1 From Paul, who by God's will is an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy—
2 To God's people in Colossae, who are our faithful friends in union with Christ:
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
3 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, 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. 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.
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. 11-12 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. 13 He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son, 14 by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.
The Person and Work of Christ
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 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. It is of this gospel that I, Paul, became a servant—this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the world.
Paul's Work as a Servant of the Church
24 And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the church. 25 And I have been made a servant of the church by God, who gave me this task to perform for your good. It is the task of fully proclaiming his message, 26 which is the secret he hid through all past ages from all human beings but has now revealed to his people. 27 God's plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. 28 So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. 29 To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me.
تحية
1 مِنْ بولُسَ رَسولِ المَسيحِ يَسوعَ بِمَشيئَةِ اللهِ ومِنْ أَخينا تيمُوثاوُسَ 2 إلى القِدّيسينَ الذينَ في كولوسّي، الإخوَةِ المُؤمِنينَ في المَسيحِ. علَيكُمُ النّعمَةُ والسَّلامُ مِنَ اللهِ أبـينا.
صلاة شكر
3 نَحمَدُ اللهَ أبا رَبّنا يَسوعَ المَسيحِ، كُلّما صَلّينا مِنْ أجلِكُم، 4 على ما بَلَغَنا مِنْ إيمانِكُم بالمَسيحِ يَسوعَ ومَحبّتكُم لِجَميعِ الإخوَةِ القِدّيسينَ 5 مِنْ أجلِ الرّجاءِ الذي هيّأهُ اللهُ لكُم في السّماواتِ، وهوَ الرّجاءُ الذي سَمِعتُم بِه في كلامِ الحَقّ، أيْ في البِشارَةِ 6 التي وصَلَتْ إلَيكُم كما وصَلَتْ إلى العالَمِ كُلّه، فأخَذَتْ تُثمِرُ وتَنتَشِرُ فيهِ كَما تُثمِرُ وتَنتَشِرُ بَينكُم مُنذُ سَمِعتُم بِنعمَةِ اللهِ وعَرَفتُموها حَقّ المَعرِفَةِ. 7 وهذا تَعَلّمتُموهُ مِنْ أبَفْراسَ، رَفيقِنا الحَبـيبِ في العَمَلِ للهِ والخادِمِ الأمينِ لِلمَسيحِ عِندَكُم. 8 وهوَ الذي أخبَرَنا بِما أنتُم علَيهِ مِنْ مَحبّةٍ في الرّوحِ.
المسيح الفادي
9 لذلِكَ نُصَلّي كُلّ حينٍ من أجلِكُم، مُنذُ سَمِعْنا ذلِكَ عَنكُم، ونَسألُ اللهَ أنْ يَملأَكُم بِمَعرِفَةِ مَشيئَتِهِ وبِالحِكمَةِ والفَهمِ الرُوحِـيّ، 10 حتى تَسلُكوا في حَياتِكُم كما يَحِقّ لِلرّبّ ويُرضيهِ كُلّ الرّضا وتُثمِروا كُلّ عَمَلٍ صالِـحٍ وتَنموا في مَعرِفَةِ اللهِ، 11 مُتَقَوّينَ بِكلّ ما في قُدرَتِهِ المَجيدَةِ مِنْ قُوّةٍ لتَتَحمّلوا فرِحينَ كُلّ شيءٍ بِثَباتٍ تامٍ وصَبرٍ جَميلٍ، 12 شاكِرينَ الآبَ لأنّهُ جَعلَكُم أهلاً لأنْ تُقاسِموا القِدّيسينَ ميراثَهُم في مَلكوتِ النّورِ. 13 فهوَ الذي نَجّانا مِنْ سُلطانِ الظّلام ونَقَلَنا إلى مَلكوتِ اَبنِهِ الحَبـيبِ، 14 فكانَ لَنا بِه الفِداءُ، أي غُفرانُ الخَطايا.
15 هوَ صُورَةُ اللهِ الذي لا يُرى
وبِكْرُ الخَلائِقِ كُلّها.
16 بِه خَلَقَ اللهُ كُلّ شيءٍ
في السّماواتِ وفي الأرضِ
ما يُرى وما لا يُرى:
أأصحابَ عَرشٍ كانوا أمْ سِيادَةٍ أمْ رِئاسَةٍ أمْ سُلطانٍ.
بِه ولَه خَلَقَ اللهُ كُلّ شيءٍ.
17 كانَ قَبلَ كُلّ شيءٍ
وفيهِ يَتكــوّنُ كُلّ شيءٍ.
18 هوَ رأسُ الجَسَدِ، أي رأْسُ الكَنيسَةِ،
وهوَ البَدءُ وبِكرُ مَنْ قامَ مِنْ بَينِ الأمواتِ
لِتكونَ لَه الأوّلِـيّةُ في كُلّ شيءٍ،
19 لأنّ اللهَ شاءَ أنْ يَحِلّ فيهِ الملءُ كُلّهُ
20 وأنْ يُصالِـحَ بِه كُلّ شيءٍ
في الأرضِ كما في السّماواتِ،
فبِدَمِهِ على الصّليبِ حُقّقَ السّلامُ.
21 وفيما مَضى كُنتُم غُرَباءَ عَنِ اللهِ وأعْداءً لَه بِأفكارِكُم وأعمالِكُمُ السّيئَةِ، 22 وأمّا الآنَ فصالَحَكُم في جَسَدِ المَسيحِ البَشَرِيّ، حينَ أسلَمَهُ إلى الموتِ لِـيجعَلَكُم في حَضرَتِهِ قِدّيسينَ بِلا عَيبٍ ولا لَومٍ، 23 على أنْ تَثبُتوا في الإيمانِ راسِخينَ غَيرَ مُتزَعزِعينَ ولا مُتَحَوّلينَ عَنْ رَجاءِ البِشارَةِ التي سَمِعتُم بِها وبَلَغَتْ كُلّ خَليقَةٍ تَحتَ السّماءِ، وصِرتُ أنا بولُسَ خادِمًا لَها.
جهاد بولس
24 وأنا الآنَ أفرَحُ بالآلامِ التي أُعانيها لأجلِكُم، فأُكمِلُ في جَسَدي ما نَقَصَ مِنْ آلامِ المَسيحِ في سَبـيلِ جَسَدِهِ الذي هوَ الكَنيسَةُ 25 التي صِرتُ خادِمًا لها بِتَدبـيرٍ مِنَ اللهِ لأجلِكم، فأجعَلُ كَلِمَةَ اللهِ مَعروفَةً تَمامَ المَعرِفَةِ، 26 وهِـيَ السّرّ الذي كَتَمَهُ اللهُ طَوالَ الدّهورِ والأجيالِ وكشَفَهُ الآنَ لِقِدّيسيهِ 27 الذينَ أرادَ اللهُ لهُم أنْ يَعرِفوا كَمْ كانَ هذا السّرّ غَنِـيّا ومَجيدًا عِندَ غَيرِ اليَهودِ، أي أنّ المَسيحَ فيكُم وهوَ رَجاءُ المَجدِ. 28 بِه نُنادي ونُبشّرُ جميعَ النّاسِ ونُعَلّمُهُم بِكُلّ حِكمَةٍ لِنَجعَلَ كُلّ إنسانٍ كامِلاً في المَسيحِ. 29 ولأجلِ هذا أتعَبُ وأُجاهِدُ بِفَضلِ قُدرَتِهِ التي تَعمَلُ فِـيّ بِقوّةٍ.