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The Blue Letter Bible

Colossians 1 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

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Greeting

Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:2 - To the saints and faithful brothers[fn] in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:3 - We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:4 - since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:5 - because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:6 - which 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,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:7 - just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.[fn] He is a faithful minister of Christ on your[fn] behalf
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:8 - and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:9 - And 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,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:10 - so 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;
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:11 - being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:12 - giving thanks[fn] to the Father, who has qualified you[fn] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:13 - He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:14 - in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:16 - For by[fn] 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.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:17 - And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:18 - And 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.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:19 - For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:20 - and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:21 - And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:22 - he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:23 - if 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[fn] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul’s Ministry to the Church

Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:24 - Now 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,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:25 - of 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,
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:26 - the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:27 - To 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.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:28 - Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Unchecked Copy BoxCol 1:29 - For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
ESV Footnotes
Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
For the contextual rendering of the Greek word sundoulos, see Preface
Some manuscripts our
Or patience, with joy giving thanks
Some manuscripts us
That is, by means of; or in
Or to every creature
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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Colossians Chapter 1 — Additional Translations: