Lev 27:21, 28, Col | ESV | STEP | But the field , when it is released in the jubilee , shall be a holy gift to the Lord , like a field that has been devoted . The priest shall be in possession of it.

21 But the field, ^awhen it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the Lord, like a field that has been ^bdevoted. The priest shall be in ^cpossession of it.

Leviticus 27:28

28 “But ^dno devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.

Paul wrote to the church in Colossae to fortify it against false teachers who might try to impose strict rules about eating and drinking and religious festivals. Paul shows the superiority of Christ over all human philosophies and traditions. He writes of Christ’s deity (“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” [1:15]) and of the reconciliation he accomplished with his blood. He explains that the right way of living in this world is to focus on heavenly rather than earthly things. God’s chosen people must leave their sinful lives behind and live in a godly way, looking to Christ as the head of the church (1:18). Paul wrote while in prison, probably about the same time as he wrote to the Ephesians.

Colossians 1

Greeting

1 Paul, ^ean apostle of Christ Jesus ^fby the will of God, and Timothy ^gour brother,

2 To the ^hsaints and faithful brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church} in Christ at Colossae:

^jGrace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 ^kWe always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of ^lyour faith in Christ Jesus and of ^mthe love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of ⁿthe hope ^olaid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in ^pthe word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed ^qin the whole world it is ^rbearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you ^sheard it and understood ^tthe grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from ^uEpaphras our beloved ^vfellow servant. ^{▼▼Greek fellow bondservant} He is ^xa faithful minister of Christ on your ^{▼▼Some manuscripts our} behalf 8 and has made known to us your ^zlove in the Spirit.

9 And so, ^aafrom the day we heard, ^abwe have not ceased to pray for you, asking that ^acyou may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all ^adspiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as ^aeto walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^affully pleasing to him: ^agbearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 ^ahbeing strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for ^aiall endurance and patience ^ajwith joy; 12 ^akgiving thanks ^{▼▼Or patience, with joy giving thanks} to the Father, who has qualified you ^{▼▼Some manuscripts us} to share in ^anthe inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He ^aohas delivered us from ^apthe domain of darkness and transferred us to ^aqthe kingdom of ^arhis beloved Son, 14 ^asin whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

15 ^atHe is the image of ^authe invisible God, ^avthe firstborn of all creation. 16 For by ^{▼▼That is, by means of; or in} him all things were created, ^axin heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^aythrones or ^azdominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^bathrough him and for him. 17 And ^bbhe is before all things, and in him all things ^bchold together. 18 And ^bdhe is the head of the body, the church. He is ^bethe beginning, ^bfthe firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For ^bgin him all the ^bhfullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and ^bithrough him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^bjmaking peace ^bkby the blood of his cross.

21 ^blAnd you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, ^bmdoing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled ^bnin his body of flesh by his death, ^boin order to present you holy and blameless and ^bpabove reproach before him, 23 ^bqif indeed you continue in the faith, ^brstable and steadfast, not shifting from ^bsthe hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed ^btin all creation ^{▼▼Or to every creature} under heaven, ^bvand of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul’s Ministry to the Church

24 Now ^bwI rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^bxI am filling up ^bywhat is lacking in Christ’s afflictions ^bzfor the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 ^caof which I became a minister according to ^cbthe stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 ^ccthe mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 ^cdTo them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are ^cethe riches of the glory of ^cfthis mystery, which is Christ in you, ^cgthe hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that ^chwe may present everyone ^cimature in Christ. 29 For this ^cjI toil, ^ckstruggling ^clwith all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Colossians 2

1 For I want you to know ^cmhow great a ^cnstruggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that ^cotheir hearts may be encouraged, being ^cpknit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of ^cqGod’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 ^crin whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order ^csthat no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For ^ctthough I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your ^cugood order and ^cvthe firmness of your faith in Christ.

Alive in Christ

6 ^cwTherefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 ^cxrooted and ^cybuilt up in him and ^czestablished in the faith, just ^daas you were taught, abounding ^dbin thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by ^dcphilosophy and ^ddempty deceit, according to ^dehuman tradition, according to the ^dfelemental spirits ^{▼▼Or elementary principles; also verse 20} of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For ^dhin him the whole fullness of deity dwells ^dibodily, 10 and ^djyou have been filled in him, who is ^dkthe head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also ^dlyou were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by ^dmputting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 ^dnhaving been buried with him in baptism, in which ^doyou were also raised with him through faith in ^dpthe powerful working of God, ^dqwho raised him from the dead. 13 ^drAnd you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God ^dsmade alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by ^dtcanceling ^duthe record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 ^dvHe disarmed the rulers and authorities ^{▼▼Probably demonic rulers and authorities} and ^dxput them to open shame, by ^dytriumphing over them in him. ^{▼▼Or in it (that is, the cross)}

Let No One Disqualify You

16 Therefore let no one ^eapass judgment on you ^ebin questions of food and drink, or with regard to ^eca festival or ^eda new moon or a Sabbath. 17 ^eeThese are a shadow of the things to come, but ^efthe substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one ^egdisqualify you, ^ehinsisting on asceticism and worship of angels, ^eigoing on in detail about visions, ^{▼▼Or about the things he has seen} ^ekpuffed up without reason by ^elhis sensuous mind, 19 and ^emnot ^enholding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ ^eoyou died to the ^epelemental spirits of the world, ^eqwhy, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 ^er“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 ( ^esreferring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to ^ethuman precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in ^eupromoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are ^evof no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Colossians 3

Put On the New Self

1 ^ewIf then you have been raised with Christ, seek ^exthe things that are above, where Christ is, ^eyseated at the right hand of God. 2 ^ezSet your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For ^fayou have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ ^fbwho is your ^{▼▼Some manuscripts our} life ^fdappears, then you also will appear with him ^fein glory.

5 ^ffPut to death therefore ^fgwhat is earthly in you: ^{▼▼Greek therefore your members that are on the earth} ^fisexual immorality, impurity, ^fjpassion, evil desire, and covetousness, ^fkwhich is idolatry. 6 ^flOn account of these the wrath of God is coming. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add upon the sons of disobedience} 7 ^fnIn these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now ^foyou must put them all away: ^fpanger, wrath, malice, ^fqslander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 ^frDo not lie to one another, seeing that ^fsyou have put off ^ftthe old self ^{▼▼Greek man; also as supplied in verse 10} with its practices 10 and ^fvhave put on ^fwthe new self, ^fxwhich is being renewed in knowledge ^fyafter the image of ^fzits creator. 11 ^gaHere there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, ^{▼▼Greek bondservant} free; but Christ is ^gcall, and in all.

12 ^gdPut on then, as ^geGod’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, ^gfcompassionate hearts, ^ggkindness, ^ghhumility, meekness, and patience, 13 ^gibearing with one another and, ^gjif one has a complaint against another, ^gkforgiving each other; ^glas the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on ^gmlove, which ^gnbinds everything together in ^goperfect harmony. 15 And let ^gpthe peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called ^gqin one body. And ^grbe thankful. 16 Let ^gsthe word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, ^gtsinging psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ^guwith thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And ^gvwhatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, ^gwgiving thanks to God the Father through him.

Rules for Christian Households

18 ^gxWives, submit to your husbands, as ^gyis fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and ^gzdo not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents ^hain everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, ^{▼▼Or Slaves; also 4:1 (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)} obey ^hcin everything those who are your earthly masters, ^{▼▼Or your masters according to the flesh} not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 ^heWhatever you do, work heartily, ^hfas for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord ^hgyou will receive the inheritance as your reward. ^hhYou are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

Colossians 4

1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

2 ^hiContinue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it ^hjwith thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may ^hkopen to us a door for the word, ^hlto declare the mystery of Christ, ^hmon account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 ^hnWalk in wisdom toward ^hooutsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always ^hpbe gracious, ^hqseasoned with salt, ^hrso that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Final Greetings

7 Tychicus will tell you ^hsall about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant ^{▼▼Greek fellow bondservant; also verse 12} in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him ^huOnesimus, our faithful and ^hvbeloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

10 ^hwAristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark ^hxthe cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions— ^hyif he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called ^hzJustus. ^iaThese are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and ^ibthey have been a comfort to me. 12 ^icEpaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always ^idstruggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand ^iemature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 ^ifLuke the beloved physician greets you, as does ^igDemas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters} at Laodicea, and to Nympha and ⁱⁱthe church in her house. 16 And when ^ijthis letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to ^ikArchippus, “See that you fulfill ^ilthe ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

18 I, Paul, ^imwrite this greeting with my own hand. ⁱⁿRemember ^iomy chains. ^ipGrace be with you.