Colossians 1 Parallel Bible Translations

Colossians 1 ▼
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1 Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed) by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful believers in Christ [who are] at Colossae: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father. To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we pray always for you, We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] love which you have for all the saints (God’s people); since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—
5 because of the [confident] hope [of experiencing that] which is reserved and waiting for you in heaven. You previously heard of this hope in the message of truth, the gospel [regarding salvation] because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel
6 which has come to you. Indeed, just as in the whole world the gospel is constantly bearing fruit and spreading [by God’s power], just as it has been doing among you ever since the day you first heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth [becoming thoroughly and deeply acquainted with it]. which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
7 You learned it from [our representative] Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
8 and he also has told us of your love [well-grounded and nurtured] in the [Holy] Spirit. and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about it, we have not stopped praying for you, asking [specifically] that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [with insight into His purposes], and in understanding [of spiritual things], And so, from the day we heard, 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, For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,
10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts]; so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
11 [we pray that you may be] strengthened and invigorated with all power, according to His glorious might, to attain every kind of endurance and patience with joy; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints (God’s people) in the Light. giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
13 For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins’ penalty]. in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
17 And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 He is also the head [the life-source and leader] of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will occupy the first place [He will stand supreme and be preeminent] in everything. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19 For it pleased the Father for all the fullness [of deity—the sum total of His essence, all His perfection, powers, and attributes] to dwell [permanently] in Him (the Son), For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20 and through [the intervention of] the Son to reconcile all things to Himself, making peace [with believers] through the blood of His cross; through Him, [I say,] whether things on earth or things in heaven. and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21 And although you were at one time estranged and alienated and hostile-minded [toward Him], participating in evil things, And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
22 yet Christ has now reconciled you [to God] in His physical body through death, in order to present you before the Father holy and blameless and beyond reproach— he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—
23 [and He will do this] if you continue in the faith, well-grounded and steadfast, and not shifting away from the [confident] hope [that is a result] of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which [gospel] I, Paul, was made a minister. if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf. And with my own body I supplement whatever is lacking [on our part] of Christ’s afflictions, on behalf of His body, which is the church. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
25 In this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship which God entrusted to me for your sake, so that I might make the word of God fully known [among you]— of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—
26 that is, the mystery which was hidden [from angels and mankind] for ages and generations, but has now been revealed to His saints (God’s people). the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.
27 God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] glory. 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. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 We proclaim Him, warning and instructing everyone in all wisdom [that is, with comprehensive insight into the word and purposes of God], so that we may present every person complete in Christ [mature, fully trained, and perfect in Him—the Anointed]. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
29 For this I labor [often to the point of exhaustion], striving with His power and energy, which so greatly works within me. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
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