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 1,23 Kol 1,23
They are planted in the house of Jehovah;They shall flourish in the courts of our God.
rooted and builded up in him, and established {Or, by}in your faith, even as ye were taught, abounding {Some ancient authorities insert in it.}in thanksgiving.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
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;
This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the peoples that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
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,
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;They shall be full of sap and green:
Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, {Or, in comparison of accomplishing my course }so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the {Or, good tidings}gospel of the grace of God.
and hope putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been {Greek: poured out.}shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us.
And this {Or, these good tidings}gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole {Greek: inhabited earth.}world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.
and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Jehovah thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.
For he was numbered among us, and received his {Or, lot}portion in this ministry.
But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,Jehovah will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity.Peace be upon Israel.
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not {Or, void}vain in the Lord.
For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the {See marginal note on chapter 1:1.}gospel to the whole creation.
Thou wilt pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Jehovah.
to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place.
When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, {Or, he shall die}and dieth {Or, because of it}therein; {Or, for}in his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
he is like a man building a house, who digged and went deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock: and when a flood arose, the stream brake against that house, and could not shake it: {Many ancient authorities read for it had been founded upon the rock: as in Matthew 7:25.}because it had been well builded.
that no man be moved by these afflictions; for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed.
having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
But I say, Did they not hear? Yea, verily, {Psalm 19:4}Their sound went out into all the earth,And their words unto the ends of {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world.
Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things {Many ancient authorities read which thou hast seen.}wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;
And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.
in whom {Greek: every building.}each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy {Or, sanctuary}temple in the Lord;
But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.
that I should be a minister of Christ Jesus unto the {Greek: nations. Compare Matthew 4.15.}Gentiles, {Greek: ministering in sacrifice.}ministering the {See marginal note on chapter 1:1}gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your {Or, kindness}goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth early away.
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
Let a man so account of us, as of ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Here, moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be {Or, examined}judged of you, or of man's {Greek: day. See chapter 3:13.}judgment: yea, I {Or, examine}judge not mine own self.
and them that are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that have not sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him.
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.
that, being justified by his grace, we might be made {Or, heirs, according to hope, of eternal life}heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.
which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stedfast and entering into that which is within the veil;
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we faint not:
And those on the rock are they who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
And that which fell among the thorns, these are they that have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with {Or, stedfastness}patience.
Blessed be {Or, God and the Father See Romans 15:6 margin.}the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation;
to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses, and having {Or, placed in us}committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God.
but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not; and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren.
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if {Or, it}he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.
And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain
As he spake these things, many believed on him.
Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples;
and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft.
Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my love.
whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to {Greek: bring good tidings of the &c. Compare chapter 2:17.}preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, {Some ancient authorities read that they would cleave unto the purpose of their heart in the Lord.}that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord:
I thank him that {Some ancient authorities read enableth.}enabled me, even Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to his service;
confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.
whereunto I was appointed a {Greek: herald.}preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth, I lie not), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
to them that by {Or, stedfastness}patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:
whereunto I was appointed a {Greek: herald.}preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher.
I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.
For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard {Or, that which he hath committed unto me Greek: my deposit.}that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Ye were running well; who hindered you that ye should not obey the truth?
But be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry.
And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
For I am already being {Greek: poured out as a drink-offering.}offered, and the time of my departure is come.
For this cause I also, when I could no longer forbear, sent that I might know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain.
but Christ as a son, over {That is, God's house. See Numbers 12:7.}his house; whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm unto the end.
for we are become partakers {Or, with Compare chapter 1:9; verse 6}of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end:
Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
But {Some ancient authorities read the righteous one.}my righteous one shall live by faith:And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him.
who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error;
promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of {Or, what}whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of {Many ancient authorities read our.}the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first.
For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, {Proverbs 26:11.}The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire.
And as for you, the anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you; but as his anointing teacheth you concerning all things, {Or, so it is true and is no lie; and even as &c.}and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, {Or, abide ye}ye abide in him.
Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; {Some ancient authorities read and may have.}and ye shall have {Greek: a tribulation of ten days.}tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.