Greeting
1 Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby the will of God, and Timothy cour brother,
2 To the dsaints and faithful brothers1 in Christ at Colossae:
eGrace to you and peace from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 fWe always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of gyour faith in Christ Jesus and of gthe love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of hthe hope ilaid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in jthe word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed kin the whole world it is lbearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you mheard it and understood nthe grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from oEpaphras our beloved pfellow servant.2 He is pa faithful minister of Christ on your3 behalf 8 and has made known to us your qlove in the Spirit.
9 And so, rfrom the day we heard, swe have not ceased to pray for you, asking that tyou may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all uspiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as vto walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, wfully pleasing to him: xbearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 ybeing strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for zall endurance and patience awith joy; 12 bgiving thanks4 to the Father, who has qualified you5 to share in cthe inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He dhas delivered us from ethe domain of darkness and transferred us to fthe kingdom of ghis beloved Son, 14 hin whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Preeminence of Christ
15 iHe is the image of jthe invisible God, kthe firstborn of all creation. 16 For by6 him all things were created, lin heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether mthrones or ndominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created othrough him and for him. 17 And phe is before all things, and in him all things qhold together. 18 And rhe is the head of the body, the church. He is sthe beginning, tthe firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For uin him all the vfullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and wthrough him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, xmaking peace yby the blood of his cross.
21 zAnd you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, adoing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled bin his body of flesh by his death, cin order to present you holy and blameless and dabove reproach before him, 23 eif indeed you continue in the faith, fstable and steadfast, not shifting from gthe hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed hin all creation7 under heaven, iand of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Paul’s Ministry to the Church
24 Now jI rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh kI am filling up lwhat is lacking in Christ’s afflictions mfor the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 nof which I became a minister according to othe stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 pthe mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 qTo them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are rthe riches of the glory of pthis mystery, which is Christ in you, sthe hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that twe may present everyone umature in Christ. 29 For this vI toil, wstruggling xwith all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
yfor you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let zanother praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but aa fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before bjealousy?
5 cBetter is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Faithful are dthe wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7 One who is full loathes ehoney,
but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
8 Like fa bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.
9 gOil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.1
10 Do not forsake your friend and hyour father’s friend,
and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
iBetter is a neighbor who is near
than a brother who is far away.
11 jBe wise, kmy son, and lmake my heart glad,
that I may manswer him who reproaches me.
12 nThe prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but othe simple go on and suffer for it.
13 pTake a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.2
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
15 qA continual dripping on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp3 oil in one’s right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.4
18 rWhoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who sguards his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
20 tSheol and Abaddon are unever satisfied,
and vnever satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 wThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
22 xCrush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
23 yKnow well the condition of your flocks,
and ygive attention to your herds,
24 for zriches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 aWhen the grass is gone and the new growth appears
and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26 bthe lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field.
27 bThere will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your girls.
