Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy {Greek: the brother.}our brother,
{Or, to those that are at Colossae, holy and faithful brethren in Christ}to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ that are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints,
because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the {Greek: good tidings: and so elsewhere; see marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel,
which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on {Many ancient authorities read your.}our behalf,
who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
to walk worthily of the Lord {Or, unto all pleasing, in every good work, bearing fruit and increasing &c.}unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing {Or, by}in the knowledge of God;
{Greek: made powerful.}strengthened {Or, in}with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all {Or, stedfastness}patience and longsuffering with joy;
giving thanks unto the Father, who made {Some ancient authorities read you.}us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;
who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;
in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins:
who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him;
and he is before all things, and in him all things {That is, hold together.}consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; {Or, that among all he might have &c.}that in all things he might have the preeminence.
{Or, For the whole fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him}For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fulness dwell;
and through him to reconcile all things {Or, into him}unto {Or, him}himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.
And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,
yet now {Some ancient authorities read ye have been reconciled.}hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him:
if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the {Greek: good tidings: and so elsewhere; see marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church;
whereof I was made a minister, according to the {Or, stewardship See 1 Corinthians 9:17}dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward, to fulfil the word of God,
even the mystery which hath been hid for {Or, from all the ages &c. Greek: from the ages and from the generations.}ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints,
to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ;
whereunto I labor also, striving according to his working, which worketh in me {Or, in power}mightily.
Querverweise zu Kolosser 1,14 Kol 1,14
even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses;
Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you {Or, overseers}bishops, to feed the church of {Some ancient authorities, including the two oldest manuscripts read God.}the Lord which he {Greek: acquired.}purchased with his own blood.
forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as {Many ancient authorities read Christ.}the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:
being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
A Psalm of David. Maschil.Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,Whose sin is covered.
whom God set forth {Or, to be propitiatory}to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God;
Blessed is the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity,And in whose spirit there is no guile.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, {Deuteronomy 21:23.}Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
But there is forgiveness with thee,That thou mayest be feared.
in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
And seeing their faith, he said, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for {Some ancient authorities read you.}us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
And they that {Greek: reclined.}sat at meat with him began to say {Or, among}within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins?
And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony to be borne in its own times;
And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works.
To him bear all the prophets witness, that through his name every one that believeth on him shall receive remission of sins.
nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.
Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of sins:
And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
and by him every one that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for {Or, sins, for ever sat down &c.}sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet.
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
to open their eyes, {Or, to turn them}that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.
but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, even the blood of Christ:
Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works,
saying, {Psalm 32:1 f.}Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,And whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.
who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake,
and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave {Many ancient authorities read us.}you.
Because Christ also {Many ancient authorities read died.}suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and {Many authorities, some ancient, read washed. Hebrews 9:14; compare chapter 7:14.}loosed us from our sins {Greek: in.}by his blood;
And they sing a new song, saying,Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,
These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, to be the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.