American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
For I would have you know how greatly I strive for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the {Or, fulness}full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, {The ancient authorities vary much in the text of this passage.}even Christ,
in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.
This I say, that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech.
For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
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.
{Or, See whether}Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the {Or, elements See Galatians 4:3 margin}rudiments of the world, and not after Christ:
for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
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;
{Or, having put off from himself the principalities &c.}having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
Keep thy heart {Or, above all that thou guardest}with all diligence;For out of it are the issues of life.
{Or, For}Surely there is a mine for silver,And a place for gold which they refine.
Iron is taken out of the {Or, dust}earth,And copper is molten out of the stone.
Man setteth an end to darkness,And searcheth out, to the furthest bound,The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
{Or, The flood breaketh out from where men sojourn. Even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are diminished, they are gone away from man.}He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn;They are forgotten of the foot;They hang afar from men, they {Or, flit}swing to and fro.
As for the earth, out of it cometh bread;And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, {Or, And he winneth lumps of gold}And it hath dust of gold.
That path no bird of prey knoweth,Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it:
The {Hebrew: sons of pride.}proud beasts have not trodden it,Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock;He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
He cutteth out {Or, passages}channels among the rocks;And his eye seeth every precious thing.
He bindeth the streams {Hebrew: from weeping.}that they trickle not;And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
But where shall wisdom be found?And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;Neither is it found in the land of the living.
The deep saith, It is not in me;And the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for {Or, treasure}gold,Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,With the precious {Or, beryl}onyx, or the sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal it,Neither shall it be exchanged for {Or, vessels}jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal:Yea, the price of wisdom is above {Or, red coral Or, pearls}rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Whence then cometh wisdom?And where is the place of understanding?
Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,And kept close from the birds of the heavens.
{Hebrew: Abaddon.}Destruction and Death say,We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
God understandeth the way thereof,And he knoweth the place thereof.
For he looketh to the ends of the earth,And seeth under the whole heaven;
{Or, When he maketh}To make a weight for the wind:Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.
When he made a decree for the rain,And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
Then did he see it, and {Or, recount}declare it;He established it, yea, and searched it out.
And unto man he said,Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;And to depart from evil is understanding.
But where shall wisdom be found?And where is the place of understanding?
to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,
And my {Or, word}speech and my {Greek: thing preached.}preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
that your faith should not {Greek: be.}stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
{Or, Besides the things which I omit Or, Besides the things that come out of course}Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches.