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

2To the saints and faithful brothers in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4Having heard of our faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have unto all the saints, 5Because of the hope, being laid up for you in the heavens; which you heard of before in the word of truth, the gospel, 6The one being near unto you, just as also in all the world, it is bearing fruit and growing, just as also among you from the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7Just as you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-slave, who is a faithful minister (diakonos) of Christ on behalf of you, 8Who also has made evident (plain, clear) to us your love in the Spirit.

9Because of this we also from the day we heard of it, do not cease praying for you and asking so that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension (synesis- synthesized understanding, running/putting together in the intellect, latin- intellectu), 10To walk worthily of the Lord in all pleasing, in every good work bringing forth fruit and growing in the knowledge of God; 11Being strengthened (empowered, made able) in all power according to His glorious might (dominion, exerted power) unto all endurance (latin-patientia) and long-tempered (long in tempering passions, latin-longanimitate) with joy; 12Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified (made sufficient, competent) us unto the share (portion, part) of the inheritance of the saints in light,

13Who has delivered (drawn to Himself, rescued) us from out of the authority of darkness and transferred us unto the kingdom of His beloved Son: 14In whom we have redemption, the remission (pardon, forgiveness, something sent away, dismissal, release of debt, latin-remissionem) of sins;

15Who is the image of the unseen (invisible, not see) God, the firstborn (bring forth first/pre-eminent, eldest) of all creation, 16since in Him all things were created in the heavens and upon the earth; the seen (latin-visibilia) and the unseen (latin-invisibilia); whether thrones, whether lordships, whether pre-eminents (principalities, origins, beginnings, foremost over the rest, rulers), whether authorities: all have been created through Him and unto Him. 17And He is before all and in Him all stands united together (synesteken, latin-constant, consist, hold together). 18And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning (pre-eminent, origin), firstborn from out of the dead, so that He may be holding preeminence in all; 19Because in Him, it was well-pleased for all the fullness to dwell (inhabit, latin-habitare), 20And through Him to reconcile completely all unto Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross- through Him- whether the things upon the earth, whether the things in the heavens.

21And you being once alienated (estranged) and hostile (an enemy, in enmity, hating) in mind (disposition, sense, latin-sensu) in your evil (poneros-pain-ridden misery going with evil) works, 22However now He has reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblemished and irreproachable (unconvictable, unrebukable, unreproveable, not to be called to account, not convictable when properly scrutinized, latin- inreprehensibiles- irreprehensible) before the sight of Him; 23For if you continue (stay on, persist, latin-permanetis) in the faith, founded (latin-fundati) and firmly fixed (seated, based, latin-stabiles-stable) and not being moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, having been preached in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, have become a minister (diakonos).

24Now I rejoice in the sufferings (passions, strong emotions, latin-passionum) for you and I am filling up that which is lacking of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the church; 25Of which I became a minister (diakonos) according to the stewardship (household management, latin-dispensationem) of God that has been given to me unto you, to complete (fulfill, make full) the word of God, 26The mystery having been hidden away from the ages and away from the generations, however now has been made apparent to His saints; 27To whom God has chosen to make known what is the wealth of the glory of this mystery among (in) the ethnicities, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; 28Whom we preach, admonishing (placing in the mind with warning) every man and teaching every man, in all wisdom, so that we might present every man full-grown (consummate, mature, latin-perfectum) in Christ. 29Unto this also I labor exhaustively, struggling (greek word like agonizing, contending for a prize) according to His working (greek like energy, power in action) working in me in power.