Paul's Letter to the Colossians, ARA

A letter without the divisions that came later

A letter to be read as a letter

The text below presents Paul's Letter to the Colossians as a continuous reading.

The chapter and verse numbers, the titles, subtitles and references added later by Bible editions have been removed.

Only the paragraphs were kept, trying to follow, as much as possible, the development of Paul's own thought.

The proposal is simple: to read Colossians as its first recipients probably heard it, as a whole letter.

Without interruptions.
Without titles announcing the subject ahead of time.
Without verses isolating sentences.

Just the letter.

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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and our brother Timothy, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ who are at Colossae, grace and peace to you from God, our Father.

We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints; because of the hope that is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you; as also in all the world it is bearing fruit and growing, so it has been among you, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth; as you were taught by Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant and, on your behalf, a faithful minister of Christ, who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, we also, from the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may overflow with the full knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; so that you may live in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the full knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all perseverance and patience; with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the portion of the inheritance of the saints in light.

He delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created through him and for him. He is before all things. In him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things he might have the preeminence, because it pleased God that in him all the fullness should dwell and that, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him God would reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven.

And you also, who once were strangers and enemies in your mind by your evil works, he has now reconciled in the body of his flesh, through his death, to present you before him holy, blameless and above reproach, if indeed you remain in the faith, grounded and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard and that was preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you; and I fill up what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ, in my flesh, for the sake of his body, which is the church; of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for your benefit, to fulfill fully the word of God: the mystery that had been hidden for ages and generations; but now has been revealed to his saints; to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, that is, Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that we may present every man perfect in Christ; for this I also labor, striving as much as possible, according to his power that works mightily in me.

I would like you to know, then, how great a struggle I have for you, for those at Laodicea and for as many as have not seen me face to face; that their hearts may be comforted and knit together in love, and that they may have all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to fully comprehend the mystery of God, Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. I say this so that no one may deceive you with false reasoning.

For though I am absent in body, yet in spirit I am with you, rejoicing and seeing your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Now, as you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Take care that no one ensnares you with his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elemental principles of the world and not according to Christ; for in him dwells bodily all the fullness of the Deity. And in him you have been made complete. He is the head of every principality and power.

In him you were also circumcised, not by hands, but in the putting off of the body of the flesh, which is the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised through faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

And you, who were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made alive together with him, forgiving us all our trespasses; having canceled the record of debt, which was against us and which consisted of ordinances, which was hostile to us, he took it away entirely, nailing it to the cross; and, disarming the principalities and the powers, he publicly put them to shame, triumphing over them on the cross.

Let no one, then, judge you because of food and drink, or a feast day, or a new moon, or sabbaths, for all of this has been a shadow of the things that were to come; but the body is Christ's. Let no one act as judge against you, pretending humility and the worship of angels, relying on visions, puffed up for no reason by his fleshly mind, not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, supplied and well knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that comes from God.

If you died with Christ to the elemental principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit to ordinances: do not handle this, do not taste that, do not touch the other, according to the precepts and teachings of men? For all these things perish with use. Such things indeed have the appearance of wisdom, as self-made worship, and of false humility, and of ascetic severity; yet they have no value against sensuality.

Therefore, if you were raised together with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ lives, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are here on earth; for you died, and your life is hidden together with Christ, in God.

When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him, in glory.

Put to death, then, your earthly nature: fornication, impurity, lustful passion, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry; it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes [upon the sons of disobedience]. Now, in these very things you also walked at one time, when you lived in them.

But now, put away all of this as well: anger, indignation, malice, slander, obscene language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man who is being renewed to full knowledge, according to the image of the one who created him; in which there cannot be Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all in all.

Put on, then, as God's elect, holy and beloved, tender affections of mercy, of kindness, of humility, of meekness, of patience. Bear with one another, forgive one another, if anyone has a complaint against another.

Just as the Lord forgave you, so also forgive; above all this, however, let there be love, which is the bond of perfection.

Let the peace of Christ be the umpire in your heart, to which you were also called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and counsel one another in all wisdom, praising God with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude, in your heart. And whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Wives, be submissive to your own husband, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wife and do not treat her with bitterness.

Children, obey your parents in everything; for doing so is pleasing before the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they do not become discouraged.

Servants, obey in everything your master according to the flesh, not serving only under watchful eyes, aiming merely to please men, but in sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the reward of the inheritance. It is Christ, the Lord, whom you are serving; for the one who does wrong will receive in return the wrong he has done; and in this there is no partiality. Masters, treat your servants with justice and fairness, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Persevere in prayer, keeping watch with thanksgiving. Pray at the same time for us also, that God may open a door to the word, so that we may speak of the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains; that I may make it known, as I ought to do. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward those who are outside; make the most of the opportunities. Let your word always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

As for my situation, Tychicus, a beloved brother, and faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will inform you of everything. I am sending him to you for the express purpose of letting you know about our situation and of encouraging your hearts. With him I am sending Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will let you know everything that is happening here.

Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus, who is called Justus, who are the only ones of the circumcision who work personally with me for the kingdom of God. They have been a comfort to me.

Epaphras greets you, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, who strives exceedingly, continually, for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully convinced in all the will of God. And I bear witness of him that he is deeply concerned for you, for those in Laodicea and for those in Hierapolis.

Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, and also Demas.

Greet the brothers in Laodicea, and Nympha, and the church that she hosts in her house. And, once this epistle has been read before you, see to it that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and the one from Laodicea, read it also before you. And say to Archippus: take heed to the ministry that you received in the Lord, to fulfill it.

The greeting is in my own hand: Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

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After reading

Maybe it is worth going back to the letter once more.

Now without looking for familiar verses.

Just noticing one thing:

where does Paul's own thought begin, continue, change direction and arrive at its conclusions?

A note on this edition

This page does not present a new translation or any change to the biblical text.

The intervention was only editorial: the visual divisions of chapters and verses, titles, subtitles and references were removed, preserving the text of the translation used.

Version used: Almeida Revista e Atualizada (ARA).

You can also read this same letter in another translation:
Colossians, NVI ↗