Colossians 3-4

Contemporary English Version

3 ^(A) You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God's right side.^[a] ²Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. ³You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. ⁴Christ gives meaning to your^[b] life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.

⁵Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. ⁶God is angry with people who disobey him by doing^[c] these things. ⁷And this is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way. ⁸But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. ⁹^(B) And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.

¹⁰^(C) Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. ¹¹It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian,^[d] and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

¹²^(D) God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. ¹³^(E) Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. ¹⁴Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

¹⁵Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. ¹⁶^(F) Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.

Some Rules for Christian Living

¹⁸^(G) A wife must put her husband first. This is her duty as a follower of the Lord.

¹⁹^(H) A husband must love his wife and not abuse her.

²⁰^(I) Children must always obey their parents. This pleases the Lord.

²¹^(J) Parents, don't be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up.

²²^(K) Slaves, you must always obey your earthly masters. Try to please them at all times, and not just when you think they are watching. Honor the Lord and serve your masters with your whole heart. ²³Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master. ²⁴In fact, the Lord Christ is the one you are really serving, and you know he will reward you. ²⁵^(L) But Christ has no favorites! He will punish evil people, just as they deserve.

4 ^(M) Slave owners, be fair and honest with your slaves. Don't forget that you have a Master in heaven.

²Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful. ³Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this. ⁴Please pray that I will make the message as clear as possible.

⁵^(N) When you are with unbelievers, always make good use of the time. ⁶^(O) Be pleasant and hold their interest when you speak the message. Choose your words carefully and be ready to give answers to anyone who asks questions.

Final Greetings

⁷^(P)^(Q) Tychicus is the dear friend, who faithfully works and serves the Lord with us, and he will give you the news about me. ⁸I am sending him to cheer you up by telling you how we are getting along. ⁹^(R) Onesimus, the dear and faithful follower from your own group, is coming with him. The two of them will tell you everything that has happened here.

¹⁰^(S) Aristarchus is in jail with me. He sends greetings to you, and so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have already been told to welcome Mark, if he visits you. ¹¹Jesus, who is known as Justus, sends his greetings. These three men are the only Jewish followers who have worked with me for the kingdom of God. They have given me much comfort.

¹²^(T) Your own Epaphras, who serves Christ Jesus, sends his greetings. He always prays hard that you may fully know what the Lord wants you to do and that you may do it completely. ¹³I have seen how much trouble he has gone through for you and for the followers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

¹⁴^(U) Our dear doctor Luke sends you his greetings, and so does Demas.

¹⁵Give my greetings to the followers at Laodicea, especially to Nympha and the church that meets in her home.

¹⁶After this letter has been read to your people, be sure to have it read in the church at Laodicea. And you should read the letter that I have sent to them.^[e]

¹⁷^(V) Remind Archippus to do the work that the Lord has given him to do.

¹⁸I am signing this letter myself: PAUL.

Don't forget that I am in jail.

I pray that God will be kind to you.

Footnotes

3.1 right side: The place of power and honor.
3.4 your: Some manuscripts have “our.”
3.6 people who disobey him by doing: Some manuscripts do not have these words.
3.11 a barbarian or a Scythian: Barbarians were people who could not speak Greek and would be in the lower class of society. Scythians were people who were known for their cruelty.
4.16 the letter that I have sent to them: This is the only mention of the letter to the church at Laodicea.