Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Verse 1
1. Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and brother Timothy,[1]
Chapter 1 Verse 2
2. to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Sovereign Jesus Christ.[2]
Chapter 1 Verse 3
3. We always give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you
Chapter 1 Verse 4
4. (having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus[3] and your love toward all the saints),
Chapter 1 Verse 5
5. because of the hope[4] that is being reserved for you in the heavens, of which you have already heard through the Word of the Truth[5]
Chapter 1 Verse 6
6. (the Gospel that has come to you just as also in all the world, where it is producing fruit and growing[6] just as also among you, from the day in which you heard about and truly understood God’s grace),
Chapter 1 Verse 7
7. even as you learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave,[7] who is a faithful servant of Christ on your[8] behalf,
Chapter 1 Verse 8
8. who also reported to us your love in spirit.[9]
Chapter 1 Verse 9
9. For this very reason, since the day we heard of it, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the real knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
Chapter 1 Verse 10
10. in order for you to walk worthily of the Lord, pleasing Him in every way,[10] being fruitful in every good work and growing into the real knowledge of God;[11]
Chapter 1 Verse 11
11. being enabled with all capability according to the strength that resides in His glory,[12] for all endurance and steadfastness.[13]
Chapter 1 Verse 12
12. Nor have we stopped giving thanks joyfully to the Father who has qualified us[14] for the share in the inheritance of the saints in the Light;[15]
Chapter 1 Verse 13
13. who delivered us out of the dominion of the darkness[16] and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Chapter 1 Verse 14
14. in whom we have the redemption through His blood,[17] the forgiveness of our sins.
Chapter 1 Verse 15
15. He is the visible representation of the invisible God,[18] ‘Firstborn’ over all creation,[19]
Chapter 1 Verse 16
16. because by Him all things were created[20]—those in the heavens and those on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities[21]—all things have been created through Him and for Him.[22]
Chapter 1 Verse 17
17. Yes, He is before all, and in Him all things subsist.[23]
Chapter 1 Verse 18
18. Also, He is the Head of the body, the Church. He is Beginning,[24] the firstborn from among the dead,[25] so that He may be preeminent in everything,
Chapter 1 Verse 19
19. because in Him all the Fullness was pleased to dwell[26]
Chapter 1 Verse 20
20. and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself,[27] having made peace through the blood of His cross[28]—through Him, whether things on the earth or things on[29] the heavens.
Chapter 1 Verse 21
21. So now He has reconciled you as well (you who once were alienated and hostile in your mind because of your wicked works),[30]
Chapter 1 Verse 22
22. by His physical body[31] through His death, so as to present you before Him holy and blameless and above reproach[32]—
Chapter 1 Verse 23
23. if, that is, you continue in the Faith established and firm, not drifting away[33] from the hope of the Gospel, that you heard and that was proclaimed in all the creation under the heaven,[34] of which I, Paul, became a servant.
Chapter 1 Verse 24
24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings[35] on your behalf and supplement in my flesh[36] the things lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the Church,
Chapter 1 Verse 25
25. of which I became a servant according to the stewardship from God that was given to me towards you, to complete the Word of God,[37]
Chapter 1 Verse 26
26. the secret[38] that has been hidden from past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints;
Chapter 1 Verse 27
27. to whom God resolved to make known who is the wealth of the glory of this secret among the nations,[39] namely Christ in you, the hope of glory;[40]
Chapter 1 Verse 28
28. whom we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ.[41]
Chapter 1 Verse 29
29. It is to this end that I labor, striving according to His working that works through me with power.[42]
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Verse 1
1. I want you to know how great is my concern for you and those in Laodicea, even all who have not met me personally,[1]
Chapter 2 Verse 2
2. that their hearts may be encouraged, being united in love and into a great wealth of confident understanding,[2] into a real knowledge of the mystery of the God and Father and of the Christ,[3]
Chapter 2 Verse 3
3. in whom all the treasures of the wisdom and the knowledge are hidden.[4]
Chapter 2 Verse 4
4. Now I say this so that no one may deceive you with specious arguments.
Chapter 2 Verse 5
5. For although in fact I am physically absent, yet my spirit is with you, rejoicing as I observe[5] your orderliness and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Chapter 2 Verse 6
6. So then, keep on walking in the Christ, Jesus the Sovereign, just as you received Him,
Chapter 2 Verse 7
7. having been rooted and being built up in Him[6] and being established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Chapter 2 Verse 8
8. Be careful that no one captures you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ.[7]
Chapter 2 Verse 9
9. Because all the Fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him in bodily form,
Chapter 2 Verse 10
10. and you are complete in Him who is the head over all rule and authority.[8]
Chapter 2 Verse 11
11. In Him you were also ‘circumcised’ by the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, not with a circumcision done by hands but with the circumcision of the Christ,
Chapter 2 Verse 12
12. having been buried with Him in the baptism.[9] In Him you were also raised together through your faith in the productive power of the God who raised Him from among the dead.[10]
Chapter 2 Verse 13
13. Yes you, though being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh—He has made you alive together with Him; having forgiven us all our trespasses;[11]
Chapter 2 Verse 14
14. having wiped out the written record about us that was against us (based on the ordinances),[12] indeed He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross;
Chapter 2 Verse 15
15. having stripped the principalities and the authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, having triumphed over them by it [the cross].[13]
Chapter 2 Verse 16
16. So do not let anyone judge you about food or drink, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or Sabbaths,
Chapter 2 Verse 17
17. which things are but a shadow of those to come, while the body is Christ’s.
Chapter 2 Verse 18
18. Nor let anyone disqualify you,[14] taking pleasure in a subservience and devotion to the angels, ‘taking possession’ of things that he has not[15] seen, being puffed up by his carnal mind to no useful purpose,
Chapter 2 Verse 19
19. and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, supported and held together by its joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
Chapter 2 Verse 20
20. Now then, since you died with Christ away from the basic principles of the world, why, as though still living in it, are you subjecting yourselves[16] to regulations
Chapter 2 Verse 21
21. —Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!—
Chapter 2 Verse 22
22. (all of which result in corruption through overuse)[17] according to the commands and teachings of men?
Chapter 2 Verse 23
23. Such things do indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and subservience and asceticism, but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.[18]
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Verse 1
1. Furthermore, since you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right;
Chapter 3 Verse 2
2. set your mind on the things above, not on those upon the earth,
Chapter 3 Verse 3
3. because you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God.[1]
Chapter 3 Verse 4
4. Whenever Christ, our[2] life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.[3]
Chapter 3 Verse 5
5. Therefore put to death your members that are on the earth:[4] fornication, filthiness, passion, evil desire, and the greediness that is idolatry.[5]
Chapter 3 Verse 6
6. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of the disobedience,[6]
Chapter 3 Verse 7
7. in which things you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
Chapter 3 Verse 8
8. But now you must also rid yourselves of all these—anger, rage, malice, slander, obscene speech—out of your mouth.
Chapter 3 Verse 9
9. Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old man with his practices
Chapter 3 Verse 10
10. and have put on the new one, who is being renewed into real knowledge according to the image of his Creator,
Chapter 3 Verse 11
11. where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.[7]
Chapter 3 Verse 12
12. Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience;
Chapter 3 Verse 13
13. bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if anyone should have a complaint against another—just as the Christ[8] forgave you, so you also must do.
Chapter 3 Verse 14
14. And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.[9]
Chapter 3 Verse 15
15. Let the peace of God[10] rule in your hearts, into which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Chapter 3 Verse 16
16. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing with grace in your heart to the Lord,[11] with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.[12]
Chapter 3 Verse 17
17. Whatever you may do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.[13]
Chapter 3 Verse 18
18. Wives, subordinate yourselves to your own husbands,[14] as is fitting in the Lord.
Chapter 3 Verse 19
19. Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.[15]
Chapter 3 Verse 20
20. Children, obey your parents in everything, because this is well pleasing in the Lord.[16]
Chapter 3 Verse 21
21. Fathers, do not provoke your children so that they lose heart.[17]
Chapter 3 Verse 22
22. Slaves, obey your masters (according to the flesh) in all things, not just when they are looking, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.[18]
Chapter 3 Verse 23
23. And whatever you do, give it all you’ve got,[19] as to the Lord and not to men,
Chapter 3 Verse 24
24. knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the inheritance as a reward; because you serve the Lord Christ.
Chapter 3 Verse 25
25. (But he who does wrong will be repaid for this wrong, and there is no favoritism.)[20]
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 Verse 1
1. Masters, provide your slaves with what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in the heavens.[1]
Chapter 4 Verse 2
2. Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving,
Chapter 4 Verse 3
3. at the same time praying for us, that God may open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ (for which I am also in chains),
Chapter 4 Verse 4
4. that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Chapter 4 Verse 5
5. Behave wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
Chapter 4 Verse 6
6. Let your word always be with grace, seasoned with salt,[2] to know how you ought to answer each one.
Chapter 4 Verse 7
7. Tychicus will tell you all the news about me; he is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow slave in the Lord.
Chapter 4 Verse 8
8. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and encourage your hearts,
Chapter 4 Verse 9
9. with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you; they will tell you everything that is happening here.
Chapter 4 Verse 10
10. Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him),[3]
Chapter 4 Verse 11
11. and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the Kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have been a comfort to me.
Chapter 4 Verse 12
12. Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ,[4] greets you; he is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.[5]
Chapter 4 Verse 13
13. I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis.
Chapter 4 Verse 14
14. Luke the beloved physician[6] greets you, also Demas.
Chapter 4 Verse 15
15. Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the congregation at his[7] house.
Chapter 4 Verse 16
16. Now when this letter has been read among you, see that it is also read in the Laodicean congregation,[8] and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.[9]
Chapter 4 Verse 17
17. And say to Archippus, “See to it that you complete the work that you received in the Lord.”[10]
Chapter 4 Verse 18
18. This greeting is in my own hand: Paul.[11] Remember my chains.The Grace be with you. Amen.