“and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.”
— WEB
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Translations sourced from the public-domain WEB, KJV, and ASV. See all sources.
“and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.”
— WEB
“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”
— KJV
“and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, [I say], whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.”
— ASV
The Greek order is, "And through Him (Christ) to reconcile again completely (see on Eph 2:16) all things (Greek, 'the whole universe of things') unto Himself (unto God the Father, Co2 5:19), having made peace (God the Father having made peace) through the blood of His (Christ's) cross," that is, shed by Christ on the cross: the price and pledge of our reconciliation with God. The Scripture phrase, "God reconciles man to Himself," implies that He takes away by the blood of Jesus the barrier which God's justice interposes against man's being in union with God (compare Note, see on Rom 5:10; Co2 5:18). So the Septuagint, Sa1 29:4, "Wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master," that is, reconcile his master unto him by appeasing his wrath. So Mat 5:23-24. by him--"through Him" (the instrumental agent in the new creation, as in the original creation): emphatically repeated, to bring the person of Christ, as the Head of both creations alike, into prominence. things in earth . . . in heaven--Good angels, in one sense, do not need reconciliation to God; fallen angels are excluded from it (Jde 1:6). But probably redemption has effects on the world of spirits unknown to us. Of course, His reconciling us, and His reconciling them, must be by a different process, as He took not on Him the nature of angels, so as to offer a propitiation for them.
— Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary (public domain)
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