Colossians 1

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

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

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

to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ who are in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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

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

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

because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints,

5 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,

the faith and love that spring from the hope that is laid up for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of the truth of the gospel

6 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.

that has come to you. This gospel has gone out into all the world, where it is bearing fruit and increasing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

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

You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf

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

and who also told us about your love in the Spirit.

9 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.

For this reason, from the day we heard this, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

10 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.

so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord with every desire to please him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

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

being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience with joy;

12 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.

giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

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

He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,

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

in whom we have redemption, the remission of sins.

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

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

16 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.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

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

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

18 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.

He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything he may be preeminent.

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

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

20 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.

and through him to reconcile all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace through the blood of his cross.

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

At one time you were alienated from God and hostile in your minds because of your evil works. But now God has reconciled you to himself

22 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,

through the death of Christ in his physical body, in order to bring you into his own presence as holy, unblemished, and above reproach,

23 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.

if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, without shifting away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been preached in all creation under heaven, and of this gospel I, Paul, have become a servant.

24 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.

I rejoice now in my sufferings for you, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.

25 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.

I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

26 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)

the mystery that has been hidden for ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. (aiōn g165)

27 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.

To them God resolved to make known how great among the Gentiles are the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 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.

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ Jesus.

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

To this end I labor, striving according to his energy that is powerfully at work within me.