Colossians 4

⁸because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

⁹And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

¹⁴Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.

¹⁵You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

²So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’

⁴⁸But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’

⁴⁹And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

¹⁷Pray without ceasing.

¹⁸Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.

⁴¹“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

¹Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:

¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

²⁷When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

¹Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.

²And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not everyone holds to the faith.

¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

¹⁴And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.

¹So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

¹²Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord,

¹Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.

²Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

¹²Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

¹⁵For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

⁴My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

⁵so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

¹⁵Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

¹⁶redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

¹²Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

¹⁹Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

²⁹Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

¹⁵But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,

¹²The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.

⁵⁰Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

⁴A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the hearts of fools.

²¹Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing.

²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

⁴Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

¹²Tychicus, however, I have sent to Ephesus.

¹²As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.

¹So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

²Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

⁹With him I am sending Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

²that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,

¹⁸I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus exploit you in any way? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and follow in the same footsteps?

¹⁷That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.

¹¹For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—

⁵For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.

¹⁰I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.

¹¹Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

⁷Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.

²⁹Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.

³⁸But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

²We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

⁴Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him

¹⁰For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision,

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,

¹²And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

⁶But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,

⁷and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more.

³⁰Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

⁹For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

²⁸We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

⁷You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,

¹⁴I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, brimming with knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

¹For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face,

³For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord,

¹⁴To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.

¹⁵I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!

²For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.

¹¹saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹⁵Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.

¹⁶After this letter has been read among you, make sure that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

¹⁰because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.

⁵Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

⁹because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.

²to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:

²⁷I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

¹⁴Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.

²to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:

¹⁷He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

¹⁶Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

¹So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

²Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

¹¹Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, to minister before Him, and to burn incense.”

³Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.

²¹which some have professed and thus swerved away from the faith. Grace be with you all.

²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.

²¹This greeting is in my own hand—Paul.

²⁵Grace be with all of you.

¹⁵All who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.