Colossians 1

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

I Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, I and Timothy my 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 brethren in Christ that are in Colosse: grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

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

since we heard of your faithfulness 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,

in consequence 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 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.

which is present among you, as it is also in all the world, and is producing fruit, even as it has been doing also among you, since the day you heard and knew 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.

as you learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ for you,

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

and who also made known to us your love in 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, we also, from the day in which we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to request that you may be filled with the knowledge of his 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, in order to please him in all things, by means of every good work bringing forth fruit, 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.

strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, in order to all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness,

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 made us fit for a portion of 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.

who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and has translated 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 forgiveness of sins;

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

who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature;

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 were all things created, things in heaven and things in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or authorities; all things were created by him, and for him:

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

and he is before all things, and by him all things consist:

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.

and he is the head of the body, the church: and he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in all things he might be preeminent;

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

for it pleased the Father that all his fullness should dwell in him,

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 by him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace by the blood of his cross; by him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

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

And you, who were formerly alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled

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,

by means of death in his fleshly body, that he may present you holy, and without spot, and blameless in his sight;

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 you continue in the faith, founded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, have been made a minister.

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.

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

of which I was made a minister according to the commission from God, which was given to me for you, that I might fully preach the word of God,

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 which was concealed from the ages and the generations, but is now made manifest 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 whom God would make known what is the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, 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.

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

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

to which end I also labor, striving according to his energy, which works in me mightily.