Colossians 1

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

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

2 to the saints in Colossae, and to the faithful brethren in Christ: Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ!

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 give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you,

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 that [is] to 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 laid up for you in the heavens, which ye heard of before in the word of the truth of the good news,

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 which is present to you, as also in all the world, and is bearing fruit, as also in you, from the day in which ye heard, and knew the grace 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 as ye also learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful ministrant 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 did declare to us your love in the Spirit.

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

9 Because of this, we also, from the day in which we heard, do not cease praying for you, and asking that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

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 to your walking worthily of the Lord to all pleasing, in every good work being fruitful, and increasing to the 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 in all might being made mighty according to the power of His glory, to 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 to the Father who did make us meet for the participation of 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 did rescue us out of the authority of the darkness, and did translate [us] into the reign 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 the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of the sins,

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

15 who is the image of the invisible God, first-born of all creation,

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

16 because in him were the all things created, those in the heavens, and those upon the earth, those visible, and those invisible, whether thrones, whether lordships, whether principalities, whether authorities; all things 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 himself is before all, and the all things in him have consisted.

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

18 And himself is the head of the body — the assembly — who is a beginning, a first-born out of the dead, that he might become in all [things] — himself — first,

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 it did please all the fulness to tabernacle,

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

20 and through him to reconcile the all things to himself — having made peace through the blood of his cross — through him, whether the things upon the earth, whether 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 — once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, yet now did he reconcile,

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

22 in the body of his flesh through the death, to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before himself,

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 also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that [is] under the heaven, of which I became — I Paul — a ministrant.

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 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for 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 — I did become a ministrant according to the dispensation of God, that was given to me for you, to fulfil 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 secret that hath been hid from the ages and from the generations, but now was manifested to 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 to whom God did will to make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this 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 proclaim, warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus,

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 for which also I labour, striving according to his working that is working in me in power.

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