Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints ^(B)and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:

^(C)Grace to you and peace from God our Father ^[a]and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Their Faith in Christ

^3 (D)We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ^4 (E)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of ^(F)your love for all the saints; ⁵ because of the hope ^(G)which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, ^(H)as it has also in all the world, and ^(I)is bringing forth ^[b]fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew ^(J)the grace of God in truth; ⁷ as you also learned from ^(K)Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is ^(L)a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ⁸ who also declared to us your ^(M)love in the Spirit.

Preeminence of Christ

^9 (N)For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask ^(O)that you may be filled with ^(P)the knowledge of His will ^(Q)in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ^10 (R)that you may walk worthy of the Lord, ^(S)fully pleasing Him, ^(T)being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the ^(U)knowledge of God; ^11 (V)strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, ^(W)for all patience and longsuffering ^(X)with joy; ^12 (Y)giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of ^(Z)the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has delivered us from ^(AA)the power of darkness ^(AB)and ^[c]conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ^14 (AC)in whom we have redemption ^[d]through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵ He is ^(AD)the image of the invisible God, ^(AE)the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For ^(AF)by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or ^(AG)dominions or ^[e]principalities or ^[f]powers. All things were created ^(AH)through Him and for Him. ^17 (AI)And He is before all things, and in Him ^(AJ)all things consist. ¹⁸ And ^(AK)He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, ^(AL)the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Reconciled in Christ

¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that ^(AM)in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and ^(AN)by Him to reconcile ^(AO)all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, ^(AP)having made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹ And you, ^(AQ)who once were alienated and enemies in your mind ^(AR)by wicked works, yet now He has ^(AS)reconciled ^22 (AT)in the body of His flesh through death, ^(AU)to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— ²³ if indeed you continue ^(AV)in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are ^(AW)not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, ^(AX)which was preached to every creature under heaven, ^(AY)of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Proclamation Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(A)set your face ^(B)against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. ³ Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God: ^(C)“Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, ⁴ indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the ^[a]men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵ And I will make ^(D)Rabbah ^(E)a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. ^(F)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁶ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Because you ^(G)clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and ^(H)rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, ⁷ indeed, therefore, I will ^(I)stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Moab

⁸ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because ^(J)Moab and ^(K)Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and ^(L)Kirjathaim. ^10 (M)To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites ^(N)may not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Edom

¹² ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(O)“Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them,” ¹³ therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; ^[b]Dedan shall fall by the sword. ^14 (P)I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Lord God.

Proclamation Against Philistia

¹⁵ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(Q)“Because ^(R)the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with ^[c]a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the ^[d]old hatred,” ¹⁶ therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(S)“I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the ^(T)Cherethites ^(U)and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will ^(V)execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; ^(W)and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Tyre

26 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(X)because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ^(Y)‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’

³ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. ⁴ And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and ^(Z)make her like the top of a rock. ⁵ It shall be a place for spreading nets ^(AA)in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations. ⁶ Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. ^(AB)Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’

⁷ “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north ^(AC)Nebuchadnezzar^[e] king of Babylon, ^(AD)king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people. ⁸ He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will ^(AE)heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a ^[f]defense against you. ⁹ He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. ¹⁰ Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached. ¹¹ With the hooves of his ^(AF)horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the ^(AG)midst of the water. ^13 (AH)I will put an end to the sound of ^(AI)your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. ^14 (AJ)I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,’ says the Lord God.

¹⁵ “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not ^(AK)shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? ¹⁶ Then all the ^(AL)princes of the sea will ^(AM)come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; ^(AN)they will sit on the ground, ^(AO)tremble every moment, and ^(AP)be astonished at you. ¹⁷ And they will take up a ^(AQ)lamentation for you, and say to you:

¹⁹ “For thus says the Lord God: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down ^(AT)with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory ^(AU)in the land of the living. ^21 (AV)I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; ^(AW)though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God.”

The Sin-Bearing Messiah