Colossians

1Paul, an apostle of ChristJesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2to the saints and faithful brothersin Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

4having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have toward all the saints,

5because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News

6which has come to you, even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth,

7even as you learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on yourbehalf,

8who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

9For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

10that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God,

11strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy,

12giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,

13who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love,

14in whom we have our redemption,the forgiveness of our sins.

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.

17He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

18He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him,

20and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.

21You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil deeds,

22yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him,

23if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a servant.

24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly,

25of which I was made a servant according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you to fulfill the word of God,

26the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints,

27to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;

29for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.

1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Timotheus the brother,

2to the saints in Colossae, and to the faithful brethren in Christ: Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ!

3We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you,

4having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love that [is] to all the saints,

5because of the hope that is laid up for you in the heavens, which ye heard of before in the word of the truth of the good news,

6which is present to you, as also in all the world, and is bearing fruit, as also in you, from the day in which ye heard, and knew the grace of God in truth;

7as ye also learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful ministrant of the Christ,

8who also did declare to us your love in the Spirit.

9Because of this, we also, from the day in which we heard, do not cease praying for you, and asking that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

10to your walking worthily of the Lord to all pleasing, in every good work being fruitful, and increasing to the knowledge of God,

11in all might being made mighty according to the power of His glory, to all endurance and long-suffering with joy.

12Giving thanks to the Father who did make us meet for the participation of the inheritance of the saints in the light,

13who did rescue us out of the authority of the darkness, and did translate [us] into the reign of the Son of His love,

14in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of the sins,

15who is the image of the invisible God, first-born of all creation,

16because in him were the all things created, those in the heavens, and those upon the earth, those visible, and those invisible, whether thrones, whether lordships, whether principalities, whether authorities; all things through him, and for him, have been created,

17and himself is before all, and the all things in him have consisted.

18And himself is the head of the body — the assembly — who is a beginning, a first-born out of the dead, that he might become in all [things] — himself — first,

19because in him it did please all the fulness to tabernacle,

20and through him to reconcile the all things to himself — having made peace through the blood of his cross — through him, whether the things upon the earth, whether the things in the heavens.

21And you — once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, yet now did he reconcile,

22in the body of his flesh through the death, to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before himself,

23if also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that [is] under the heaven, of which I became — I Paul — a ministrant.

24I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly,

25of which I — I did become a ministrant according to the dispensation of God, that was given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God,

26the secret that hath been hid from the ages and from the generations, but now was manifested to his saints,

27to whom God did will to make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this secret among the nations — which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory,

28whom we proclaim, warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus,

29for which also I labour, striving according to his working that is working in me in power.