Colossians: Revised Murdock Translation

I.

¹ PAULOS, a apostle of Yeshua Mshikha by the pleasure of Alaha, and Timotheos a brother,

² to them who are at Colosse, the brethren, holy and believing in Yeshua Mshikha: peace be with you, and grace from Alaha our Father.

³ We give thanks to Alaha, the Father of Maran Yeshua Mshikha, at all times, and pray for you;

⁴ lo, ever since we heard of your faith in Yeshua Mshikha, and of your love to all the saints;

⁵ because of the hope that is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of truth of the gospel;

⁶ which is announced to you, as also to all the world; and which grows and yields fruits, as it does also among you from the day you heard and knew the grace of Alaha in reality:

⁷ as you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Mshikha;

⁸ and who has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ Therefore we also, from the day we heard [of it], have not ceased to pray for you; and to ask that you may be filled with a knowledge of the good pleasure of Alaha, in all wisdom, and in all spiritual understanding;

¹⁰ that you may walk as is right, and may please Alaha with all good works, and may yield fruits, and grow in the knowledge of Alaha;

¹¹ and may be strengthened with all strength, according to the greatness of his glory, in all patience and long suffering;

¹² and may, with joy, give thanks to Alaha the Father, who has fitted us for a portion of the inheritance of the saints in light;

¹³ and has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son;

¹⁴ by whom we have redemption and remission of sins:

¹⁵ who is the likeness of the invisible Alaha, and the first-born of all creatures:

¹⁶ and by him was created every thing that is in heaven and on earth, all that is seen and all that is unseen, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or sovereignties; every thing was through him, and was created by him:

¹⁷ and he was prior to all, and by him every thing exists.

¹⁸ And he is the head of the body the church; as he is the head and first-born from among the dead, that he might be the first in all things.

¹⁹ For it pleased [the Father], that in him all fullness should dwell;

²⁰ and by him, to reconcile all things to himself; and through him, he has pacified, with the blood of his cross, both [those] on earth and those in heaven.

²¹ And also to you, who were before alienated and enemies in your minds, because of your evil deeds,

²² to you, he has now given peace, by the body of his flesh, and by his death; that he might establish you in his presence, holy, without blemish, and without offense;

²³ provided you continue in your faith, your foundation being firm, and you be not removed from the hope of the gospel; of which you have heard, that it is proclaimed in all the creation beneath heaven; of which [gospel] I Paulos am a minister.

²⁴ And I rejoice in the sufferings which are for your sakes; and, in my flesh, I fill up the deficiency in the afflictions of Mshikha, in behalf of his body, which is the church;

²⁵ of which I am a minister, according to the dispensation of Alaha which is given to me among you, that I should fulfill the word of Alaha,

²⁶ [namely,] that mystery, which was hidden for ages and generations, but is now revealed to his saints;

²⁷ to whom Alaha would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which [mystery] is Mshikha; who in you is the hope of our glory;

²⁸ whom we proclaim, and teach and make known to every man, in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Yeshua Mshikha.

²⁹ And for this also, I toil and strive, with the aid of the strength that is imparted to me.

II.

¹ And I wish you to know, what a struggle I have for you, and for them of Laodicea, and for the others who have not seen my face in the flesh;

² that their hearts may be comforted, and that they, by love, may come to all the riches of assurance, and to the understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of Alaha the Father, and of Mshikha,

³ in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge.

⁴ And this I say, lest any one should mislead you by the persuasiveness of words.

⁵ For though I am separated from you in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit; and I rejoice at beholding your good order, and the stability of your faith in Mshikha.

⁶ As therefore you have received Yeshua Mshikha Maran, walk you in him,

⁷ strengthening your roots and building up yourselves in him, and establishing yourselves in the faith which you have learned, in which may you abound in thanksgiving.

⁸ Beware, lest any man make you naked by philosophy, and by vain deception, according to the doctrines of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Mshikha,

⁹ in whom dwells all the fullness of the Divinity corporeally.

¹⁰ And in him you are also complete, because he is the head of all principalities and authorities.

¹¹ And in him you have been circumcised with a circumcision without hands, by casting off the flesh of sins, by a circumcision of Mshikha.

¹² And you have been buried with him, by baptism; and by it you have risen with him; while you believed in the power of Alaha, who raised him from the dead.

¹³ And you, who were dead in your sins, and by the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has vivified with him; and he has forgiven us all our sins:

¹⁴ and, by his mandates, he blotted out the handwriting of our debts, which [handwriting] existed against us, and took [it] from the midst, and affixed [it] to his cross.

¹⁵ And, by yielding up his body, he showed contempt for principalities and authorities; and put them to shame, openly, in his own person.

¹⁶ Let no one therefore disquiet you about food and drink, or about the distinctions of festivals, and new moons, and sabbaths;

¹⁷ which were shadows of the things then future; but the body is Mshikha.

¹⁸ And let no one wish, by abasing the mind, to bring you under bonds, that you subject yourselves to the worship of angels; while he is prying into that which he has not seen, and is vainly inflated in his fleshly mind,

¹⁹ and holds not the head, from which the whole body is framed and constructed, with joints and members, and grows with the growth [given] of Alaha.

²⁰ For if you are dead with Mshikha from the rudiments of the world, why are you judged as if you were living in the world?

²¹ But, touch you not, and taste you not, and handle you not:

²² for these things perish in the using; and they are the commandments and doctrines of men.

²³ And they seem to have a kind of wisdom, in a show of humility, and of the fear of Alaha, and of not sparing the body; not in any thing of excellence, but in things subservient to the body.

III.

¹ If then you have risen with Mshikha, seek the things on high, where Mshikha sits on the right hand of Alaha.

² Think of things on high; not of the things on earth:

³ for you are dead; and your life is hidden with Mshikha, in Alaha.

⁴ And when Mshikha, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall you also be manifested with him in glory.

⁵ Mortify therefore your members that are on the earth; whoredom, impurity, and the passions, and evil concupiscence, and avarice which is idolatry.

⁶ For on account of these [things], the wrath of Alaha comes on the children of disobedience.

⁷ And in these [things] you also formerly walked, when you lived in them.

⁸ But now, put away from you all these, wrath, anger, malice, reviling, filthy talking:

⁹ and lie not one to another; but put off the old man, with all his practices;

¹⁰ and put you on the new [man], that is renewed in knowledge, after the likeness of his Creator;

¹¹ where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, neither Greek nor barbarian, neither bond nor free; but Mshikha is all, and in all.

¹² Therefore, holy and beloved, as the elect of Alaha, put you on compassions, and tenderness, and suavity, and humbleness of mind, and gentleness, and long suffering.

¹³ And be you indulgent towards one another, and forgiving to one another: and if any one has a complaint against his neighbor, as Mshikha forgave you, so also do you forgive.

¹⁴ And with all these, [join] love, which is the girdle of perfection.

¹⁵ And let the peace of Mshikha direct your hearts; for to that you have been called, in one body; and be you thankful to Mshikha.

¹⁶ And let his word dwell in you richly, in all wisdom. And teach and admonish yourselves, by psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and with grace in your hearts sing you unto Alaha.

¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or act, do it in the name of Maran Yeshua Mshikha, and give thanksgiving through him to Alaha the Father.

¹⁸ Wives, be you subject to your husbands, as is right in Mshikha.

¹⁹ Husbands, love you your wives, and be not bitter towards them.

²⁰ Children, obey your parents in every thing; for this is pleasing before Maran.

²¹ Parents, anger not your children, lest they be discouraged.

²² Servants, obey in all things your bodily masters; not in the sight of the eye only, as those who please men, but with a simple heart, and in the fear of Mar-Yah.

²³ And whatever you do, do it with your whole soul, as unto Maran, and not as to men:

²⁴ and know you, that from Maran you will receive a recompense as the inheritance; for you serve Mar-Yah Mshikha.

²⁵ But the delinquent will receive a recompense, according to the delinquency; and there is no respect of persons.

IV.

¹ Masters, do equity and justice to your servants; and be conscious that you also have a master in heaven.

² Persevere in prayer; and be watchful in it, and in giving thanks.

³ And pray also for us, that Alaha would open to us a door of speech, for uttering the mystery of Mshikha, for the sake of which I am in bonds;

⁴ that I may unfold it, and utter it, as it behooves me.

⁵ Walk in wisdom towards them without: and redeem your opportunity.

⁶ And let your speech at all times be with grace; as it were, seasoned with salt: and know you, how you ought to give answer to every man.

⁷ And what is [occurrent] with me, will Tychicus make known to you; who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister, and our fellow-servant in Mar-Yah:

⁸ whom I have sent to you for this purpose, that he might know your affairs, and might comfort your hearts;

⁹ together with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is from among you. These will make known to you what is [occurrent] with us.

¹⁰ Aristarchus, my fellow-captive, salutes you; also Marcus, an uncle's son to Barnabas, of whom you have received directions, that if he come to you, you may kindly receive him:

¹¹ also Yeshua, who is called Justus. These are of the circumcision, and they only have aided me in the kingdom of Alaha; and they have been a comfort to me.

¹² Epaphras salutes you, who is from among you, a servant of Mshikha, always laboring for you in prayer, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the good pleasure of Alaha.

¹³ For I testify for him, that he has great zeal for you, and for them of Laodicea, and for them of Hierapolis.

¹⁴ Luke the physician, our beloved, salutes you; also Demas.

¹⁵ Salute you the brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church in his house.

¹⁶ And when this epistle shall have been read among you, cause it to be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that which is written from Laodicea, do you read.

¹⁷ And say to Archippus: Be attentive to the ministry which you have received in Maran, that you fulfill it.

¹⁸ This salutation is by the hand of me Paulos. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.

End of the Epistle to the Colossians; which was written from Rome, and was sent by the hands of Tychicus.