1 Paulub, Elob ǂâisa ǃoa a Xristub Jesub di aposteli* tsî sada ǃgâsab Timoteub hâkha xu.
2 Elob di khoen Koloses ǃnâ hân tsî Xristub ǃnâ a ǂgomǂgomsa ǃgâsana ǃoa:
ǀKhommi tsî ǂkhîba sada ǁGûb Eloba xu.
Ganganǀgores
3 Sikhom ge hoaǁae Elob tsî ǁGûb sada ǃKhūb Jesub Xristub diba ra gangan, sado khom ga ǀgorebao. 4 Sikhom ge sadu di Xristub Jesub ǃnâ ǂgoms tsî hoa khoen Elob dina du ūba hâ ǀnammi xa ge ǁnâu, 5 ǁnā ǃâubasens hîa du ǀhommi ǃnâ ūbahe hâs ǃaroma. ǁÎs hîa du ge amab di ǃGâiǂhôas ǃnâ ǀnai a ǁnâus, 6 sadu tawa ge sīsa. ǃHūbaib hoaragab ǃnâs ge ǃGâiǂhôasa ǂûtani tsî ra ǀomkhâi, ǁnā tsēs hîa du ge ǁîsa ǁnâu tsî Elob di ǀkhommi a ama ǃkhaisa ǂansa xu. 7 Sadu ge Epafrab, sikhom di ǀnamsa ǃoabaǁare-aob, Xristub di ǂgomǂgomsa ǃoaba-aoba xu ǁkhāǁkhāsen khami. 8 ǁÎb ge ǁkhāti sadu di ǀnammi Gagab ǃnâ hâba sikhoma ge ǂhaiǂhaiba.
9 ǁNā-amaga khom ge sikhom tsîna ǁnâu khom ge tsēsa xu ǀûs ose ra ǀgoreba du, sadu nî ǁîb ǂâisa ǂans ǀkha ǀoaǀoahe ǃkhaisa, hoa gā-aisib tsî gagasi ǁnâuǃāb ǃnâ. 10 Î du ǃKhūba anu hâse ûi, ǁîba ǃgâiba ǀgaus hoas ai. Î du mâ ǃgâi sîsenni hoab ǃnâ ǂûtani tsî Elob di ǂans ǃnâ ǀomkhâi. 11 A du hoa ǀgaib ǀkha ǀgaiǀgaihe, ǁîb ǂkhaisib di ǁkhāsiba ǃoa, hoana du nî taniǀnamxasib ǀkha mâǃkharuse. ǃGâiaǂgaob ǀkha 12 ǁGûb, ǃanun ǀumis di ǃnâb ǃnâ hâsa amǃnâxasa ra ǁkhā kaiba ra ganganse. 13 ǁÎb sada ǃkhaenab di ǀgaiba xu ore tsî ǁîb di ǀnamǀnamsa ǀGôab di gaosib ǃoa ge sī-ūb, 14 ǁîb ǃnâ da ores, ǁoren ǀûbasa ra hōba.
Xristub di sîsenni
15 Xristub, hoaraga kurus di ǂguroǃnaesab ge a Elob mûheǁoasab di ī. 16 ǁÎb ǃnâ-u tsî ǁîb ǃaroman ge hoaraga xūn ǀhommi ǃnâ tsî ǃhūbaib ai hâna ge kuruhe: Mûhesan tsî mûheǁoasan, trondi tamas ka io ǀgaigu, danaǂgaeǂgui-aon tamas ka io ǁkhāsigu, ǁîn hoana. 17 ǁÎb ge hoaraga xūn aiǃâ hâ tsîn ge hoaraga xūna ǁîb ǃnâ ǀguipa hâ. 18 ǁÎb ge a soros di dana, ǁnāb ge kerkheba; ǁîb ge a tsoatsoa, ǂguroǃnaesaba ǁō hâna xu, hoa xūn ǃnâb nî ǂgurose. 19 Elob di ǀoasib hoab ge ǁîb ǃnâ ǁans ǃnâ ǃgâiǃgâibasensa ge ūhâ i. 20 Tsî ǁîb ǃnâ-u hoa xūnab nî ǁîb di ǃgâuhaib* ǀaob ǃnâ-u, ǃhūbaib ais kas, ǀhommi ǃnâs kas hoasa ǂkhîbagu kaibasense.
21 ǁKhāti sadu, ǀnî ǁae-i ai ge Eloba xu ǃnū hâ i do, sadu di ǂkhaba sîsengu tsî ǂâidi tsîn ge sado ǁîb di khākhoese ge dī. 22 Xawe du ge nēsi ǁîb Ôab di sorosi ǁōb ǀkha ǂkhîbagu kaihe hâ, ǃanu, ǂnao-o tsî ūoseb nî sado ǁîb aiǃâ mâi-aiǃâse. 23 Tsî du ge amase ǁaposase ǃgaoǃgaosase ǂgoms ǃnâ nî hâhâ tsî ǃGâiǂhôas di ǃâubasens, ǀhommi ǃnaka hâ kurusaben hoan ra aoǁnâhes rase ǁnâus, ǁîsa xu ta ge tita, Pauluta ǃoaba-ao kaisa xu ǁnobeǁnobehe tide.
Paulub ge kerkheb di ǃoaba-aose ra sîsen
24 O ta ge ti tsâgu sadu ǃaroma ta gere tsâgu ǃnâ ra ǃgâiaǂgao, tsî ti sorosi tsâgu ǀkha ta ge Xristub di tsâb ǃnâ ra tôasina ǁîb soros hîa a kerkheb ǃaroma ra ǀoaǀoa. 25 ǁÎb ǃaroma ta ge a ǃoaba-ao kaib, Elob ge mā te ǃereams, ǁîb ǀoasasib âb ǃnâ ǁîb mîsa sado mās disa. 26 ǁNā mîs hîa kurigu tsî ǁaeǃgâde ge sado ǂganǃgâsaba is, xawe nēsi ǁîb di ǃanuna ra ǂhaiǂhaibahesa. 27 ǁÎn tawab Eloba ǁîb di ǂkhaisa ǃkhūsib di ǂganǃgâsasib Jodeǁî taman* ǁaegu hâba ra ǂanǂan ǂgao, ǁnāb ge Xristub, ǂkhaisib di ǃâubasenni, sadu ǃnâ hâba. 28 Sida ge ǁîba ra aoǁnâ, mâ khoe-i hoa-e ǃkhâikhom tsî mâ-i hoa-e hoa gā-aisib ǃnâ ra ǁkhāǁkhāse, mâ khoe-i hoa-e da Xristub ǃnâ kaiǂâu-i hâse nî mâi-aiǃâse. 29 ǁÎb ǃaroma ta ǁkhāti ǀgaisase ra sîsen, Xristub ra mā ǀgaib hîa tita ǃnâ ra sîsenni ǀkha.
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.
