| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, | 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and Timothy our brother: |
| 2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. | 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 and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, | 3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, |
| 4Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, | 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints |
| 5For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of 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 |
| 6Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew 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. |
| 7As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; | 7You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf, |
| 8Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. | 8and he has told us about your love in the Spirit. |
| 9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual 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, |
| 10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the 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. |
| 11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; | 11May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy |
| 12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: | 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. |
| 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: | 13He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. |
| 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: | 14We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him. |
| 15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: | 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. |
| 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by 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. |
| 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. | 17He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. |
| 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. | 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 it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; | 19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, |
| 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. | 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. |
| 21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled | 21Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. |
| 22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: | 22But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him-- |
| 23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; | 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. |
| 24Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, 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. |
| 25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil 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, |
| 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: | 26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. |
| 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: | 27God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. |
| 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: | 28We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. |
| 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. | 29I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me. |
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