Colossians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy my brother, —

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

2 Unto the holy and faithful brethren in Christ that are, in Colosse, favour unto you, and peace, from our God and Father.

to the believers and faithful brothers in Christ who are at Colossae. May grace be to you, and peace from God our Father.

3 We are giving thanks unto God, the Father of our Lord Jesus [Christ], always, for you, offering prayer, —

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we always pray for you.

4 Having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which ye have unto all the saints, —

We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all those set apart for God.

5 Because of the hope that is lying by for you in the heavens, of which ye heard before, in the word of the truth of the glad-message,

You have this love because of the certain hope reserved for you in heaven. You heard about this confident expectation before in the word of truth, the gospel,

6 When it presented itself unto you; even as, in all the world also, it is bearing fruit and growing, even as also among you, from the day when ye heard, and came personally to know the favour of God in truth,

which has come to you. This gospel is bearing fruit and is growing in all the world. It has been doing this in you also from the day you heard it and learned about the grace of God in truth.

7 Even as ye learned [it] from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is faithful in our behalf, as a minister of the Christ,

This is the gospel as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf.

8 Who also hath made evident unto us your love in spirit.

Epaphras has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 For this cause, we also, from the day when we heard [of you], cease not, in your behalf, praying and asking—that ye may be filled unto the personal knowledge of his will, in all spiritual wisdom and discernment,

Because of this love, from the day we heard this we have not stopped praying for you. We have been asking that you will be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

10 So as to walk worthily of the Lord, unto all pleasing, in every good work, bearing fruit, and growing in the personal knowledge of God,

We have been praying that you will walk worthily of the Lord in pleasing ways. We have been praying that you will bear fruit in every good deed and that you will grow in the knowledge of God.

11 With all power, being empowered, according to the grasp of his glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy,

We pray you may be strengthened in every ability according to the power of his glory into all perseverance and patience.

12 Giving thanks unto the Father that hath made you sufficient for your share in the inheritance of the saints in the light,

We pray that you will joyfully give thanks to the Father, who has made you able to have a share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

13 Who hath rescued us out of the authority of the darkness, and translated [us] into the kingdom of the Son of his love;

He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

14 In whom, we have our redemption—the remission of our sins, —

In his Son we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 Who, is an image of the unseen God, Firstborn of all creation, —

The Son is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn of all creation.

16 Because, in him, were created all things in the heavens and upon the earth, the things seen and the things unseen, whether thrones or lordships or principalities or authorities, —they all, through him and for him, have been created,

For by him all things were created, those in the heavens and those on the earth, the visible and the invisible things. Whether thrones or dominions or governments or authorities, all things were created by him and for him.

17 And, he, is before all, and, they all, in him, hold together;

He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

18 And, he, is the head of the body, the assembly, Who is the beginning, Firstborn from among the dead, in order that, he, might become, in all things, himself, pre-eminent; —

He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so he has first place among all things.

19 Because, in him, was all the fullness well pleased to dwell,

For God was pleased that all his fullness should live in him,

20 And, through him, fully to reconcile all things unto him, making peace through the blood of his cross, —[through him]—whether the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens;

and to reconcile through the Son all things to himself. God made peace through the blood of his cross. God reconciled all things to himself, whether the things on the earth or the things in heaven.

21 And, you, who at one time were estranged and enemies in your mind in your wicked works, yet, now, hath he fully reconciled,

At one time, you also were strangers to God and were his enemies in mind and in evil deeds.

22 In his body of flesh, through means of his death, to present you holy and blameless and unaccusable before him, —

But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death. He did this in order to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach before him,

23 If, at least, ye are abiding still in the faith, founded and firm, and not to be moved away from the hope of the glad-message which ye have heard, which hath been proclaimed in all creation which is under heaven, —of which, I Paul, have become minister.

if you continue in the faith, established and firm, not moved away from the certain hope of the gospel that you heard. This is the gospel that was proclaimed to every person created under heaven. This is the gospel of which I, Paul, became a servant.

24 Now, am I rejoicing in the sufferings on your behalf, and am filling up the things that lack of the tribulations of the Christ, in my flesh, in behalf of his body, which is the assembly,

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church.

25 Of which, I, have become minister—according to the administration of God which hath been given unto me to you-ward, to fill up the word of God,

It is of this church that I am a servant, according to the responsibility from God that was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.

26 The sacred secret which had been hidden away from the ages and from the generations, but, now, hath been made manifest unto his saints— (aiōn g165)

This is the secret truth that was hidden for ages and for generations. But now it has been revealed to those who believe in him. (aiōn g165)

27 Unto whom God hath been pleased to make known what is the glorious wealth of this sacred secret among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory, —

It is to them that God wanted to make known the riches of the glory of this secret truth among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 Whom we are declaring, admonishing every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, in order that we may present every man complete in Christ;

This is he whom we proclaim. We admonish every person, and we teach every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ.

29 Unto which I am even toiling, contending according to his energy which is energising itself in me with power.

For this I labor and strive according to his energy that is at work in me in power.