God & Savior

Colossians 3:2

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:2
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Study notes

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Explanation

Paul has said believers have been raised with Christ, who is seated at God's right hand (3:1). Their thinking should be shaped by that heavenly reality, not by the things of this world.

Original language
  • ἄνω (anō): above
    Greek · Adverb · Strong's G0507 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Above.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Colossians 3:2, word 2

  • φρονεῖτε (phroneite): to reason
    Greek · Verb, present, active, imperative, 2nd person plural · Strong's G5426 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Set your mind on, think about.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Colossians 3:2, word 3

  • γῆς (gēs): earth
    Greek · Noun, genitive, singular, feminine · Strong's G1093G · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Earth.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Colossians 3:2, word 8

Cross-references
  • Colossians 3:1 · Surrounding passage

    Seek the things above, where Christ is.

  • Matthew 6:21 · Same theme

    Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.

  • Philippians 3:20 · Same theme

    Our citizenship is in heaven.

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Greek)

τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖτε μὴ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.

  1. τὰta“The [things]”
    Article, accusative, plural, neuter · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  2. ἄνωanō“above”
    Adverb · “above” · Strong's G0507
  3. φρονεῖτεphroneite“do set [your] minds on”
    Verb, present, active, imperative, 2nd person plural · from φρονέω · “to reason” · Strong's G5426
  4. μὴmē“not”
    Particle, negative · from μή · “not” · Strong's G3361
  5. τὰta“the [things]”
    Article, accusative, plural, neuter · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  6. ἐπὶepi“on”
    Preposition · from ἐπί · “upon/to/against” · Strong's G1909
  7. τῆςtēs“the”
    Article, genitive, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  8. γῆς.gēs“earth.”
    Noun, genitive, singular, feminine · from γῆ · “earth” · Strong's G1093G
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)