Colossians 1-4
Greeting
Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby the will of God, and Timothy cour brother,
2 To the asaints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
bGrace to you and peace from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 aWe always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of ayour faith in Christ Jesus and of athe love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of athe hope blaid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in cthe word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed ain the whole world it is bbearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you cheard it and understood dthe grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from aEpaphras our beloved bfellow servant. He is ba faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your alove in the Spirit.
9 And so, afrom the day we heard, bwe have not ceased to pray for you, asking that cyou may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all dspiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as ato walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, bfully pleasing to him: cbearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 abeing strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for ball endurance and patience cwith joy; 12 agiving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in bthe inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He ahas delivered us from bthe domain of darkness and transferred us to cthe kingdom of dhis beloved Son, 14 ain whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Preeminence of Christ
15 aHe is the image of bthe invisible God, cthe firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, ain heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether bthrones or cdominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created dthrough him and for him. 17 And ahe is before all things, and in him all things bhold together. 18 And ahe is the head of the body, the church. He is bthe beginning, cthe firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For ain him all the bfullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and athrough him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, bmaking peace cby the blood of his cross.
21 aAnd you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, bdoing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled ain his body of flesh by his death, bin order to present you holy and blameless and cabove reproach before him, 23 aif indeed you continue in the faith, bstable and steadfast, not shifting from cthe hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed din all creation under heaven, eand of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Paul’s Ministry to the Church
24 Now aI rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh bI am filling up cwhat is lacking in Christ’s afflictions dfor the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 aof which I became a minister according to bthe stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 athe mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 aTo them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are bthe riches of the glory of cthis mystery, which is Christ in you, dthe hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that awe may present everyone bmature in Christ. 29 For this aI toil, bstruggling cwith all his energy that he powerfully works within me. For I want you to know ahow great a bstruggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that atheir hearts may be encouraged, being bknit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of cGod’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 ain whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order athat no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For athough I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your bgood order and cthe firmness of your faith in Christ.
Alive in Christ
6 aTherefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 arooted and bbuilt up in him and cestablished in the faith, just das you were taught, abounding ein thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by aphilosophy and bempty deceit, according to chuman tradition, according to the delemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For ain him the whole fullness of deity dwells bbodily, 10 and ayou have been filled in him, who is bthe head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also ayou were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by bputting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 ahaving been buried with him in baptism, in which byou were also raised with him through faith in cthe powerful working of God, cwho raised him from the dead. 13 aAnd you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God bmade alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by acanceling bthe record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 aHe disarmed the rulers and authorities and bput them to open shame, by ctriumphing over them in him.
Let No One Disqualify You
16 Therefore let no one apass judgment on you bin questions of food and drink, or with regard to ca festival or da new moon or a Sabbath. 17 aThese are a shadow of the things to come, but bthe substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one adisqualify you, binsisting on asceticism and worship of angels, cgoing on in detail about visions, dpuffed up without reason by ehis sensuous mind, 19 and anot bholding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 If with Christ ayou died to the belemental spirits of the world, cwhy, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 a“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (areferring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to bhuman precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in apromoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are bof no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Put On the New Self
aIf then you have been raised with Christ, seek bthe things that are above, where Christ is, cseated at the right hand of God. 2 aSet your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For ayou have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ awho is your life bappears, then you also will appear with him cin glory.
5 aPut to death therefore bwhat is earthly in you: csexual immorality, impurity, dpassion, evil desire, and covetousness, ewhich is idolatry. 6 aOn account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 aIn these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now ayou must put them all away: banger, wrath, malice, cslander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 aDo not lie to one another, seeing that byou have put off cthe old self with its practices 10 and ahave put on bthe new self, cwhich is being renewed in knowledge dafter the image of eits creator. 11 aHere there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is ball, and in all.
12 aPut on then, as bGod’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, ccompassionate hearts, dkindness, ehumility, meekness, and patience, 13 abearing with one another and, bif one has a complaint against another, cforgiving each other; cas the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on alove, which bbinds everything together in cperfect harmony. 15 And let athe peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called bin one body. And cbe thankful. 16 Let athe word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, bsinging psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, cwith thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And awhatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, bgiving thanks to God the Father through him.
Rules for Christian Households
18 aWives, submit to your husbands, as bis fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and ado not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents ain everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey ain everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 aWhatever you do, work heartily, bas for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord ayou will receive the inheritance as your reward. bYou are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 aContinue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it bwith thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may aopen to us a door for the word, bto declare the mystery of Christ, con account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
5 aWalk in wisdom toward boutsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always abe gracious, bseasoned with salt, cso that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you aall about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him aOnesimus, our faithful and bbeloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
10 aAristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark bthe cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—cif he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called aJustus. bThese are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and cthey have been a comfort to me. 12 aEpaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always bstruggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand cmature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 aLuke the beloved physician greets you, as does bDemas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and athe church in her house. 16 And when athis letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to aArchippus, “See that you fulfill bthe ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, awrite this greeting with my own hand. bRemember cmy chains. dGrace be with you.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.