Colossians
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by means of God’s will, and the brother, Timothy,
2 to the holy and faithful brothers within Christ at Colossae: grace and peace to you all from God our Father and Jesus Christ (our) Lord.
3 We are continually giving thanks, praying always for you all, to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 having heard of your trusting faith in Christ Jesus and your loving care towards all the sanctified ones, 5 (all) due to that confident expectation awaiting you all in the heavens, which you all heard of already through the word of the truth of the good news 6 coming to you all, even as to all the world. And it is bearing fruit by itself, and being ever increased, even as among you in which day you all heard and experientially knew God’s grace in truth, 7 even as you all had learned from our beloved fellow-slave, Epaphras, who is a faithful slave of Christ for the furtherance of you all — 8 the one even demonstrating to us your devoted love with a spiritual significance.
9 For this reason we also — after which day we heard — we ourselves did not stop praying for you all, ourselves even asking that you all might be filled (with) the applicable experiential knowledge of God’s will with all right application of known facts and spiritual perspicacity: 10 you are to walk in a becoming manner before the Lord, pleasing toward all in every good work, bearing fruit and being enlarged into the applicable experiential knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to the might of his glory, on to all endurance and fortitude with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father — the One having made us equal to the task, on to the portion of the inheritance of those sanctified ones within the light — 13 who by himself drew us from the rule of the darkness and moved (us) into the kingdom of the Son of his love, 14 in/by/through whom we are holding/seizing/furnished with the redemptive deliverance — the pardon/remission/forgiveness of sins — 15 who is an exact likeness/replication/representation of the invisible God — Preeminent Author/Head Maker/Supreme Generator of all creation. 16 For all things were created by him, those in the heavens and those upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or potentates or authorities or jurisdictions — all things having been created by him and for him. And he is above all, and by him all things have been permanently framed. 18 And he is the Head of the body — the Church — (he) who is an initiator — firstborn of the dead — so that he might be leading in all things. 19 For within him all the plenitude (of God) delighted to dwell and to reconcile all things to Himself by means of him — having made peace by means of the blood of his cross — by means of him —whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.
21 And you having been at one time alienated, and enemies in the mind through wicked works, yet he now reconciled 22 in/by/through the body of his flesh by means of death, to present you all holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in his sight, 23 if indeed you all are continuing in the Faith, having been rendered firm and unwavering, grounded and established, steadfastly settled and constant, not being stirred or moved away from the confident expectation of the good news which you all heard — the one having been publicly proclaimed within the whole creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24 I am currently rejoicing over (my) sufferings in/on your behalf, and I am filling up in my flesh the things of the afflictions of Christ (that are) lacking in/on behalf of his body, which is the Church, 25 of which I myself have become a minister conformably to the stewardship of God, the one having been given to me in order for you all to fulfill the word of God — 26 that mystery — the one having been hidden since the start of the ages and before the generations, yet (which) was now revealed to his sanctified ones, 27 to whom God chose to make known what (are) the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you — the confident expectation of glory — whom we are proclaiming, admonishing every person and teaching every person with all enlightenment so that we can present every person fully developed before Christ Jesus, 29 for whom I am also laboring, myself earnestly striving in proportion to his active energy — that working itself within me with power.
2:1 Now I want you all to understand how long I have contended in/on behalf of you, and of those in Laodicea and as many as have not seen my face in person, 2 so that their hearts might be encouraged, having been knit together in love, even on to all richness of the full assurance of understanding, (and) on to an experiential knowledge of the mystery of both Father God, and of Christ 3 in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
4 Now I am saying this so that certain (ones) might not deceive you all with plausible argument. 5 For, in fact, though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you all in the spirit, rejoicing for noting your orderliness, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 Therefore, as you all have received Christ Jesus the Lord, you all continually walk with him, 7 having been firmly fixed, and being built upon by him, and being rendered constant and unwavering in the Faith, just as you all were taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 8 You all be ever aware lest one will be the one making you all victims of imposture by means of philosophy and fallacious delusion as respects the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For within him is dwelling all the fullness of the Godhead (in) a bodily frame, 10 and having been completed, you all are in him who is the head of all principality and power, 11 by whom you all were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands through the putting off of the carnal sins of the body through the circumcision of the Christ, 12 having been buried with him through the immersion by which you all were also raised up with (him) by means of the effective faith of God — the One having raised him out from among the dead. 13 And you, being dead through the trespasses and the un-circumcision of your flesh, he made a sharer in the quickening together with him, himself forgiving us all those trespasses, 14 wiping out the handwritten ordinances against us all which were inimical to us all, and has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross, 15 having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a public spectacle with boldness, triumphing over them by it.
16 Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you all in food, or in drink, or in respect of a celebration, or a new moon, or of Sabbaths, 17 which are a shadowing forth of the future — but the substantive reality (is) Christ. 18 Let no one make a victim of your practices (by) taking delight in humble-mindedness, prying intrusively into (things) which he has not seen — being unduly puffed up, 19 yet not adhering to that Head out of which all the body by means of the joints and ligaments being supplied and being knit together is growing the growth of God. 20 Since you all died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as living for a world, are you all submitting yourselves to ordinances (such as) 21 “You should not handle, nor taste, nor touch,” 22 which is all for ruin anyway with the intended use according to the commands and teachings of men? 23 Whatsoever is indeed a rule, having wisdom in supererogatory worship, and humbleness of mind and deportment, and harsh bodily abstinence, (is) not (a rule) of any substantive value against carnal indulgence.
3:1 Therefore, since you all were raised up with the Christ, you all seek those things above — where the Christ is — sitting at God’s right. 2 You all mind those things above — not those things upon the earth. 3 For you all died, and your life has been laid up in store with Christ by God. 4 Whenever the Christ, our life, can be manifested, then you all also will be manifested with him in glory.
5 Therefore, put your (carnal) body part functions to death — those things upon the earth — adulterous fornication, unclean lewdness, inordinate affection, depraved cupidinous desire, and insatiable greed which is idolatry, 6 on account of which the wrath of God is itself coming upon the contumacious sons of disobedient unbelief, 7 with whom you all also once walked when you all were living among them. 8 And now, you all also put off from yourselves all these things: wrath, anger, malice, blasphemy, obscene language from out of your mouth. 9 Having stripped from yourselves the old man with its practices, you yourselves lie not to one another, having also put on the new (man) — the one being renewed into applicable experiential knowledge with reference to a representation of the One having created it, 11 where there is no Greek or Jew, circumcision or un-circumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ (is) all, and (is) in (you) all.
12 Therefore, as elect ones of God, holy and having been loved, you all put on yourselves tender affections of the heart, kind compassion, gentle goodness, lowliness of mind and deportment, a forbearing meekness, slowness in avenging injury, 13 patiently enduring one another, and sacrificially forgiving (among) yourselves if any may have a complaint against anyone; then just as the Christ himself forgave you all, so you all also forgive; 14 and above all these things don self-sacrificial loving-care which is a bond of perfect completion. 15 Also let the peace of God continually rule/umpire in your hearts, to which you all were also called in one body; also you yourselves be ever thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell within you all richly with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing yourselves with psalms and hymns, and spiritual odes, singing to the Lord with grace in your heart. 17 Any and every (thing) — whatsoever you all may do in word or in deed — (do) all in Lord Jesus’ Name, giving thanks to the God and Father by way of him.
18 The wives: you all subject yourselves to your own husbands as is fitting before a Lord.
19 The husbands: you all lovingly care for those wives and be not angry, harsh or embittered toward them.
20 The children: you all obey those parents with reference to all things, for this is well-pleasing before a Lord.
21 The fathers: you all provoke not your children so that they might not become disheartened.
22 The slaves: you all obey your human masters with reference to all things — not with eye service as men pleasers, but wholeheartedly, fearing God. 23 Any and every (thing) — whatsoever you all might do — you yourselves work out of soul as to the Lord, and not (as) to men, 24 having known for certain that you all will receive from a Lord the rewarding recompense of the inheritance, for you all are slaving for the Lord Christ. 25 But the one acting unjustly will earn for himself what he did wrong, for there is no partiality.
4:1 The masters: you yourselves render the just thing and the fair (thing) to the slave, having known for certain that you all also have a Master in heaven.
2 You all continue earnestly with prayer, watching within it with thanksgiving, 3 yourselves praying for us also at the same time so that God might open a door for us for the word — to speak the mystery of the Christ — for which I also have been bound, 4 so that I can make it manifest — to speak as I ought. 5 You all walk with wisdom toward those outside, redeeming the time for yourselves. 6 Always allow your word (to be) with grace, having been seasoned with salt — to know how you all ought to answer each one.
7/8 Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow-slave in (the) Lord, whom I sent to you all for this very thing: he will make known to you all those things as respects me, (and also) that he might know the things concerning you all, and (that) he might encourage your hearts, 9 with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother who is of your (number). They (both) will make known to you all the things (going on) here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner is himself greeting you all, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabus — concerning whom you all have received orders, if ever he comes to you all — you yourselves receive him, 11 also Jesus — the one being designated Justus — these being of (the) circumcision, these alone (are) fellow workers for the kingdom of God who became a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras is himself greeting you all — another of your (number) — a slave of Christ always agonizing over you all with prayers in order that you all might stand perfectly mature, even having yourselves fulfilled with all of God’s will. 13 For I can bear witness for him that he possesses great zeal for you all, and those in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician is himself greeting you all, and Demas. 15 You yourselves greet those brothers in Laodicea, and Nyphas, and the church in his house. 16 And, whenever this letter may be read before you all, you all make sure that it can be read in the Laodicean church; and the one out of Laodicea, that (letter) you all also read. 17 Also you all say to Archippus, “See to the ministry which you have received in Christ — that you might fulfill it.”
18 The greeting by my hand — Paul. You all remember my bonds. Grace (be) with you all. Amen.