Colossians 3
English Standard Version
Put On the New Self
3 (A)If then you have been raised with Christ, seek (B)the things that are above, where Christ is, (C)seated at the right hand of God. 2 (D)Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For (E)you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ (F)who is your[a] life (G)appears, then you also will appear with him (H)in glory.
5 (I)Put to death therefore (J)what is earthly in you:[b] (K)sexual immorality, impurity, (L)passion, evil desire, and covetousness, (M)which is idolatry. 6 (N)On account of these the wrath of God is coming.[c] 7 (O)In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now (P)you must put them all away: (Q)anger, wrath, malice, (R)slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 (S)Do not lie to one another, seeing that (T)you have put off (U)the old self[d] with its practices 10 and (V)have put on (W)the new self, (X)which is being renewed in knowledge (Y)after the image of (Z)its creator. 11 (AA)Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,[e] free; but Christ is (AB)all, and in all.
12 (AC)Put on then, as (AD)God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, (AE)compassionate hearts, (AF)kindness, (AG)humility, meekness, and patience, 13 (AH)bearing with one another and, (AI)if one has a complaint against another, (AJ)forgiving each other; (AK)as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on (AL)love, which (AM)binds everything together in (AN)perfect harmony. 15 And let (AO)the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called (AP)in one body. And (AQ)be thankful. 16 Let (AR)the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, (AS)singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, (AT)with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And (AU)whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, (AV)giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Rules for Christian Households
18 (AW)Wives, submit to your husbands, as (AX)is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and (AY)do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents (AZ)in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey (BA)in everything those who are your earthly masters,[f] not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 (BB)Whatever you do, work heartily, (BC)as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord (BD)you will receive the inheritance as your reward. (BE)You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
Footnotes
- Colossians 3:4 Some manuscripts our
- Colossians 3:5 Greek therefore your members that are on the earth
- Colossians 3:6 Some manuscripts add upon the sons of disobedience
- Colossians 3:9 Greek man; also as supplied in verse 10
- Colossians 3:11 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for Bondservants in verse 22
- Colossians 3:22 Or your masters according to the flesh
Colossians 3
New Catholic Bible
Exhortation To Live as Christians
Chapter 3
Seek the Things That Are Above.[a] 1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. 2 Fix your thoughts on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
A New Self.[b] 5 And so you should put to death everything in your nature that is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed (which is idolatry).[c] 6 Because of these practices, the wrath of God will fall on those who are disobedient. 7 In the life you formerly lived, you used to do these things. 8 But now you must cast them all aside—anger, rage, malice, slander, and foul language out of your lips.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Now there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian,[d] slave and free man. Rather, Christ is all and in all.
12 Characteristics of Life in Common.[e] As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another, and forgive one another if anyone has reason to be offended with another. You must forgive just as the Lord has forgiven you.
14 Over all these put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it was for this that you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ[f] with all its richness dwell in you. Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 The Christian Family.[g]Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not treat them harshly. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children lest they lose heart.
22 Slaves and Masters. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only when you are being observed or in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, out of reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, as if you were doing it for the Lord and not for others, 24 since you know that you will receive from the Lord an inheritance as your reward for you are serving the Lord Christ. 25 But anyone who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done. There will not be any favoritism shown.
Footnotes
- Colossians 3:1 It is not a question here of having contempt for earthly realities but of a new movement by which Christians must let themselves be grasped. Seemingly, Baptism has changed nothing for them, but in reality they live henceforth united to Christ in an even more mysterious manner. They have entered the world of the Resurrection. It is a certitude that transforms the idea that they have of their existence. At the same time, it is an impatient longing for the return of the Lord, when this change in their lives will be made complete.
- Colossians 3:5 This is a Christian endeavor, something that expresses the reality of life and the transformation of Baptism, and something that enables believers to become each day a bit more what they, in fact, are, i.e., living members of the risen Christ. Morality is then no longer a list of recommended reactions but a thrust that opposes sin and degradation, a growth in an ever more profound affinity with the Lord. United with Christ, Christians are new persons who no longer identify themselves by cultural references or by ethical and religious differences. Union with Christ basically destroys all divisions (see Gal 3:28).
- Colossians 3:5 See Rom 1:29-31 and Gal 5:19-21 for other lists of vices.
- Colossians 3:11 Scythian: the Scythians lived on the steppes of Asia and were regarded as barbarians par excellence.
- Colossians 3:12 The Church is a community of persons bound together by love to give testimony to love. Without ceasing, models must be invented to express this truth. As a community united with the Lord, the Church lives in peace and joy. She lives in faith and mutual pardon, and she puts forth her deepest sentiments in prayer and thanksgiving.
- Colossians 3:16 Word of Christ: principally Christ’s teaching, which was transmitted orally at that time but which also includes the Old Testament and the New. Hymns: these set forth some of the most important doctrines and have been preserved for us only in Paul’s Letters (e.g., Col 1:15-20; Eph 5:14; Phil 2:6-11; 1 Tim 3:16).
- Colossians 3:18 Husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves were accustomed in ancient society to live in accord with links of superiority and submission. Paul does not reverse this social structure. However, neither is he content simply to enumerate the rights of husbands, parents, and masters so as to oppose them with the duties of wives, children, and slaves. He stresses a reciprocity of duties and preaches a Christian attachment—“in the Lord”—an appeal to conscience. He does not call upon slaves to revolt but gives them another way to look upon themselves—the fact that they belong to the Lord takes precedence over their dependence on their human masters. And in a near contradiction of terms, slaves are regarded as heirs of the Lord.
This short list of precepts of family morality was developed at length in the Letter to the Ephesians (5:21—6:9).
Colossians 3
New King James Version
Not Carnality but Christ
3 If then you were (A)raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, (B)where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the (C)earth. 3 (D)For you died, (E)and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 (F)When Christ who is (G)our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in (H)glory.
5 (I)Therefore put to death (J)your members which are on the earth: (K)fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, (L)which is idolatry. 6 (M)Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon (N)the sons of disobedience, 7 (O)in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
8 (P)But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who (Q)is renewed in knowledge (R)according to the image of Him who (S)created him, 11 where there is neither (T)Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, (U)but Christ is all and in all.
Character of the New Man
12 Therefore, (V)as the elect of God, holy and beloved, (W)put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 (X)bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 (Y)But above all these things (Z)put on love, which is the (AA)bond of perfection. 15 And let (AB)the peace of God rule in your hearts, (AC)to which also you were called (AD)in one body; and (AE)be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another (AF)in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And (AG)whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
The Christian Home(AH)
18 (AI)Wives, submit to your own husbands, (AJ)as is fitting in the Lord.
19 (AK)Husbands, love your wives and do not be (AL)bitter toward them.
20 (AM)Children, obey your parents (AN)in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
21 (AO)Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
22 (AP)Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 (AQ)And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 (AR)knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; (AS)for[a] you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and (AT)there is no partiality.
Footnotes
- Colossians 3:24 NU omits for
Colossians 3
Living Bible
3 Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. 3 You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God. 4 And when Christ who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with him and share in all his glories.
5 Away then with sinful, earthly things; deaden the evil desires lurking within you; have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires; don’t worship the good things of life, for that is idolatry. 6 God’s terrible anger is upon those who do such things. 7 You used to do them when your life was still part of this world; 8 but now is the time to cast off and throw away all these rotten garments of anger, hatred, cursing, and dirty language.
9 Don’t tell lies to each other; it was your old life with all its wickedness that did that sort of thing; now it is dead and gone. 10 You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you. 11 In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and he is equally available to all.
12 Since you have been chosen by God who has given you this new kind of life, and because of his deep love and concern for you, you should practice tenderhearted mercy and kindness to others. Don’t worry about making a good impression on them, but be ready to suffer quietly and patiently. 13 Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
14 Most of all, let love guide your life, for then the whole church will stay together in perfect harmony. 15 Let the peace of heart that comes from Christ be always present in your hearts and lives, for this is your responsibility and privilege as members of his body. And always be thankful.
16 Remember what Christ taught, and let his words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with him into the presence of God the Father to give him your thanks.
18 You wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, for that is what the Lord has planned for you. 19 And you husbands must be loving and kind to your wives and not bitter against them nor harsh.
20 You children must always obey your fathers and mothers, for that pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, don’t scold your children so much that they become discouraged and quit trying.
22 You slaves must always obey your earthly masters, not only trying to please them when they are watching you but all the time; obey them willingly because of your love for the Lord and because you want to please him. 23 Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, 24 remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your full portion of all he owns. He is the one you are really working for. 25 And if you don’t do your best for him, he will pay you in a way that you won’t like—for he has no special favorites who can get away with shirking.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.