The Earthly and the Heavenly Sanctuaries

9 Now^[a] the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. ² For a tent^[b] was constructed, the first one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence;^[c] this is called the holy place.^{(A) 3} Behind the second curtain was a tent^[d] called the holy of holies.^{(B) 4} In it stood the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which there were a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;^{(C) 5} above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.^[e] Of these things we cannot speak now in detail.^(D)

⁶ These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the first tent^[f] to carry out their ritual duties, ⁷ but only the high priest goes into the second, and he but once a year and not without taking the blood that he offers for himself and for the sins committed unintentionally by the people.^{(E) 8} By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been disclosed as long as the first tent^[g] is still standing.^{(F) 9} This is a symbol^[h] of the present time, indicating that gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper^{(G) 10} but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time comes to set things right.^(H)

¹¹ But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come,^[i] then through the greater and more perfect tent^[j] (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation),^{(I) 12} he entered once for all into the holy place, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.^{(J) 13} For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified,^{(K) 14} how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit^[k] offered himself without blemish to God, purify our^[l] conscience from dead works to worship the living God!^(L)

¹⁵ For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.^{[m](M) 16} Where a will^[n] is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷ For a will^[o] takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. ¹⁸ Hence not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.^{(N) 19} For when every commandment had been told to all the people by Moses in accordance with the law, he took the blood of calves and goats,^[p] with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the scroll itself and all the people,^{(O) 20} saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you.” ²¹ And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent^[q] and all the vessels used in worship.^{(P) 22} Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.^(Q)

Christ’s Sacrifice Takes Away Sin

²³ Thus it was necessary for the sketches of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.^{(R) 25} Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the holy place year after year with blood that is not his own, ²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.^{(S) 27} And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once and after that the judgment,^{(T) 28} so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.^(U)

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it^[r] can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach.^{(V) 2} Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? ³ But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year.^{(W) 4} For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.^{(X) 5} Consequently, when Christ^[s] came into the world, he said,

⁸ When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), ⁹ then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ And it is by God’s will^[u] that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.^(AA)

¹¹ And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins.^{(AB) 12} But when Christ^[v] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” ¹³ and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.”^{(AC) 14} For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. ¹⁵ And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

¹⁷ and he adds,

¹⁸ Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁹ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,^{(AE) 20} by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh),^{(AF) 21} and since we have a great priest over the house of God,^{(AG) 22} let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.^{(AH) 23} Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.^{(AI) 24} And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.^(AJ)

²⁶ For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins^{(AK) 27} but a fearful prospect of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.^{(AL) 28} Anyone who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.”^{(AM) 29} How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace?^{(AN) 30} For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”^[w] And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”^{(AO) 31} It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,^{(AP) 33} sometimes being publicly exposed to insults and afflictions and sometimes becoming partners with those so treated.^{(AQ) 34} For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting.^{[x](AR) 35} Do not, therefore, abandon that boldness of yours; it brings a great reward. ³⁶ For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what was promised.^{(AS) 37} For yet

³⁹ But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost but among those who have faith and so preserve our souls.^(AV)

Salutation

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

² To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.^[a]

Paul Thanks God for the Colossians

³ In our prayers for you we always thank God, the^[b] Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^{(A) 4} for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,^{(B) 5} because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel^{(C) 6} that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.^{(D) 7} This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our^[c] behalf,^{(E) 8} and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s^[d] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,^{(F) 10} so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.^{(G) 11} May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully^{(H) 12} giving thanks to the Father,^[e] who has enabled^[f] you^[g] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,^{(I) 14} in whom we have redemption,^[h] the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,^{(J) 16} for in^[i] him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He himself is before all things, and in^[j] him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.^{(K) 19} For in him all the fullness of God^[k] was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.^(L)

²¹ And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled^[l] in his fleshly body^[m] through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him,^{(M) 23} provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature^[n] under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel.^(N)

Paul’s Interest in the Colossians

²⁴ I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. ²⁵ I became its minister according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,^{(O) 26} the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints.^{(P) 27} To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.^{(Q) 28} It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.^{[o](R) 29} For this I toil and strive with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.^(S)

2 For I want you to know how greatly I strive for you and for those in Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face. ² I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ,^{[p](T) 3} in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.^{(U) 4} I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. ⁵ For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your orderly conduct and the firmness of your faith in Christ.^(V)

Fullness of Life in Christ

⁶ As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.^(W)

⁸ Watch out that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental principles^[q] of the world, and not according to Christ.^{(X) 9} For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.^{(Y) 11} In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision,^[r] by the removal of the body^[s] of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ;^{(Z) 12} when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.^{(AA) 13} And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God^[t] made you^[u] alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses,^{(AB) 14} erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ He disarmed^[v] the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.^(AC)

¹⁶ Therefore, do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food or^[w] drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths.^{(AD) 17} These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the body belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, initiatory visions,^[x] puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,^{[y] 19} and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with a growth that is from God.^(AE)

Warnings against False Teachers

²⁰ If with Christ you died to the elemental principles^[z] of the world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations,^{(AF) 21} “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²² All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings.^{(AG) 23} These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.^[aa]