Bible Strands
Colossians 4:13
For I testify about him that he goes to great pains for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Colossian church, placing his assessment of Epaphras’s intercessory labor between the greetings of Luke and Demas.
The words — μαρτυρῶ (marturō) means I bear witness, and πόνον (ponon) denotes labour or pains.
The thread — The verse’s testimony of costly service parallels Paul’s own struggle for the Colossians and Laodiceans in Colossians 2:1, while the verb μαρτυρῶ appears in Romans 10:2 and 2 Corinthians 8:3 to confirm observable spiritual or material exertion.
Why it lands — The text states that Epaphras’s prayer life involves documented, exhausting labor, and it requires readers to recognize that spiritual maturity depends on the costly intercession of others rather than personal effort alone.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.
Cross-references
- Colossians 2:1 For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face,
- Romans 10:2 For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.
- 2 Corinthians 8:3 For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord,
- Colossians 4:15 Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.
- Revelation 1:11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
- Revelation 3:14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.