15 [a]He is the (A)image of the (B)invisible God, the (C)firstborn of all creation: 16 for [b](D)by Him all things were created, (E)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (F)thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—(G)all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He [c](H)is before all things, and in Him all things [d]hold together. 18 He is also the (I)head of (J)the body, the church; and He is (K)the beginning, (L)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For [e]it was (M)the Father’s good pleasure for all (N)the [f]fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to (O)reconcile all things to Himself, (P)whether things on earth or things in [g]heaven, having made (Q)peace through (R)the blood of His cross.

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Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:15 Lit Who is
  2. Colossians 1:16 Or in
  3. Colossians 1:17 Or has existed prior to
  4. Colossians 1:17 Or endure
  5. Colossians 1:19 Or all the fullness was pleased to dwell
  6. Colossians 1:19 I.e., fullness of deity
  7. Colossians 1:20 Lit the heavens

Christ Is Supreme

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
    He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[a]
16 for through him God created everything
    in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
    and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
    Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
    and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
    which is his body.
He is the beginning,
    supreme over all who rise from the dead.[b]
    So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
    everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:15 Or He is the firstborn of all creation.
  2. 1:18 Or the firstborn from the dead.