| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1From: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother. | 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and Timothy our brother: |
| 2To: The holy and faithful brothers in Colossae who are in union with the Messiah. May grace and peace from God our Father be yours! | 2To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers. Grace to you and peace from God our Father. |
| 3We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, praying always for you, | 3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, |
| 4because we have heard about your faith in the Messiah Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints, | 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints |
| 5based on the hope laid up for you in heaven. Some time ago you heard about this hope through the word of truth, the gospel | 5because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel |
| 6that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and spreading all over the world, so it has been doing among you from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth. | 6that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God's grace in the truth. |
| 7You learned about this gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of the Messiah on your behalf. | 7You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf, |
| 8He has told us about your love in the Spirit. | 8and he has told us about your love in the Spirit. |
| 9For this reason, since the day we heard about this, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the full knowledge of God's will with respect to all spiritual wisdom and understanding, | 9For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, |
| 10so that you might live in a manner worthy of the Lord and be fully pleasing to him as you bear fruit while doing all kinds of good things and growing in the full knowledge of God. | 10so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. |
| 11You are being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, so that you might patiently endure everything with joy | 11May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy |
| 12and might thank the Father, who has enabled us to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. | 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. |
| 13God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son whom he loves, | 13He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. |
| 14through whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. | 14We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him. |
| 15The Son 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 in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether they are kings, lords, rulers, or powers. All things have been created through him and for him. | 16For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created through Him and for Him. |
| 17He himself existed before anything else did, and he holds all things together. | 17He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. |
| 18He is also the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself might have first place in everything. | 18He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. |
| 19For God was pleased to have all of his divine essence inhabit him. | 19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, |
| 20Through the Son, God also reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, thereby making peace through the blood of his cross. | 20and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross-- whether things on earth or things in heaven. |
| 21You who were once alienated with a hostile attitude, doing evil, | 21Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. |
| 22he has now reconciled by the death of his physical body, so that he may present you holy, blameless, and without fault before him. | 22But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him-- |
| 23However, you must remain firmly established and steadfast in the faith, without being moved from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. | 23if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it. |
| 24Now I am rejoicing while suffering for you as I complete in my flesh whatever remains of the Messiah's sufferings on behalf of his body, which is the church. | 24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for His body, that is, the church. |
| 25I became its servant as God commissioned me to work for you, so that I may complete my ministry of the word of God. | 25I have become its servant, according to God's administration that was given to me for you, to make God's message fully known, |
| 26This secret was hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints, | 26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. |
| 27to whom God wanted to make known the glorious riches of this secret among the gentiles—which is the Messiah in you, our glorious hope. | 27God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. |
| 28It is he whom we proclaim as we admonish and wisely teach everyone, so that we may present everyone mature in the Messiah. | 28We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. |
| 29I work hard and struggle to do this, using the energy that he powerfully provides in me. | 29I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me. |
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