1 From Paul, who by God's will is an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy—
2 To God's people in Colossae, who are our faithful friends in union with Christ:
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
3 We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all God's people. 5 When the true message, the Good News, first came to you, you heard about the hope it offers. So your faith and love are based on what you hope for, which is kept safe for you in heaven. 6 The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is. 7 You learned of God's grace from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is Christ's faithful worker on our behalf. 8 He has told us of the love that the Spirit has given you.
9 For this reason we have always prayed for you, ever since we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives. 10 Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God. 11-12 May you be made strong with all the strength which comes from his glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with patience. And with joy give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light. 13 He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son, 14 by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.
The Person and Work of Christ
15 Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. 16 For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. 17 Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. 18 He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things. 19 For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. 20 Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.
21 At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought. 22 But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless, into his presence. 23 You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the gospel. It is of this gospel that I, Paul, became a servant—this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the world.
Paul's Work as a Servant of the Church
24 And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the church. 25 And I have been made a servant of the church by God, who gave me this task to perform for your good. It is the task of fully proclaiming his message, 26 which is the secret he hid through all past ages from all human beings but has now revealed to his people. 27 God's plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. 28 So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. 29 To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me.
1 Ontumwafo ndjika oya zi kuPaulus, omuyapostoli gwaKristus Jesus, kehalo lyaKalunga, nokomumwameme Timoteus.
2 Oya nyolelwa aantu yaKalunga ye li muKolossa naamwameme aainekelwa muKristus.
Esilohenda nombili yaKalunga Tate nayi kale pamwe nane.
Egalikano lyehambelelo
3 Tse aluhe otatu hambelele Kalunga, He yOmuwa gwetu Jesus Kristus, sho tatu mu galikanene. 4 Oshoka otu uvu eitaalo lyeni okwiitaala Kristus Jesus nohole yeni okuhola aantu yaKalunga ayehe. 5 Ano elaka etoye nolyoshili sho lyu uvithilwa mokati keni, omu uvu lwotango etegameno ndyoka tali li gandja. One omu uva kutya shoka mwe shi tegamena pauvaneko, oshe mu pungulilwa nawa megulu, onkee eitaalo lyeni nohole yeni oya kankamekwa ketegameno ndyoka. 6 Evaangeli olye eta omayambeko nolya taandele nuuyuni auhe, ngashika naanaa lya taandele mokati keni, okuza kesiku ndyoka mu uvu lwotango esilohenda lyaKalunga nomwi ilongo oku li tseya naanaa ngashika li li. 7 Shika omwe shi longwa kuEpafras, omuyakuli mukwetu omuholike nomwiinekelwa moshilonga shaKristus peha lyetu. 8 Oye okwe tu hokololele ohole yeni ndjoka mwe yi pewa kOmbepo.
9 Onkee ano tse ohatu mu galikanene aluhe okuza kesiku ndyoka tu uvu sha kombinga yeni. Tse otatu indile Kalunga, e mu udhithe Ombepo ye, ndjoka tayi mu pe ontseyo okutseya ehalo lye nuunongo auhe noondunge. 10 Nena otamu ka vula okukala ngashika Omuwa a hala mu kale, nokulonga aluhe shoka she mu opalela. Okukalamwenyo kweni otaku ka kala ihe kwa yambekwa miilonga ayihe iiwanawa, nontseyo yeni okutseya Kalunga otayi ka koka. 11 Oonkondo ndhoka tadhi zi mesimano lyoonkondo dhaKristus, nadhi mu koleke, opo mu wape okwiidhidhimikila ashihe shoka tashi mu adha. 12 Nyanyukweni ne mu hambelele Tate Kalunga, ngoka e mu ningi mu kale mu na oshitopolwa sheni moshipewa shoka a kala e shi nunina aantu ye moshilongo shuuyelele. 13 Oshoka Kalunga oye e tu nakula mo mepangelo lyomilema nokwe tu eta moshilongo shOmwana omuholike. 14 Omwana oye tuu ngoka e tu mangulula nokwa dhimi po oondjo dhetu.
Kristus noshilonga she shekulilo
15 Kristus oye olupe lu wetike lwaKalunga, ngoka ihaa monika. Oye omutango gwiishitwa ayihe noku li kombanda yiishitwa ayihe. 16 Kalunga okwa shititha Kristus iinima ayihe yomegulu noyokombanda yevi, iinima mbyoka yi wetike naambyoka yaa wetike, ongele oonkondo dhomombepo nenge aaleli nenge omapangelo. Kalunga okwe mu shititha ewangandjo alihe. 17 Kristus okwa li ko manga iinima ayihe ya li yaa ko. Onkee muukumwe naye iinima ayihe otayi ka kala yi li pomahala gayolela. 18 Oye omutse gwolutu, nokutya gwegongalo. Oye oluthithiya lwomwenyo gwomolutu nomutango mokuyumudhwa kuusi, opo a kale oye awike omutango miinima ayihe. 19 Oshoka Kalunga okwa tokola, Omwana a kale e na egwanopo lyondjelo ayihe yaKalunga muye mwene. 20 MolwOmwana okwa panga ombili nuuyuni auhe meso lyOmwana lyokomushigakano. Osho ngeyi Kalunga okwa galulile kuye iinima ayihe yokombanda yevi noyomegulu.
21 One omwa kala nale kokule naKalunga nomwi iningi aatondi ye miilonga nomomadhiladhilo geni omawinayi. 22 Ihe ngashingeyi Kalunga okwe mu hanganitha naye mwene molweso lyOmwana, opo e mu ninge aayapuki, aayelele nomwaa na oondjo koshipala she. 23 Onkee ano dhiginineni eitaalo lyeni. Ikoleleleni komukanka ngoka gwa kola nogwashili. Inamu pitika, mu nakulwe mo metegameno lyeni ndyoka mwe li ilikolele, sho mu uvu nomwa taamba evaangeli. Evaangeli ndyoka ngame Paulus nda ningi omuyakuli gwalyo, olyo tuu ndyoka tali uvithilwa aantu ayehe yomuuyuni.
Eyakulo lyaPaulus
24 Ngame onda nyanyukwa ngashingeyi, sho tandi hepekwa omolweni. Oshoka mokuhepekwa ngeyi kolutu otandi kwathele okutsakanitha shoka sha hupa ko natango shomomahepeko gaKristus molwolutu lwe, kokutya egongalo. 25 Kalunga okwa ningi ndje omuyakuli gwegongalo, sho a pe ndje oshilonga shoka, ndi shi longe omoluuwanawa weni. Oshilonga shika osho okuuvitha oohapu dhe, 26 ndhoka dha kala shito oshiholekwa shoka Kalunga a kala e shi holeka aantu ayehe omathimbo agehe ngoka ga piti, ihe ngashingeyi okwe shi hololele aantu ye. 27 Oshoka ompangela yaKalunga oyo okutseyithila aantu ye oshiholekwa shuuyamba noshesimano ndyoka a kala e li nunina aantu ye. Oshiholekwa osho shika kutya Kristus oku li mune, kokutya one otamu ka kala mu na oshitopolwa meadhimo lyaKalunga. 28 Onkee ano tse otatu uvithile aantu ayehe Kristus. Otatu londodha notatu longo omuntu kehe muunongo auhe mboka tau vulu okwaadhika. Otatu kaleke kehe gumwe puuyelele koshipala shaKalunga, a ninge omukuluntu a koka muukumwe naKristus. 29 Onkee ano otandi ihepeke notandi kondjo, opo ndi adhe ethikilo ndyoka. Otandi longo koonkondo dhaKristus ndhoka dhi li mungame.
