[and is being sent] to the saints [i.e., God's holy people] and faithful brothers in [fellowship with] Christ [who live] at Colosse. May you have unearned favor and peace from God our Father.

Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel

which has reached you as it spreads over all the world with fruit and increase. Such has been your life from the day you learned to know what God's grace really is.

Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

For this reason we also, from the day we heard of your faith and love, do not cease praying and asking for you, to the end that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts];

who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;

And He is the head of the [spiritual] body, the church. He is [its] source, the firstborn One from the dead [i.e., the first one to return to life, never to die again], so that He could rank first [in importance] over all things.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and am filling up the measure of those remaining afflictions, which in my turn I am to suffer in this life, in the cause of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the church:

That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, live in him,

Take heed lest there will be any man taking you captive through the love of wisdom and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Christ.

For it is in Him that all the fullness of Deity continues to live embodied,

And in Him you have been made complete [achieving spiritual stature through Christ], and He is the head over all rule and authority [of every angelic and earthly power].

having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God, [as displayed] when He raised Christ from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins,

These things are [only] a shadow of future things, but the body [i.e., the real substance of things] belongs to Christ. [Note: The idea here is that the ritual observances of the Mosaic law were like shadows pointing to the reality of life in Christ].

Do not allow anyone, who delights in acting humble [i.e., living an ascetic life] and who worships angels, to rob you of your reward [in heaven]. [Note: This "angel worship" could mean holding angels in high regard because of their role as God's messengers, or the claim that God can be approached only through angelic intermediaries]. He places great importance on what he [claims to] see [i.e., visions], being inflated with pride by his fleshly mind for no [good] reason.

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were still living in the world, do you submit to rules and regulations, such as,

Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

in which also you once lived, when you used to live in them.

In that new life there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman; but Christ is all!--and in all!

and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.

Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].

You should let the message of Christ live in you abundantly [i.e., as individuals and collectively]. Use [much] wisdom in teaching and warning one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with favor [i.e., with thankfulness] in your hearts toward God.

You married women must continue to live in subordination to your husbands, for this is your Christian duty.

Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused in your prayer life with an attitude of thanksgiving.

Live with wisdom toward those outside, making the most of the time.

Aristarchus, my brother-prisoner, sends his love to you, and Mark, a relation of Barnabas (about whom you have been given orders: if he comes to you, be kind to him),

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his love, ever taking thought for you in his prayers, that you may be complete and fully certain of all the purpose of God.

Luke, our well-loved medical friend, and Demas, send you their love.

Give my love to the brothers in Laodicea and to Nymphas and the church in their house.

I, Paul, give you this word of love in my handwriting. Keep in memory that I am a prisoner. Grace be with you.