To the saints and true brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Through the hope which is in store for you in heaven; knowledge of which was given to you before in the true word of the good news,

Which has come to you; and which in all the world is giving fruit and increase, as it has done in you from the day when it came to your ears and you had true knowledge of the grace of God;

As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

And therefore we, from the very day that we heard this, have never ceased praying for you, or asking that you may possess that deeper knowledge of the will of God, which comes through all true spiritual wisdom and insight.

so as to walk worthily of the Lord unto all well-pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing by the true knowledge of God;

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

If only you remain true to your Faith, firm and immovable, never abandoning the hope held out in the Good News to which you listened, which has been proclaimed among all created things under Heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,

It is true that I am not with you in person, but I am with you in spirit, and am glad to see the good order and the unbroken front resulting from your faith in Christ.

In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not performed by hand, when you threw off your sinful nature in true Christian circumcision;

Even though they have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility achieved by an unsparing treatment of the body -- a wisdom with no true value -- they in reality result in fleshly indulgence.

When Christ appears--He is our true Life--then you also will appear with Him in glory.

these are vices which draw down the divine vengeance upon unbelieving nations;

and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

Therefore, as God's People, consecrated and dear to him, clothe yourselves with tenderness of heart, kindliness, humility, gentleness, forbearance;

Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful servant and fellow slave in the Lord, will make known to you all {my circumstances},

together with Onesimus, my faithful and dear brother, who is [one] of you. They will make known to you all {the circumstances} here.

Luke the physician, our dear friend, greets you, [as does] Demas.