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  Colossians

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ²To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ that are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ⁴having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have toward all the saints, ⁵because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, ⁶which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; ⁷even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

⁹For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy;

¹²giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; ¹³who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; ¹⁴in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: ¹⁵who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; ¹⁷and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. ¹⁹For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fullness dwell; ²⁰and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens. ²¹And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, ²²yet now has he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: ²³if so be that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister. ²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church; ²⁵whereof I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward, to fulfill the word of God, ²⁶even the mystery which has been hid for ages and generations: but now has it been manifested to his saints, ²⁷to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: ²⁸whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ; ²⁹whereunto I labor also, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.

2 For I would have you know how greatly I strive for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; ²that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, even Christ, ³in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.

⁴This I say, that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech. ⁵For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. ⁶As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ⁷rooted and builded up in him, and established in your faith, even as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. ⁸Take heed unless there shall be any one that makes spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ: ⁹for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, ¹⁰and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power: ¹¹in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; ¹²having been buried with him in baptism, wherein you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

¹³And you, being dead through your trespasses and the Uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses; ¹⁴having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he has taken it out that way, nailing it to the cross; ¹⁵having plundered the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

¹⁶Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day: ¹⁷which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s. ¹⁸Let no man rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹and not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increasing with the increase of God. ²⁰If you died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, ²¹Handle not, nor taste, nor touch ²²(all which things are to perish with the using), after the precepts and doctrines of men? ²³Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.

3 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. ²Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. ³For you died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall you also with him be manifested in glory.

⁵Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; ⁶for which things’ sake comes the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience: ⁷wherein you also once walked, when you lived in these things;

⁸but now do you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth: ⁹lie not one to another; seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, ¹⁰and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him: ¹¹where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and Uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.

¹²Put on therefore, as God’s elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do you: ¹⁴and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to the which also you were called in one body; and be you thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God. ¹⁷And whatsoever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

¹⁸Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. ²⁰Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing in the Lord. ²¹Fathers, provoke not your children, that they be not discouraged. ²²Servants, obey in all things them that are your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord: ²³whatsoever you do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; ²⁴knowing that from the Lord you shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: you serve the Lord Christ. ²⁵For he that does wrong shall receive again for the wrong that he has done: and there is no respect of persons.

4 Masters, render unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

²Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving; ³withal praying for us also, that God may open unto us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds; ⁴that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

⁵Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. ⁶Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.