| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, | 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, |
| 2To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. | 2To God's holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. |
| 3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, | 3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, |
| 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, | 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God's people-- |
| 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, | 5the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel |
| 6which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, | 6that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world--just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace. |
| 7just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf | 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, |
| 8and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. | 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. |
| 9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, | 9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, |
| 10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; | 10so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, |
| 11being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; | 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, |
| 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. | 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. |
| 13He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, | 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, |
| 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. | 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. |
| 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. | 15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. |
| 16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. | 16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. |
| 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. | 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. |
| 18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. | 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. |
| 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, | 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, |
| 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. | 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. |
| 21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, | 21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. |
| 22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, | 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- |
| 23if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. | 23if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. |
| 24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, | 24Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. |
| 25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, | 25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- |
| 26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. | 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people. |
| 27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. | 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. |
| 28Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. | 28He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. |
| 29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. | 29To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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