Colossians 1:13–22

The Incomparable Christ

¹³¹For He rescued us from the ^2adomain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^3bHis beloved Son,

^14ain whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵¹He is the ^aimage of the ^binvisible God, the ^cfirstborn of all creation.

¹⁶For ^1aby Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^bthrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—^call things have been created through Him and for Him.

¹⁷He ^1ais before all things, and in Him all things ²hold together.

¹⁸He is also ^ahead of ^bthe body, the church; and He is ^cthe beginning, ^dthe firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

¹⁹For ¹it was ^athe Father’s good pleasure for all ^bthe ²fullness to dwell in Him,

²⁰and through Him to ^areconcile all things to Himself, having made ^bpeace through ^cthe blood of His cross; through Him, I say, ^dwhether things on earth or things in ¹heaven.

²¹And although you were ^aformerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,

²²yet He has now ^areconciled you in His fleshly ^bbody through death, in order to ^cpresent you before Him ^dholy and blameless and beyond reproach—