesians 2:3; Ephesians 4:18 by Paul) means the higher intellectual nature, but specially on the ethical side; it is usually in the LXX the translation of “heart”. Cremer defines it as “the faculty of moral reflexion”. ἐν τ. ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς : to be connected with ἀπηλλ. καὶ ἐχθ. The preposition indicates the sphere in which they were thus estranged and enemies.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Colossians 1:21

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