Colossians 1
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of Christ Jesus (B)by the will of God, and Timothy (C)our brother,
2 To the (D)saints and faithful brothers[a] in Christ at Colossae:
(E)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 (F)We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of (G)your faith in Christ Jesus and of (H)the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of (I)the hope (J)laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in (K)the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed (L)in the whole world it is (M)bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you (N)heard it and understood (O)the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from (P)Epaphras our beloved (Q)fellow servant.[b] He is (R)a faithful minister of Christ on your[c] behalf 8 and has made known to us your (S)love in the Spirit.
9 And so, (T)from the day we heard, (U)we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that (V)you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all (W)spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as (X)to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, (Y)fully pleasing to him: (Z)bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 (AA)being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for (AB)all endurance and patience (AC)with joy; 12 (AD)giving thanks[d] to the Father, who has qualified you[e] to share in (AE)the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He (AF)has delivered us from (AG)the domain of darkness and transferred us to (AH)the kingdom of (AI)his beloved Son, 14 (AJ)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Preeminence of Christ
15 (AK)He is the image of (AL)the invisible God, (AM)the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by[f] him all things were created, (AN)in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (AO)thrones or (AP)dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created (AQ)through him and for him. 17 And (AR)he is before all things, and in him all things (AS)hold together. 18 And (AT)he is the head of the body, the church. He is (AU)the beginning, (AV)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For (AW)in him all the (AX)fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and (AY)through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, (AZ)making peace (BA)by the blood of his cross.
21 (BB)And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, (BC)doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled (BD)in his body of flesh by his death, (BE)in order to present you holy and blameless and (BF)above reproach before him, 23 (BG)if indeed you continue in the faith, (BH)stable and steadfast, not shifting from (BI)the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed (BJ)in all creation[g] under heaven, (BK)and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Paul's Ministry to the Church
24 Now (BL)I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh (BM)I am filling up (BN)what is lacking in Christ's afflictions (BO)for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 (BP)of which I became a minister according to (BQ)the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 (BR)the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 (BS)To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are (BT)the riches of the glory of (BU)this mystery, which is Christ in you, (BV)the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that (BW)we may present everyone (BX)mature in Christ. 29 For this (BY)I toil, (BZ)struggling (CA)with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Footnotes
- Colossians 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
- Colossians 1:7 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word sundoulos, see Preface
- Colossians 1:7 Some manuscripts our
- Colossians 1:12 Or patience, with joy giving thanks
- Colossians 1:12 Some manuscripts us
- Colossians 1:16 That is, by means of; or in
- Colossians 1:23 Or to every creature
Colossians 1
Common English Bible
Greeting
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother.
2 To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and prayer for the Colossians
3 We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4 We’ve done this since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all God’s people. 5 You have this faith and love because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You previously heard about this hope through the true message, the good news, 6 which has come to you. This message has been bearing fruit and growing among you since the day you heard and truly understood God’s grace, in the same way that it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, who is the fellow slave we love and Christ’s faithful minister for your sake. 8 He informed us of your love in the Spirit.
9 Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we haven’t stopped praying for you and asking for you to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, with all wisdom and spiritual understanding. 10 We’re praying this so that you can live lives that are worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way: by producing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God; 11 by being strengthened through his glorious might so that you endure everything and have patience; 12 and by giving thanks with joy to the Father. He made it so you could take part in the inheritance, in light granted to God’s holy people. 13 He rescued us from the control of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14 He set us free through the Son and forgave our sins.
Hymn about Christ’s work
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God,
the one who is first over all creation,[a]
16 Because all things were created by him:
both in the heavens and on the earth,
the things that are visible and the things that are invisible.
Whether they are thrones or powers,
or rulers or authorities,
all things were created through him and for him.
17 He existed before all things,
and all things are held together in him.
18 He is the head of the body, the church,
who is the beginning,
the one who is firstborn from among the dead[b]
so that he might occupy the first place in everything.
19 Because all the fullness of God was pleased to live in him,
20 and he reconciled all things to himself through him—
whether things on earth or in the heavens.
He brought peace through the blood of his cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies with him in your minds, which was shown by your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death, to present you before God as a people who are holy, faultless, and without blame. 23 But you need to remain well established and rooted in faith and not shift away from the hope given in the good news that you heard. This message has been preached throughout all creation under heaven. And I, Paul, became a servant of this good news.
Paul’s service for the church
24 Now I’m happy to be suffering for you. I’m completing what is missing from Christ’s sufferings with my own body. I’m doing this for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I became a servant of the church by God’s commission, which was given to me for you, in order to complete God’s word. 26 I’m completing it with a secret plan[c] that has been hidden for ages and generations but which has now been revealed to his holy people. 27 God wanted to make the glorious riches of this secret plan[d] known among the Gentiles, which is Christ living in you, the hope of glory. 28 This is what we preach as we warn and teach every person with all wisdom so that we might present each one mature in Christ. 29 I work hard and struggle for this goal with his energy, which works in me powerfully.
Footnotes
- Colossians 1:15 Or firstborn of all creation
- Colossians 1:18 Or first over the dead
- Colossians 1:26 Or mystery
- Colossians 1:27 Or mystery
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible