^1:18He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn³² from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.³³

^1:19For God³⁴ was pleased to have all his³⁵ fullness dwell³⁶ in the Son³⁷

Read in Logos

Colossians 1:19–20: For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Footnotes

31 συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.
32 See the note on the term “firstborn” in . Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.
33 Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”
34 The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokēsen).
35 The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.
36 The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikēsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.
37 Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

NIVNew International Version (2011)

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

CSBChristian Standard Bible

He is before all things,

and by him all things hold together.

He is also the head of the body, the church;

he is the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead,

so that he might come to have

first place in everything.

For God was pleased to have

all his fullness dwell in him,

NLTNew Living Translation

He existed before anything else,

and he holds all creation together.

Christ is also the head of the church,

which is his body.

He is the beginning,

supreme over all who rise from the dead.

So he is first in everything.

For God in all his fullness

was pleased to live in Christ,

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

and he himself is before all things, and in him all things are held together, and he himself is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in everything, because he was well pleased for all the fullness to dwell in him,

KJV 1900King James Version

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Public Domain