Passage

Colossians 1.14

Book: Colossians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"12. giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; 13. who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;"

"14. in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins:"

"15. who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16. for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him;" (Colossians 1:12-16, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"12. giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; 13. who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;"

"14. in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins;"

"15. who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16. For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him." (Colossians 1:12-16, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"12. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: ^{his: Gr. the Son of his love}"

"14. In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:"

"15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:" (Colossians 1:12-16, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"12. Giving thanks to the Father who did make us meet for the participation of the inheritance of the saints in the light, 13. who did rescue us out of the authority of the darkness, and did translate [us] into the reign of the Son of His love,"

"14. in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of the sins,"

"15. who is the image of the invisible God, first-born of all creation, 16. because in him were the all things created, those in the heavens, and those upon the earth, those visible, and those invisible, whether thrones, whether lordships, whether principalities, whether authorities; all things through him, and for him, have been created," (Colossians 1:12-16, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle (imprisonment) + Timothy
Audience: Christian believers in Colossae (Asia Minor)
Location: composed during Roman imprisonment
Time period: composed c. AD 60-62

Theological reading

Key words

G0266 - hamartia, hamartia (Strong's G266). Also appears in: Matthew 1.21, Matthew 9.4-8, Matthew 12.31-32.
G0629 - apolytrosis, apolytrosis (Strong's G629). Also appears in: Romans 8, Ephesians 1.13-14, Hebrews 9.
G0859 - aphesis, aphesis (Strong's G859). Also appears in: Matthew 26.27-28, Mark 1.4, Mark 3.20-30.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.