Colossians 1

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

Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy, the 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, who are at Colosse: Favor to you, and peace from God our Father.

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 always, 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.

having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to 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,

for the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you have formerly heard in the word of 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 the world, and is bringing forth fruit and prevailing, even as among you, from that day you heard and knew the favor 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.

even as you learned it of Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ,

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

who has also declared 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 we heard these things, 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.

that you may walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing, bringing forth fruit by 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 strength, according to his glorious power, to all patience and long-suffering 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 qualified us for a portion of the inheritance of the saints in the 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 power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son:

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

by whom we have redemption, even 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 first born of the whole 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.

Because, by him were created all things which are in the heavens, and which are upon the earth; things visible, and things invisible; whether thrones, or lordships, or governments, or powers; 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, even the congregation. He is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all respects he might be pre-eminent.

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

For it pleased the Father that all 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; I say, by him, whether they be things on the earth, or things in the heavens.

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

Even you, who were formerly alienated in mind, and enemies by wicked works,

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,

he has now, indeed, reconciled, by the body of his flesh, to present you holy and unblamable, and unreprovable, 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, indeed, you continue in the faith founded and stable, and not removed from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature which is under heaven; of which I, Paul, am 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.

I now rejoice in sufferings for you, and fill up the remainder of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the congregation;

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 am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God, which was given to me on your account, fully to declare 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 secret which had been kept hid from the ages, and from the generations, but now has been 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 has pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this secret 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 announce, admonishing every man, and teaching every man, with all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ.

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

For which I also labor, combating vigorously, according to the effectual working of him who works effectually in me with power.