^3:12Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy,⁹ kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, ^3:13bearing with one another and forgiving¹⁰ one another, if someone happens to have¹¹ a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.¹²^3:14And to all these¹³ virtues¹⁴ add¹⁵ love, which is the perfect bond.¹⁶^3:15Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body¹⁷ to this peace), and be thankful. ^3:16Let the word of Christ¹⁸ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace¹⁹ in your hearts to God. ^3:17And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Exhortation to Households

^3:18Wives, submit to your²⁰ husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ^3:19Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. ^3:20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. ^3:21Fathers,²¹ do not provoke²² your children, so they will not become disheartened.

Read in Logos

Colossians 3:12: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…

Footnotes

9 If the genitive construct σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (splanchna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.
10 For the translation of χαριζόμενοι (charizomenoi) as “forgiving,” see χαρίζομαι 3. The two participles “bearing” (ἀνεχόμενοι, anechomenoi) and “forgiving” (χαριζόμενοι) express the means by which the action of the finite verb “clothe yourselves” is to be carried out.
11 Grk “if someone has”; the term “happens,” though not in the Greek text, is inserted to bring out the force of the third class condition.
12 The expression “forgive others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. It is included in the translation to make the sentence complete and more comprehensible to the English reader.
13 ἐπί 7 suggests “to all these” as a translation for ἐπὶ πᾶσιν δὲ τούτοις (epi pasin de toutois).
14 The term “virtues” is not in the Greek text, but is included in the translation to specify the antecedent and to make clear the sense of the pronoun “these.”
15 The verb “add,” though not in the Greek text, is implied, picking up the initial imperative “clothe yourselves.”
16 The genitive τῆς τελειότητος (tēs teleiotētos) has been translated as an attributive genitive, “the perfect bond.”
17 Grk “in one body.” This phrase emphasizes the manner in which the believers were called, not the goal of their calling, and focuses upon their unity.
18 Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord“] in א* I 1175 bo; θεοῦ [theou, “of God“] in A C* 33 104 323 945 ), the reading Χριστοῦ (Christou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (𝔓46 א2 B C2 D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 𝔐 lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.
19 Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.
20 The article τοῖς (tois) with ἀνδράσιν (andrasin, “husbands”) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (“your”); see .
21 Or perhaps “Parents.” The plural οἱ πατέρες (hoi pateres, “fathers”) can be used to refer to both the male and female parent ( πατήρ 1.a).
22 Or “do not cause your children to become resentful” (L&N 88.168). ἐρεθίζω states, “to cause someone to react in a way that suggests acceptance of a challenge, arouse, provoke mostly in bad sense irritate, embitter.”