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Colossians 1:3-23 ESV ...We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, (4) since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, (5) because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Luke 10:20; Dan 12:1) Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, (6) which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, (7) just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf (8) and has made known to us your love in [given by] the Spirit. (John 6:63) (9) And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (10) so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (11) May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, (12) giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints [Christians] in [the Kingdom of] light. (Rev 21:1-4) (13) He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son [the Kingdom of the Son of His Love], (14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (16) For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. (17) And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (18) And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead [first to be raised to eternal life], that in everything he might be preeminent. (19) For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (21) And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, (22) he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, (23) if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel [of the Good News of The Kingdom] that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Colossians 1:3-23 GNB ...We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. (4) For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all God's people. (5) When the true message, the Good News [of the Kingdom], first came to you, you heard about the hope it offers. So your faith and love are based on what you hope for, which is kept safe for you in heaven. (Luke 10:20; Dan 12:1) (6) The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is. (7) You learned of God's grace from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is Christ's faithful worker on our behalf. (8) He has told us of the love that the Spirit has given you. (John 6:63) (9) For this reason we have always prayed for you, ever since we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives. (10) Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God. (11) May you be made strong with all the strength which comes from his glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with patience. And with joy give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light. (Rev 21:1-4) (12) (SEE 1:11) (13) He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son [the Kingdom of the Son of His Love], (14) by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. (15) Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. (16) For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. (17) Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. (18) He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things. (19) For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature [full knowledge] of God. (20) Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven. (21) At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought. (22) But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless, into his presence. (23) You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the gospel [of Christ]. It is of this gospel that I, Paul, became a servant---this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the world.
Colossians 1:3-23 CEV ...Each time we pray for you, we thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (4) We have heard of your faith in Christ and of your love for all of God's people, (5) because what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven. (Luke 10:20; Dan 12:1) You first heard about this hope when you believed the true message, which is the good news. (6) The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in that same way among you, ever since the first day you learned the truth about God's wonderful kindness (7) from our good friend Epaphras. He works together with us for Christ and is a faithful worker for you. (8) He is also the one who told us about the love that God's Spirit has given you. (John 6:63) (9) We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives. (10) Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better. (11) His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy. (12) I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. (Rev 21:1-4) (13) God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son [the Kingdom of the Son of His Love], (14) who forgives our sins and sets us free. (15) 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) He is the head of his body, which is the church. He is the very beginning, the first to be raised from death [to eternal life], so that he would be above all others. (19) God himself was pleased to live fully in his Son. (20) 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. (21) You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. (22) But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. (23) But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news [of the Kingdom]. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.
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You will note the reference windows often include more than one translation of the Bible. The reason is to strive to gain the best possible understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek. Since we don't speak those languages, we rely on those who have come before and made the effort to translate those texts into English for us. Considering several translations gives the benefit of the understanding of several translation committees or individuals.
The Translations we quote are:
ALT - Analytical Literal Translation
ASV - American Standard Version (by the American revision committee in 1897).
BBE - 1965 Bible in Basic English
Bishops - 1568 Bishop's Bible
Calvin - 1856 by Calvin Translation Society
CEV - Contemporary English Version
Coverdale - 1535 Miles Coverdale Bible
Darby - 1889 Darby Bible
DRB - 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible
ESV - English Standard Version
GNB - Good News Bible
GW - God's Word Bible
ISV - International Standard Version
KJV - 1769 King James Version
KJV-1611 - Old King James Version from 1611
LitNT - Literal New Testament
LITV - Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
MKJV - 1962 Modern King James Version
Murdock - 1851 James Murdock New Testament
MWT - Modern World Translation
NWT - New World Translation
RV - Revised Version
Webster - 1833 Webster Bible
WTNT - 1525-26 William Tyndale New Testament
Wycliffe - 1394 Wycliffe Bible
YLT - 1862/1898 Young's Literal Translation
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