Colossians 3:18-4
New American Standard Bible
Family Relations
18 (A)Wives, (B)be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 (C)Husbands, love your wives and do not become bitter against them. 20 (D)Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing [a]to the Lord. 21 (E)Fathers, do not [b]antagonize your children, so that they will not become discouraged.
22 [c](F)Slaves, obey those who are your [d]human masters in everything, (G)not with [e]eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work [f]heartily, (H)as for the Lord and not for people, 24 (I)knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward [g]of (J)the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you (K)serve. 25 For (L)the one who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and [h](M)that without partiality.
4 Masters, grant your slaves justice and fairness, (N)knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
2 (O)Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time (P)for us as well, that God will open up to us a (Q)door for (R)the word, so that we may proclaim (S)the mystery of Christ, for which I have also (T)been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear (U)in the way that I ought to proclaim it.
5 [i](V)Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward (W)outsiders, [j](X)making the most of the opportunity. 6 (Y)Your speech must always be [k]with grace, as though seasoned with (Z)salt, so that you will know how you should (AA)respond to each person.
7 (AB)As to all my affairs, (AC)Tychicus, our (AD)beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8 (AE)For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may (AF)encourage your hearts; 9 [l]and with him is (AG)Onesimus, our faithful and (AH)beloved brother, (AI)who is one of your own. They will inform you about the whole situation here.
10 (AJ)Aristarchus, my (AK)fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also (AL)Barnabas’ cousin Mark (about whom you received [m]instructions; (AM)if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only (AN)fellow workers for the kingdom of God (AO)who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me. 12 (AP)Epaphras, (AQ)who is one of your own, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always (AR)striving earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may [n]stand [o](AS)mature and [p]fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify for him that he has [q]a deep concern for you and for those who are in (AT)Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 (AU)Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and (AV)Demas does also. 15 Greet the brothers and sisters who are in (AW)Laodicea and also [r]Nympha and (AX)the church that is in [s]her house. 16 (AY)When [t]this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part, (AZ)read [u]my letter that is coming from (BA)Laodicea. 17 Tell (BB)Archippus, “See to the (BC)ministry which you have received in the Lord, so that you may [v]fulfill it.”
18 [w]I, Paul, (BD)write this greeting with my own hand. (BE)Remember my [x](BF)imprisonment. (BG)Grace be with you.
Footnotes
- Colossians 3:20 Lit in
- Colossians 3:21 Or provoke to anger
- Colossians 3:22 I.e., slaves in first-century Roman culture
- Colossians 3:22 Lit masters according to flesh
- Colossians 3:22 I.e., working only when watched
- Colossians 3:23 Lit from the soul
- Colossians 3:24 I.e., consisting of
- Colossians 3:25 Lit there is no partiality
- Colossians 4:5 Lit Walk
- Colossians 4:5 Lit redeeming the time
- Colossians 4:6 Or gracious
- Colossians 4:9 Lit along with Onesimus
- Colossians 4:10 Or orders
- Colossians 4:12 Or stand firm
- Colossians 4:12 Or fully developed
- Colossians 4:12 Or made complete
- Colossians 4:13 Or much toil; or great pain
- Colossians 4:15 Or Nymphas (masc)
- Colossians 4:15 One early ms their
- Colossians 4:16 Lit the
- Colossians 4:16 Lit the
- Colossians 4:17 Or continually fulfill
- Colossians 4:18 Lit The greeting by my hand of Paul
- Colossians 4:18 Lit bonds
Colossians 3:18-4
New Living Translation
Instructions for Christian Households
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.[a] 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.
4 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.
An Encouragement for Prayer
2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.
5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive[b] so that you will have the right response for everyone.
Paul’s Final Instructions and Greetings
7 Tychicus will give you a full report about how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s work. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. 9 I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything that’s happening here.
10 Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. 11 Jesus (the one we call Justus) also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish believers among my co-workers; they are working with me here for the Kingdom of God. And what a comfort they have been!
12 Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God. 13 I can assure you that he prays hard for you and also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
14 Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas. 15 Please give my greetings to our brothers and sisters[c] at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.
16 After you have read this letter, pass it on to the church at Laodicea so they can read it, too. And you should read the letter I wrote to them.
17 And say to Archippus, “Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.”
18 HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL.
Remember my chains.
May God’s grace be with you.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
