1I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned. Our brother Timothy joins me in writing.
2We are sending this letter to you, our brothers and sisters in Colossae. You belong to Christ. You are holy and faithful.
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
Paul Prays and Gives Thanks
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4We thank him because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus. We have also heard that you love all God’s people. 5Your faith and love are based on the hope you have. What you hope for is stored up for you in heaven. You have already heard about it. You were told about it when the true message was given to you. I’m talking about the good news 6that has come to you. In the same way, the good news is bearing fruit. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world. It has been doing that among you since the day you heard it. That is when you really understood God’s grace. 7You learned the good news from Epaphras. He is dear to us. He serves Christ together with us. He faithfully works for Christ and for us among you. 8He also told us about your love that comes from the Holy Spirit.
9That’s why we have not stopped praying for you. We have been praying for you since the day we heard about you. We keep asking God to fill you with the knowledge of what he wants. We pray he will give you the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. 10Then you will be able to lead a life that is worthy of the Lord. We pray that you will please him in every way. So we want you to bear fruit in every good thing you do. We pray that you will grow to know God better. 11We want you to be very strong, in keeping with his glorious power. We want you to be patient. We pray that you will never give up. 12We want you to give thanks with joy to the Father. He has made you fit to have what he will give to all his holy people. You will all receive a share in the kingdom of light. 13He has saved us from the kingdom of darkness. He has brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14Because of what the Son has done, we have been set free. Because of him, all our sins have been forgiven.
The Son of God Is Better Than Everything Else
15The Son is the exact likeness of God, who can’t be seen. The Son is first, and he is over all creation. 16All things were created in him. He created everything in heaven and on earth. He created everything that can be seen and everything that can’t be seen. He created kings, powers, rulers and authorities. All things have been created by him and for him. 17Before anything was created, he was already there. He holds everything together. 18And he is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning. He is the first to be raised from the dead. That happened so that he would be far above everything. 19God was pleased to have his whole nature living in Christ. 20God was pleased to bring all things back to himself. That’s because of what Christ has done. These things include everything on earth and in heaven. God made peace through Christ’s blood, by his death on the cross.
21At one time you were separated from God. You were enemies in your minds because of your evil ways. 22But because Christ died, God has brought you back to himself. Christ’s death has made you holy in God’s sight. So now you don’t have any flaw. You are free from blame. 23But you must keep your faith steady and firm. You must not move away from the hope the good news holds out to you. This is the good news that you heard. It has been preached to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, now serve the good news.
Paul’s Work for the Church
24I am happy because of what I am suffering for you. My suffering joins with and continues the sufferings of Christ. I suffer for his body, which is the church. 25I serve the church. God appointed me to bring the complete word of God to you. 26That word contains the mystery that has been hidden for many ages. But now it has been made known to the Lord’s people. 27God has chosen to make known to them the glorious riches of that mystery. He has made it known among the Gentiles. And here is what it is. Christ is in you. He is your hope of glory.
28Christ is the one we preach about. With all the wisdom we have, we warn and teach everyone. When we bring them to God, we want them to be like Christ. We want them to be grown up as people who belong to Christ. 29That’s what I’m working for. I work hard with all the strength of Christ. His strength works powerfully in me.
Okwebaza n’okusaba
11:1 a 1Ko 1:1 b 2Ko 1:1Nze Pawulo, omutume wa Kristo Yesu olw’okwagala kwa Katonda, wamu ne Timoseewo owooluganda, 21:2 a Bak 4:18 b Bar 1:7tuwandiikira abantu ba Katonda, abatukuvu era abooluganda abeesigwa mu Kristo ab’e Kkolosaayi, nti ekisa n’emirembe ebiva eri Katonda Kitaffe bibeerenga nammwe.
31:3 Bar 1:8Buli bwe tubasabira, twebaza Katonda, Kitaawe wa Mukama waffe Yesu Kristo. 41:4 a Bag 5:6 b Bef 1:15Twawulira okukkiriza kwe mulina mu Kristo Yesu, n’okwagala kwe mulina eri abantu ba Katonda bonna, abatukuvu, 51:5 a 1Bs 5:8; Tit 1:2 b 1Pe 1:4olw’essuubi eryabategekerwa mu ggulu, lye mwawulirako mu kigambo eky’amazima, ye Enjiri. 61:6 a Yk 15:16 b Bar 10:18Enjiri yajja gye muli, era ebunye mu nsi yonna ng’ebala ebibala era nga yeeyongera okukula. Okuviira ddala lwe mwasooka okugiwulira, ne mutegeerera ddala amazima agali mu kisa kya Katonda, Enjiri ebadde yeeyongera okubuna mu mmwe. 71:7 a Fir 23 b Bak 4:7Epafula muddu munnaffe omwagalwa omuweereza wa Kristo omwesigwa gye muli, eyabatuusaako Enjiri eyo, 81:8 Bar 15:30ye yatubuulira okwagala kwe mulina mu Mwoyo.
91:9 a Bef 5:17 b Bef 1:17Noolwekyo, okuviira ddala ku lunaku lwe twawulira ebibafaako, tetulekangayo kubasabira na kubeegayiririra mujjuzibwe okumanya Katonda by’ayagala mu magezi gonna ne mu kutegeera okw’omwoyo. 101:10 Bef 4:1Era tweyongera okubasabira, mutambulenga nga musiimibwa Mukama era nga mumusanyusa mu buli byonna bye mukola, era nga mubala ebibala mu buli mulimu omulungi, era nga mukula mu kutegeera Katonda. 111:11 a Bef 3:16 b Bef 4:2Amaanyi ag’ekitiibwa kye, galibafuula abagumiikiriza mu buli nsonga yonna, mulyoke musanyuke, 121:12 a Bef 5:20 b Bik 20:32nga mwebaza Kitaffe eyatusaanyiza okugabana ku birungi bye yategekera abantu be abatukuvu ab’obwakabaka obw’ekitangaala. 131:13 Bik 26:18Katonda eyatuwonya n’atuggya mu maanyi g’ekizikiza aga Setaani, n’atutwala mu bwakabaka bw’Omwana we omwagalwa, 14atusonyiwa ebibi byaffe, n’atufuula ba ddembe.
Obulamu bwa Kristo
151:15 a 2Ko 4:4 b Yk 1:18Mu ye mwe tulabira Katonda oyo atalabika, era ye yasooka okubeerawo nga byonna tebinnabaawo. 161:16 a Yk 1:3 b Bef 1:20, 21 c Bar 11:36Mu ye ebintu byonna mwe byatondebwa mu ggulu ne ku nsi, ebirabika n’ebitalabika oba ntebe za bwakabaka oba bwami, oba bafuzi oba ab’obuyinza; ebintu byonna byatondebwa nga biyita mu ye era ku lulwe. 171:17 Yk 1:2Kristo yaliwo nga byonna tebinnabaawo, era mu ye ebintu byonna mwe binywezebwa. 181:18 a Bef 1:22 b Bik 26:23; Kub 1:5Ye gwe mutwe gw’omubiri, n’omubiri ogwo ye Kkanisa. Ye mubereberye, era ye yasooka okuzuukira mu bafu, alyoke abeerenga omubereberye mu byonna. 191:19 a Bef 1:5 b Yk 1:16Katonda yasiima okutuukiriza byonna mu ye, 201:20 a 2Ko 5:18 b Bef 1:10 c Bef 2:13era mu ye ebintu byonna bitabaganyizibwa gy’ali. Yaleetawo emirembe olw’omusaayi gwe, ogwayika ku musaalaba, alyoke atabaganye eby’ensi n’eby’omu ggulu.
211:21 a Bar 5:10 b Bef 2:3Edda temwali kumpi ne Katonda, era ebirowoozo byammwe n’ebikolwa byammwe ebibi bye byabalabisa ng’abakyawa Katonda. 22Naye kaakano mutabaganye ne Kristo olw’okufa kwe, abanjuleyo mu maaso ga Katonda nga muli batukuvu era abataliiko bbala wadde ekyokunenyezebwa. 23Muteekwa okubeerera ddala mu kukkiriza nga munywedde era nga temusagaasagana okuva mu ssuubi ery’Enjiri gye mwawulira, eyabuulirwa abantu bonna abali ku nsi, nze Pawulo gye nafuukira omuweereza waayo.
Okufuba kwa Pawulo ku lw’Ekkanisa
241:24 2Ko 1:5Kaakano nsanyuka olw’okubonaabona kwe mbonaabona ku lwammwe. Era kindeetera essanyu, kubanga ntuukiriza okubonaabona kwa Kristo mu mubiri gwange, nga mbonaabona ku lw’omubiri gwe, ye Kkanisa. 251:25 a nny 23 b Bef 3:2Katonda yateekateeka okunfuula omuweereza w’Ekkanisa ye ku lwammwe, ndyoke mbabuulire ekigambo kya Katonda mu bujjuvu. 261:26 Bar 16:25Ekyama ekyakwekebwa okuva edda n’edda lyonna, n’emirembe n’emirembe, kaakano kibikkuliddwa abantu be, be batukuvu be. 271:27 Mat 13:11Katonda bw’atyo bwe yasiima, alyoke amanyise Abaamawanga obugagga obw’ekitiibwa ky’ekyama ekyo. Ekyama ekyo ye Kristo abeera mu mmwe, era ly’essuubi ery’ekitiibwa.
281:28 a Bak 3:16 b 1Ko 2:6, 7 c Bef 5:27Kristo oyo gwe tutegeeza nga tuyigiriza buli muntu mu magezi gonna era nga tulabula buli omu, tulyoke twanjule buli muntu eri Katonda ng’atuukiridde mu Kristo. 291:29 a 1Ko 15:10 b Bak 2:1 c Bef 1:19Kyenva ntegana nga nfuba nga nkozesa obuyinza Katonda bw’ampa obw’amaanyi.
