Lesson 02
Col. 1:3-8
English Translations
last revised: 1/3/05

 
RSV KJV ASV LivBib NIV HCSB TEV DRB
NRSV NKJV NASB NLT NIRV BBE The Message WNT
Revised Standard Version
        3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 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--so among yourselves, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
New Revised Standard Version
        3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have 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. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. 7 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant.F2 He is a faithful minister of Christ on yourF3 behalf, 8 and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
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FOOTNOTES:
F2: Gk [slave]
F3: Other ancient authorities read [our]
King James Version
        3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: 7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; 8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
New King James Version
        3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit,F2 as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
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FOOTNOTES:
F2: NU-Text and M-Text add and growing.
American Standard Version
        3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints, 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as [it doth] in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
New American Standard Bible
        3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have forF4 all the saints;F5 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven,F6 of which you previously heard in the word of truth, theF7 gospel 6 which has come to you, just as inF8 all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing,F9 even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understoodF10 the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
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FOOTNOTES:
F4: Or {toward}
F5: Or {holy ones}
F6: Lit {the heavens}
F7: Or {of the gospel}
F8: Or {it is in the world}
F9: Or {spreading abroad}
F10: Or {came really to know}
Living Bible
        May God our Father shower you with blessings and fill you with his great peace. 3 Whenever we pray for you we always begin by giving thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have head how much you trust the Lord, and how much you love his people. 5 And you are looking forward to the joys of heaven, and have been ever since the Gospel first was preached to you. 6 The same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world and changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard it and understood about God's great kindness to sinners.
        7 Epaphras, our much-loved fellow worker, was the one who brought you this Good News. He is Jesus Christ's faithful slave, here to help us in your place. 8 And he is the one who has told us about the great love for others which the Holy Spirit has given you.
New Living Translation
        3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have heard that you trust in Christ Jesus and that you love all of God's people. 5 You do this because you are looking forward to the joys of heaven – as you have been ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. 6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God's great kindness to sinners. 7 Epaphras, our much loved co-worker, was the one who brought you the Good News. He is Christ's faithful servant, and he is helping us in your place.F2 8 He is the one who told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
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FOOTNOTES:
F2: Greek he is ministering on your behalf; other manuscripts read he is ministering on our behalf.
New International Version
        3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints -- 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[3] behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
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FOOTNOTES:
3. 1:7 Some manuscripts your
New International Readers Version
        3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4 We thank him because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus. We have also heard that you love all of God's people. 5 Your 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 message of truth was given to you. I'm talking about the good news 6 that has come to you. All over the world the good news is bearing fruit and growing. It has been doing that among you since the day you heard it. That is when you understood God's grace in all its truth. 7 You 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. 8 He also told us about your love that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Holman Christian Standard Bible
        3 We always thank 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 the love you have for all the saints 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, 6 the gospel that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God's grace in the truth. 7 You learned this from Epaphras, our much loved fellow slave. He is a faithful minister of the Messiah on your behalf, 8 and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.
Bible in Basic English
        3 We give praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, making prayer for you at all times, 4 After hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have for all the saints, 5 Through the hope which is in store for you in heaven; knowledge of which was given to you before in the true word of the good news, 6 Which has come to you; and which in all the world is giving fruit and increase, as it has done in you from the day when it came to your ears and you had true knowledge of the grace of God; 7 As it was given to you by Epaphras, our well-loved helper, who is a true servant of Christ for us, 8 And who, himself, made clear to us your love in the Spirit.
Good News for Modern Man: Today's English Version
        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 ourF1 behalf. 8 He has told us of the love that the Spirit has given you.
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FOOTNOTES:
F1: our; [some manuscripts have] your.
The Message
        3 Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can't quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! 4 We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. 5 The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. 6 It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you've been hungry for more. 7 It's as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. 8 He's the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit.
The Douay-Rheims Bible
        3 Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. 4 Hearing your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have towards all the saints. 5 For the hope that is laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 Which is come unto you, as also it is in the whole world and bringeth forth fruit and groweth, even as it doth in you, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. 7 As you learned of Epaphras, our most beloved fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ Jesus; 8 Who also hath manifested your love in the spirit.
Weymouth New Testament
        3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, constantly praying for you as we do, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you cherish towards all God's people, 5 on account of the hope treasured up for you in Heaven. Of this hope you have already heard in the Message of the truth of the Good News. 6 For it has reached you, and remains with you, just as it has also spread through the whole world, yielding fruit there and increasing, as it has done among you from the day when first you heard it and came really to know the grace of God, 7 as you learned it from Epaphras our dearly-loved fellow servant. He is to you a faithful minister of Christ in our stead, 8 and moreover he has informed us of your love, which is inspired by the Spirit.

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