Passage
Colossians 1.19-22
Book: Colossians · NASB95
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV
17. and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. 18. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19. For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fulness dwell; 20. and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens. 21. And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, 22. yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him:
- if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister. 24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church; (Colossians 1:17-24, ASV)
WEB
17. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. 18. He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19. For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him; 20. and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross. 21. You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil deeds, 22. yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him,
- if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant. 24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly; (Colossians 1:17-24, WEB)
KJV
17. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. in: or, among all
19. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20. And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. having: or, making 21. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in: or, by your mind in 22. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
- If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 24. Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church: (Colossians 1:17-24, KJV)
YLT
17. and himself is before all, and the all things in him have consisted. 18. And himself is the head of the body, the assembly, who is a beginning, a first-born out of the dead, that he might become in all [things], himself, first,
19. because in him it did please all the fulness to tabernacle, 20. and through him to reconcile the all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether the things upon the earth, whether the things in the heavens. 21. And you, once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, yet now did he reconcile, 22. in the body of his flesh through the death, to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before himself,
- if also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that [is] under the heaven, of which I became, I Paul, a ministrant. 24. I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly, (Colossians 1:17-24, YLT)
See this page's graph and discover linked topics
Setting
- Speaker: TBD
- Audience: TBD
- Location: TBD
- Time period: TBD
Theological reading
Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.
Key words
Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.
- G4138 - pleroma, pleroma, Strong's G4138
- G2288 - thanatos, thanatos, Strong's G2288
- G4983 - soma, soma, Strong's G4983
- G4561 - sarx, sarx, Strong's G4561
- G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
- Argument from the Continuance of Being, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Argument from the Pre-Given Logos, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Did Jesus Send Muhammad Dilemma Argument, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Jesus Didnt Know the Hour Objection Defeater, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Jesus Has a God Therefore Not God Objection Defeater, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Jesus Never Claimed to Be God Objection Defeater, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Manuscript Variants Bible Corruption Objection Defeater, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Necessity of the Incarnation, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Paul Invented Christianity Objection Defeater, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Trinity Invented at Nicaea Objection Defeater, via Colossians 1.15-20
Concepts:
- Christianity, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Christs Deity, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Conditional Immortality, via Colossians 1.15-20, Colossians 1.20
- Genesis Hermeneutics, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Hell and Eternal Punishment, via Colossians 1.20
- Hypostatic Union, via Colossians 1.15-19
- Incarnation, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Islamic Dilemma, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Kalimatullah, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Lesson 4.5, Comparative Religion Engagement, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Logos Christology, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Muslim Objections to the Divinity of Christ, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Oneness Pentecostalism, via Colossians 1.15-19
- Pre-Pauline Creeds, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Tahrif, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Trinity vs Oneness vs Modalism vs Arianism, via Colossians 1.15-19
- Universalism, via Colossians 1.19-20
People:
- Avery Austin (God Logic), via Colossians 1.15-20
- Bart Ehrman, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Larry Hurtado, via Colossians 1.15-20
- Paul the Apostle, via Colossians 1.15-20
Lexicon:
- G3956 - pas, via Colossians 1.15-20, Colossians 1.20
- G4138 - pleroma, via Colossians 1.19
- H1320 - basar, via Colossians 1.22
- H1818 - dam, via Colossians 1.20
- H7965 - shalom, via Colossians 1.20
Guides:
Notes
Your annotations.
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.