Colossians 1:21 (YLT)

Passage

And you--once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, yet now did he reconcile,

Nearby Context

Colossians 1:19 because in him it did please all the fulness to tabernacle,

Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile the all things to himself--having made peace through the blood of his cross--through him, whether the things upon the earth, whether the things in the heavens.

Colossians 1:21 And you--once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, yet now did he reconcile,

Colossians 1:22 in the body of his flesh through the death, to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before himself,

Colossians 1:23 if also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that <FI>is<Fi> under the heaven, of which I became--I Paul--a ministrant.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "you--once", "alienated", "enemies", "mind", "evil", "works", and "reconcile". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "you--once" and "alienated", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "and through him to reconcile the all..." into verse 22's "in the body of his flesh through...", so "you--once" and "alienated" belong inside that flow. In Colossians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "you--once" and "alienated" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.