independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
The salutation 1:1–2
1
Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸςindependent — the senders — a verbless superscription; apostleship by God's will, Timothy joined as brother
2
τοῖς ἐν Κολοσσαῖς ἁγίοις καὶ πιστοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ·phrase modifier — dative of address — the recipients: in Colossae by geography, in Christ by identity
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν.independent — the greeting — from the Father alone, without the usual 'and the Lord Jesus Christ'
The thanksgiving — one sentence to Epaphras 1:3–8
vv. 3–5 — the report: faith and love, springing from hope
3
Εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ θεῷ πατρὶ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦindependent — the sentence's one main verb — plural, with Timothy
πάντοτε περὶ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι,participial — the setting — the thanks voiced within constant prayer
4
ἀκούσαντες τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀγάπηνparticipial — causal — the report (through Epaphras) that prompts the thanks
ἣν ἔχετε εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίουςrelative — on τὴν ἀγάπην — love with the whole church in its scope
5
διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα τὴν ἀποκειμένην ὑμῖν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς,cause — διά + accusative — grounds the faith–love pair: hope, the triad's third member, is the root of the other two
ἣν προηκούσατε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ εὐαγγελίουrelative — on τὴν ἐλπίδα — προακούω: heard already, before the errorists arrived
vv. 6–8 — the gospel's career: worldwide and at Colossae, through Epaphras
6
τοῦ παρόντος εἰς ὑμᾶς,participial — attributive — πάρειμι: the gospel arrived and stays
καθὼς καὶ ἐν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν καρποφορούμενον καὶ αὐξανόμενονcomparative — the quiet polemic — universal and fruitful (Gen 1:28 language), against a local novelty
καθὼς καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν,comparative — the comparison turned home — verbless: supply the periphrasis
ἀφ' ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσατε καὶ ἐπέγνωτε τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ·relative — temporal relative — fruitfulness dated to conversion; ἐπιγινώσκω, true knowledge against the errorists' kind
7
καθὼς ἐμάθετε ἀπὸ Ἐπαφρᾶ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ συνδούλου ἡμῶν,comparative — the knowing was a learning — Epaphras's instruction legitimated
ὅς ἐστιν πιστὸς ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν διάκονος τοῦ Χριστοῦ,relative — the commendation — Christ's faithful διάκονος, deputized for them (ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν)
8
ὁ καὶ δηλώσας ἡμῖν τὴν ὑμῶν ἀγάπην ἐν πνεύματι.participial — substantival participle, coordinate with the ὅς-clause — the report returned; the letter's only mention of the Spirit
The prayer — filled, to walk worthily; thanks to the Father who transferred us 1:9–14
vv. 9–11 — the petition: knowledge for the sake of the walk
9
Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς,independent — the subject suspended over its verb — thanksgiving turns to petition
ἀφ' ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν,relative — temporal relative — Paul's 'day' answering theirs (v. 6)
οὐ παυόμεθα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καὶ αἰτούμενοιindependent — the main verb — litotes for constant prayer; the complementary participles fold petition inside prayer
ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ,purpose — the petition's content — πληρόω, the fullness keyword (v. 19; 2:9–10); God does the filling
10
περιπατῆσαι ἀξίως τοῦ κυρίου εἰς πᾶσαν ἀρεσκείαν,purpose — purpose infinitive — the knowledge is for walking; four participles of manner follow at one depth
ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ καρποφοροῦντεςparticipial — manner 1 of 4 — the gospel's verbs (v. 6) become theirs
καὶ αὐξανόμενοι τῇ ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ,participial — manner 2 — growth by the knowledge just prayed for
11
ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει δυναμούμενοι κατὰ τὸ κράτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ εἰς πᾶσαν ὑπομονὴν καὶ μακροθυμίαν μετὰ χαρᾶς,participial — manner 3 — glorious power spent on unglamorous endurance, and that with joy
vv. 12–14 — thanksgiving to the Father: qualified, rescued, transferred
12
εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ πατρὶparticipial — manner 4 — the walk circles back into thanksgiving (v. 3)
τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί·participial — attributive — ἱκανόω: made fit for the allotted portion; exodus-and-inheritance language
13
ὃς ἐρρύσατο ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ σκότουςrelative — on τῷ πατρί, coordinate with the participle — ῥύομαι: snatched from the dark jurisdiction
καὶ μετέστησεν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ,relative — coordinate finite in the ὅς-clause — μεθίστημι, a people resettled; 'Son of his love,' a Semitic genitive: the beloved Son
14
ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν, τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν·relative — on τοῦ υἱοῦ — redemption defined as forgiveness (cf. Eph 1:7); the hinge into the hymn
The Christ-hymn — the supremacy of the Son 1:15–20
vv. 15–17 — first strophe: the firstborn over all creation
15
ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως,relative — the hymn opens on ὅς (cf. Php 2:6; 1 Tim 3:16) — antecedent τοῦ υἱοῦ (v. 13); πρωτότοκος of rank, not of origin
16
ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάνταcause — the ground of the primacy — ἐν αὐτῷ: creation happened in him, so he cannot be one of its items
ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα,phrase modifier — the sweep of τὰ πάντα — two axes, place and visibility, no remainder
εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε ἐξουσίαι·phrase modifier — the invisible itemized — a verbless εἴτε-list: the very powers the errorists revere, catalogued as creatures
τὰ πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται·cause — the ground resumed — perfect ἔκτισται: he is agent (δι' αὐτοῦ) and goal (εἰς αὐτόν) of a creation that stands created
17
καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν πρὸ πάντωνindependent — emphatic αὐτός — priority in time and in rank
καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν,independent — συνέστηκεν — the perfect of cosmic coherence: he sustains what was made in him
vv. 18–20 — second strophe: the firstborn from the dead
18
καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος, τῆς ἐκκλησίας·independent — the pivot to redemption — the cosmos-wide claims narrow onto the σῶμα, glossed as the church
ὅς ἐστιν ἀρχή, πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν,relative — the second ὅς — ἀρχή of the new creation; πρωτότοκος again, now out of the grave
ἵνα γένηται ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς πρωτεύων,purpose — the hymn's goal-line — πρωτεύων: first in creation, first from the dead, first in everything
19
ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησεν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαιcause — the second strophe's ground — πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα as subject: God in all his fullness (2:9) chose this dwelling
20
καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα εἰς αὐτόν,content — second complement infinitive of εὐδόκησεν — the fullness pleased both to dwell and to reconcile the same τὰ πάντα
εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ,participial — means — εἰρηνοποιέω: the cosmic peace was made at a Roman execution; the hymn's feet on Golgotha
[δι' αὐτοῦ] εἴτε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἴτε τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.phrase modifier — the scope resumed — δι' αὐτοῦ repeated (bracketed in the editions); earth and heaven, strophe 1's pair reversed
The reconciliation applied — and you 1:21–23
21
καὶ ὑμᾶςindependent — the object suspended (Eph 2:1-style) until ἀποκατήλλαξεν (v. 22) — the cosmic hymn lands on the Colossians
ποτε ὄντας ἀπηλλοτριωμένους καὶ ἐχθροὺς τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς,participial — the former state — ποτε: estranged, hostile in mind, evil in deed
22
νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατήλλαξεν ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου,independent — the νυνὶ δέ resumption — read as active (God reconciled); ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκός: a real fleshly death, against angel-minded spiritualizing
παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ,purpose — purpose infinitive — the presentation, sacrificial and forensic at once (cf. v. 28)
23
εἴ γε ἐπιμένετε τῇ πίστει τεθεμελιωμένοι καὶ ἑδραῖοιconditional — backward εἴ γε — anchored on the presentation above (so unlike a forward protasis it takes an anchor); confidence with an edge, not doubt
καὶ μὴ μετακινούμενοι ἀπὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ εὐαγγελίουparticipial — the negative side of continuing — μετακινέω: not dislodged from the hope of v. 5
οὗ ἠκούσατε,relative — their own history the argument — the hearing of vv. 5–6 again
τοῦ κηρυχθέντος ἐν πάσῃ κτίσει τῇ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν,participial — attributive — the universal proclamation, echoing v. 6 and πάσης κτίσεως (v. 15)
οὗ ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ Παῦλος διάκονος.relative — the tail that opens the next section — Paul steps forward by name, a διάκονος like Epaphras (v. 7)
Paul's ministry of the mystery 1:24–29
vv. 24–25 — the sufferings and the stewardship
24
Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν,independent — Νῦν — the diakonia in the present tense: joy located inside the sufferings
καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μουindependent — the famous crux — what is 'lacking' is the apostolic share of the Messiah's afflictions still to be borne for the church, a deficit in Paul's flesh, not in the atonement
ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ,phrase modifier — the beneficiary — the sufferings are churchward, not meritorious
ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία,relative — the body glossed — as in v. 18, σῶμα fixed to its ecclesial referent
25
ἧς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ διάκονοςrelative — v. 23's clause re-struck with a new genitive — minister of the gospel, now of the church
κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι εἰς ὑμᾶςphrase modifier — the norm — οἰκονομία: an entrusted administration, reaching even unvisited Colossae (εἰς ὑμᾶς)
πληρῶσαι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ,purpose — the stewardship's aim — πληρόω again: the word brought to its full course
vv. 26–27 — the mystery: hidden, now revealed — Christ in you
26
τὸ μυστήριον τὸ ἀποκεκρυμμένον ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν —phrase modifier — apposition — the word of God is the μυστήριον, long hidden from ages and generations alike
νῦν δὲ ἐφανερώθη τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ,independent — anacoluthon — the participial construction breaks into a finite verb: the hidden/revealed schema's triumphant νῦν δέ
27
οἷς ἠθέλησεν ὁ θεὸς γνωρίσαιrelative — on τοῖς ἁγίοις — the disclosure rests on God's free ἠθέλησεν
τί τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν,content — indirect question, verbless — the mystery's wealth measured precisely among the nations
ὅ ἐστιν Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης·relative — the mystery named — Christ in (and among) you Gentiles; the hope of v. 5 now a person
vv. 28–29 — the proclamation: everyone, mature in Christ
28
ὃν ἡμεῖς καταγγέλλομενrelative — on Χριστός — from creed to task: the mystery is a person proclaimed
νουθετοῦντες πάντα ἄνθρωπονparticipial — manner — νουθετέω, warning; the first πάντα ἄνθρωπον of three
καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ,participial — manner — teaching every person in all wisdom: no inner circle of initiates
ἵνα παραστήσωμεν πάντα ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐν Χριστῷ·purpose — the goal — παρίστημι again (v. 22): every person presented τέλειος, the maturity the errorists reserved for the few
29
εἰς ὃ καὶ κοπιῶrelative — εἰς ὅ — on the aim just named; κοπιάω, labor to the point of weariness
ἀγωνιζόμενος κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦparticipial — manner — the athlete's ἀγών, measured by Christ's energy rather than Paul's
τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐν δυνάμει.participial — attributive — the ἐνεργ- pair: the chapter closes with divine power at work inside the toiling minister
Analysis. Colossians 1 is Ephesians 1's close cousin, and the page shows the same relentless handing-forward. The thanksgiving (vv. 3–8) is one sentence that never returns to the margin: from Εὐχαριστοῦμεν it steps down through teal participles into the coral relatives of the hope and the gospel — παρόντος, two magenta καθώς lines, the 'from the day' relative — until it lands nine levels deep on Epaphras, the man who carried the message both ways. The prayer (vv. 9–14) pivots on οὐ παυόμεθα and its amber ἵνα: the purpose infinitive περιπατῆσαι carries its four manner participles (καρποφοροῦντες, αὐξανόμενοι, δυναμούμενοι, εὐχαριστοῦντες) at a single depth — one walk, four gaits — and the last of them, thanksgiving to the Father, opens the ὅς-chain of rescue and transfer that flows into the hymn. The hymn (vv. 15–20) is set as two strophes, each opened by a coral ὅς and grounded by a red ὅτι: firstborn over creation (with the verbless dashed sweep of τὰ πάντα and the εἴτε-list of the very powers the errorists revere), then firstborn from the dead, where the fullness pleased to dwell and to reconcile, the εἰρηνοποιήσας participle putting the hymn's feet on the cross. Verses 21–23 replay Eph 2:1's shape: the dashed suspended object καὶ ὑμᾶς hangs until the flush-left νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατήλλαξεν resumes it, and the olive εἴ γε is a backward-leaning condition, anchored (unlike a forward protasis) on the presentation it qualifies. The close (vv. 24–29) chains fifteen levels deep, from Νῦν χαίρω to the power at work in the toiler. Cruxes the layout takes a side on: διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα (v. 5) grounds the faith and love, not the thanksgiving; πρωτότοκος (v. 15) is rank over creation, not first creature — the ὅτι of v. 16 grounds it; πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα (v. 19) is subject — God in all his fullness — with ἀποκαταλλάξαι a second complement of εὐδόκησεν; ἀποκατήλλαξεν (v. 22) is read active with God as subject; and ἀνταναπληρῶ (v. 24) fills up the still-outstanding apostolic share of the Messiah's afflictions borne for the church — a deficit in Paul's flesh, not in the atonement. Each dependent line sits directly beneath the dotted-underlined word it hangs from, one column deeper than its parent, however far the sentence runs.