Colossians, 1

1. From Paul, by the will of God an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy

1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2. to God's holy people in Colossae, our faithful brothers in Christ. Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

2. To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colos'sae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3. We give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, continually in our prayers,

3. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

4. ever since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you show towards all God's holy people

4. because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints,

5. because of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven. News of this hope reached you not long ago through the word of truth, the gospel

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

6. that came to you in the same way as it is bearing fruit and growing throughout the world. It has had the same effect among you, ever since you heard about the grace of God and recognised it for what it truly is.

6. which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing -- so among yourselves, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth,

7. This you learnt from Epaphras, our very dear fellow-worker and a trustworthy deputy for us as Christ's servant,

7. as you learned it from Ep'aphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf

8. and it was he who also told us all about your love in the Spirit.

8. and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9. That is why, ever since the day he told us, we have never failed to remember you in our prayers and ask that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will

9. And so, from the day we heard of it, 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,

10. and so be able to lead a life worthy of the Lord, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects, bearing fruit in every kind of good work and growing in knowledge of God,

10. to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

11. fortified, in accordance with his glorious strength, with all power always to persevere and endure,

11. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,

12. giving thanks with joy to the Father who has made you able to share the lot of God's holy people and with them to inherit the light.

12. giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

13. Because that is what he has done. It is he who has rescued us from the ruling force of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son that he loves,

13. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

14. and in him we enjoy our freedom, the forgiveness of sin.

14. in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15. He is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation,

15. He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation;

16. for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers -- all things were created through him and for him.

16. for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities -- all things were created through him and for him.

17. He exists before all things and in him all things hold together,

17. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

18. and he is the Head of the Body, that is, the Church. He is the Beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that he should be supreme in every way;

18. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.

19. because God wanted all fullness to be found in him

19. For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell,

20. and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross.

20. and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21. You were once estranged and of hostile intent through your evil behaviour;

21. And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

22. now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body, to bring you before himself holy, faultless and irreproachable-

22. he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him,

23. as long as you persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith, never letting yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the gospel, which you have heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become the servant.

23. provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

24. It makes me happy to be suffering for you now, and in my own body to make up all the hardships that still have to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church,

24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

25. of which I was made a servant with the responsibility towards you that God gave to me, that of completing God's message,

25. of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

26. the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his holy people.

26. the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints.

27. It was God's purpose to reveal to them how rich is the glory of this mystery among the gentiles; it is Christ among you, your hope of glory:

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.

28. this is the Christ we are proclaiming, admonishing and instructing everyone in all wisdom, to make everyone perfect in Christ.

28. Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ.

29. And it is for this reason that I labour, striving with his energy which works in me mightily.

29. For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.