Colossians 1:12-20
Contemporary English Version
12 I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you[a] have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. 13 God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, 14 (A) who forgives our sins and sets us free.
15 (B) Christ is exactly like God,
who cannot be seen.
He is the first-born Son,
superior to all creation.
16 Everything was created by him,
everything in heaven
and on earth,
everything seen and unseen,
including all forces
and powers,
and all rulers
and authorities.
All things were created
by God's Son,
and everything was made
for him.
17 God's Son was before all else,
and by him everything
is held together.
18 (C) He is the head of his body,
which is the church.
He is the very beginning,
the first to be raised
from death,
so that he would be
above all others.
19 God himself was pleased
to live fully in his Son.
20 (D) And God was pleased
for him to make peace
by sacrificing his blood
on the cross,
so that all beings in heaven
and on earth
would be brought back to God.
Footnotes
- 1.12 you: Some manuscripts have “us.”
Colossians 1:12-20
New International Version
12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father,(A) who has qualified you[a] to share in the inheritance(B) of his holy people in the kingdom of light.(C) 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness(D) and brought us into the kingdom(E) of the Son he loves,(F) 14 in whom we have redemption,(G) the forgiveness of sins.(H)
The Supremacy of the Son of God
15 The Son is the image(I) of the invisible God,(J) the firstborn(K) over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created:(L) things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;(M) all things have been created through him and for him.(N) 17 He is before all things,(O) and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head(P) of the body, the church;(Q) he is the beginning and the firstborn(R) from among the dead,(S) so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased(T) to have all his fullness(U) dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile(V) to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,(W) by making peace(X) through his blood,(Y) shed on the cross.
Footnotes
- Colossians 1:12 Some manuscripts us
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