| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, | 1From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, |
| 2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. | 2to the saints, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you from God our Father! |
| 3We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, | 3We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, |
| 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; | 4since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. |
| 5because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, | 5Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel |
| 6which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; | 6that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. |
| 7as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, | 7You learned the gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave--a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf-- |
| 8who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. | 8who also told us of your love in the Spirit. |
| 9For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; | 9For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, |
| 10that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; | 10so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects--bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, |
| 11strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; | 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully |
| 12giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. | 12giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. |
| 13He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, | 13He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, |
| 14in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. | 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. |
| 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. | 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, |
| 16For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. | 16for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him--all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers--all things were created through him and for him. |
| 17And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. | 17He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. |
| 18And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. | 18He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. |
| 19For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, | 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son |
| 20and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. | 20and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross--through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. |
| 21And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled | 21And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, |
| 22in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— | 22but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him-- |
| 23if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. | 23if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant. |
| 24I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, | 24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body--for the sake of his body, the church--what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. |
| 25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, | 25I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God--given to me for you--in order to complete the word of God, |
| 26the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. | 26that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. |
| 27To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. | 27God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. |
| 28Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. | 28We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ. |
| 29To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. | 29Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me. |
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