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 1,18 Kol 1,18
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;
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live;
Thou art fairer than the children of men;Grace is poured {Or, upon}into thy lips:Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one,Thy glory and thy majesty.
And in thy majesty ride on prosperously, {Or, In behalf of}Because of truth and meekness and righteousness:And {Or, let thy right hand teach}thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
Thine arrows are sharp;The peoples fall under thee;They are in the heart of the king's enemies.
and in him ye are made full, who is the head of all principality and power:
in whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ;
having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
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;
having blotted out {Or, the bond that was against us by its ordinances}the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross;
That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the {Or, word Compare Acts 5:20}Word of life
and whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die. Believest thou this?
I also will make him my first-born,The highest of the kings of the earth.
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, {Or, he who}who is and who was and {Or, he who}who is to come, the Almighty.
{Or, if Or, whether}how that the Christ {Or, is subject to suffering}must suffer, and {Or, if Or, whether}how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.
My beloved is white and ruddy, {Hebrew: Marked out by a banner.}The chiefest among ten thousand.
unto a dispensation of the fulness of the {Greek: seasons.}times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things {Greek: upon.}in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say,
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, so also in {Greek: the Christ.}Christ shall all be made alive.
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his {Greek: presence.}coming.
Behold, my servant shall {Or, prosper}deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.
and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
And he said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
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;
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren.
which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
and the Living one; and I {Greek: became.}was dead, and behold, I am alive {Greek: unto the ages of the ages.}for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
but {Or, dealing, truly}speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ;
For of his fulness we all received, and {Or, grace upon grace.}grace for grace.
from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together {Greek: through every joint of the supply.}through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.
even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body.
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is made full.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: {Some ancient authorities read he that cometh from heaven beareth witness of what he hath seen and heard.}he that cometh from heaven is above all.
For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the Spirit by measure.
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren:
For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, {Psalm 2:7}Thou art my Son,This day have I begotten thee?and again, {2 Samuel 7:14}I will be to him a Father,And he shall be to me a Son?
{Or, And again, when he bringeth in}And when he again {Or, shall have brought in}bringeth in the firstborn into {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world he saith, {Deuteronomy 32:43 Septuagint Version; compare Psalm 97:7}And let all the angels of God worship him.
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,
and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth.
And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
saying with a great voice,Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying,Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, {Greek: unto the ages of the ages.}for ever and ever.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said,The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign {Greek: unto the ages of the ages}for ever and ever.
And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, {Or, and the Lamb, the lamp thereof}and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.
And the nations shall walk {Or, by}amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.