The pistle of S Paul to the Colossyans.The Prologe vpon the epistle of S. Paul to the Colossyans.
As the pistle to the Galathyans holdeth the maner & fassion of the epistle to the Romayns / breflye comprehendinge all that is therin at length disputed: Eu
so this pistle foloweth the ensample of the pistle to the Ephesi
s / c
tayninge the tenor of the same pistle with fewer wordes.
In the fyrst Chapter / he prayseth them and wyssheth that they continew in the fayth / and growe perfecter therin / and then describeth he the Gospell / how that it is a wysdome that confesseth Christ to be the Lorde and God / crucified for vs / and a wysdome that hath bene hyd in Christ sence afore the begininge of the worlde / and now fyrst begonne to be opened thorow the preachynge of the Apostles.
In the seconde / he warneth th
of m
nes doctryne / and describeth the false prophetes to the vttermost and rebuketh them accordinge.
In the thyrde / he exhorteth to be frutefull in the pure fayth with all maner of good workes one to another / and descrybeth all degrees & what their dutyes are.
In the fourth he exhorteth to praye / and also to praye for him / and saluteth them
The pistle of S Paul to the Colossyans.The fyrst Chapter.
A
[Untitled Possibly Huge Image] Paul an Apostle of Iesu Christ by the wyll of God / and brother Timotheus.
To the sayntes which are at Colossa / & brethren that beleve in Christ.
Grace be with you and peace from God oure father / and from the Lorde Iesus Christ.
We geve thankes to God the father of oure Lorde Iesus Christ / alwayes prayenge for you / sence we hearde of youre 1.A faith which ye have in Christ Iesu & of the love which ye beare to all sayntes for the hopes sake which is layde vp in store for you in heven / of which hope ye have herde before by þe true worde of the gospell / which is come vnto you / ev
as it is in to all þe worlde / & is frutefull / as it is am
ge you / fr
the fyrst daye in þe which ye herde of it / & had experi
ce in þe grace of God in the
trueth / as ye learned of Epaphra oure deare felowe servaunt / which is for you a faythfull minister of Christ / which also declared vnto vs youre love which ye have in the sprete.
For this cause we also / sence the daye we herde of it have not ceasyd prayinge for you and desyringe that ye myght be fulfilled with the knowledge of his will /
B
in all wisdome & spretuall vnderst

dynge / that ye myght walke worthy of the lorde in all thynges that please / beynge frutfull in all good workes and encreasynge in þ
e knowledge of God / strengthed with all myght / thorowe hys glorious power / vnto all pacience and longe sufferynge with ioyfulnes

gevynge thankes vnto the father which hath made vs mete to be part takers of the enheritaunce of sainctes in light.
C
Which hath delivered vs from the power of dercknes / and hath translated vs in to the kyngdome of his dere sone /
2.C in whom we have redempcion thurow his bloud / that is to saye the forgevenes of sinnes / which is the ymage of the invisible god / fyrst begotten of all creatures. For by him were all thynges created / thynges that are in heven / and thynges that are in erth: thynges visible and thynges invisible: whether they be maieste or lordshippe / ether rule or power. All thing[es] are creatyd by hym / and in him / & he is before all thing[es] / and in him all thynges have their beynge.
And he is the heed of the body / that is to wit of the congregacion: he is the begynnynge and fyrst 3.C begotten of the deed / that in all
thynges he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the father that in him shuld all fulnes dwell / and by him to reconcile all thynge vnto him silfe / and to set at peace by him thorow the bloud of his crosse / both thynges in heven and thynges in erth.
And you (which were in tymes past straungers and enymes / because youre myndes were set in evyll workes) hath he now rec
cilied in þe body of his flesshe thorowe deeth / to make you holy vnblameable and with out faut in his awne syght / yf ye continue grounded and stablysshed in the fayth / and be not moved awaye from the hope of the gospell / wher of ye have herde / howe that it is preached amonge all creatures which are vnder heven / wher of I Paul am made a minister.
D
Now ioye I in my
4.D soferinges which I suffre for you / and fulfill that which is behynde of the passions of Christ in my flesshe for his bodies sake / which is the congregacion / wher of I am made a minister acordynge to the ordinaunce of god / which ordinaunce was geven me vnto you warde / to fulfill þ
e worde of god / that mistery hid sence the worlde beganne / & sence þ
e begynnynge of generacions:
5.D but now is opened to his saynctes / to whom god wolde make knowen the glorious riches of this mistery amonge the gentyls / which riches is Christ in you / the hope of glory / whom we preach / warnynge all men / and teachinge all men in all wisdome / to make all men parfect in Christ Iesu. Wherin I also laboure and stryve
/ even as farforth as hys workynge worketh in me myghtely.
The .ii. Chapter.
A
I wolde ye knewe what fyghtinge I have for youre sak[es] & for them of Laodicia / & for as many as have not sene my parson in the flesshe / that their hertes myght be c

forted & knet togedder in love / & in all ryches of full vnderstondynge / for to knowe þ
e mistery of God þ
e father & of Christ / in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge. This I saye lest eny man shuld begyle you with entysinge wordes. For though I be absent in the flesshe /
6.A yet am I present with you in the sprete / ioyinge and beholdinge the order that ye kepe / and youre stedfast fayth in Christ. As ye have therfore receaved Christ Iesu the Lorde / even so walke / roted and bylt in him and stedfaste in the fayth / as ye have learned: and therin be plenteous in gevynge thankes.
B

Beware lest eny m

come & spoyle you thorow philosophy & disceatfull vanitie /
7.B thorow the tradicions of m

/ & ordinaunces after the worlde / & not after christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulnes of the godheed bodyly / & ye are complete in him which is the heed of all rule
8.B & power / in whom also ye are circ

cised with circumcision made mith out hond[es] / by puttinge of the sinfull boddy of the flesshe / thorow the circumcision þ
t is in Christ /
9.B in that ye are buryed with him thorow baptim / in whom ye are also rysen agayne thorowe fayth / that is
wrought by the operacion of god which raysed him from deeth.
C
And ye which weare deed in synne thorow þ
e vncirc

cision of youre flesshe / hath he quyckened [wt] him & hath forgev

vs all oure trespases

& hath put out þ
e 10.C handwritinge þ
t was agaynst vs / c

tayned in þ
e lawe writt

/ & that hath he tak

out of the waye & hath fastened it to his crosse / & hath spoyled rule and power and hath made a shewe of th

openly / & hath triumphed over them in his awne persone.
Let no m
therfore trouble youre consci
ces aboute meate & drynke or for a pece of an holydaye / as the holydaye of the newe mone or of the sabboth dayes / which are nothinge but shaddowes of thynges to come: but the body is in Christ. Let no man make you shote at a wr
ge (marke) / which after his awne ymaginacion walketh in the humblenes and holynes of angels / thinges which he never sawe: causlesse puft vp with his flesshly mynde / & holdeth not the heed / 11.C wherof all the body by ioyntes and couples receaveth norisshment / and is knet to gedder / & encreaseth with the in creasynge that commeth of god.
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Wherfore if ye be deed with Christ fr

ordinaunces of the worlde / why as though ye yet lived in the worlde / are ye ledde with tradici

s of them that saye? Touche not / tast not / handell not: which all perysshe [wt] the vsinge of th

& are after the c

maundmentes & doctrins of men which thing[es] have the similitude of wisdome in chosen holynes and humblenes
/
12.D and in that they spare not the body / & do the flesshe no worshype vnto his nede.
The .iii. Chapter:

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If ye be then rysen agayne with christ / seke those thynges which are above / where Christ sitteth on the right honde of god. Set youre affeccion on thynges þ
t are above / and not on thinges which are on þ
e erth. For ye are deed / and youre lyfe is hid with Christ in god. When Christ which is oure lyfe / shall shewe him silfe / then shall ye also appere with him in glory.
Mortifie therfore youre membres which are on the erth / fornicaci
/ vnclennes / vnnaturall lust / evyll c
cupisc
ce / and coveteousnes which is worshippynge of ydols: 13.A for which thynges sakes the wrath of God cometh on the chyldren of vnbeleve. In which thynges ye walked once. when ye lived in them.
B
14.BBut now put ye also awaye from you all thynges / wrath / fearsnes / maliciousnes / cursed speakynge / filthy speakynge out of youre mouthes. Lye not one to another that the olde man with his workes be put of / and the new put on / which is renued in knowledge after the ymage of him that made him / where is nether gentile ner Iewe /
15.B circumcision nor vncircumcision / Barbarous or Sithian / bonde or fre: but Christe is all in all thynges.
Now therfore as electe of god / holy and beloved / 16.B put on tender mercie / kyndnes / humblenes of myndes / meknes / longe sufferynge / forbearynge one another / & forgevynge one another
/ if eny man have a quarrell to a nother /
17.B even as Christ forgave you / even so do ye. Above all these thinges put on love / which is the bonde of parfectnes.
C
And þ
e peace of god rule in youre hertes / to þ
e which peace ye are called in one body. And se that ye be thankfull. Let the worde of Christ dwell in you plenteously in all wisdome. Teache & exhorte youre awne selves / in psalmes / and hymnes / and spretuall songes which have favour [wt] them syngynge in youre hertes to the lorde. And all thynges (whatsoever ye do in worde or dede)
18.C do in the name of the lorde Iesu / gevinge th

kes to god the father by him.
19.CWyves / submit youre selves vnto youre awne husbandes / as it is comly in the Lorde. Husbandes love youre wyves and be not bitter vnto them.
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Children / obey youre fathers & mothers / in all thinges / for that is wel pleasynge vnto the lorde. Fathers / rate not youre children / lest they be of a desperate mynde. Servauntes / be obedient vnto youre bodyly masters in all thynges: not with eye service as men pleasers / but in synglenes of herte / fearynge god. And whatsoever ye do / do it hertely as though ye did it to the lorde / and not vnto men for as moche as ye knowe that of the lorde ye shall receave the rewarde of inheritaunce / for ye serve the lorde Christ. But he that doth wronge /
20.D shall receave for the wronge that he hath done: for there is no respect of persons. Ye masters / do vnto youre servauntes that which is iust and egall seinge ye
knowe that ye also have a master in heven.
The .iiii. Chapter.
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Continue in prayer and watch in the same with thankes gevynge / prayenge also for vs / that God open vnto vs the dore of vtteraunce / that we maye speake the mistery of Christ /
21.A wherfore I am in bondes: þ
t I maye vtter it / as it bec

meth me to speake. Walke wysely to them that are with out / & redeme þ
e tyme. Let youre speache be all wayes well favoured & be powdred with
22.A salt / that ye maye know how to answer every m

.
The deare brother Tichicos shall tell you of all my busynes /
B
which is a faythfull minister & felowe servaunt in the Lorde / whom I have sent vnto you for the same purpose / that he myght knowe how ye do / and myght comfort youre hertes / [wt] one Onesimus a faythfull & a beloved brother / which is one of you. They shall shewe you of all thinges which are adoynge here.
C
23.CAristarchus my preson felowe saluteth you / and Marcus Barnabassis systers sonne: touchinge whom / ye receaved commaundementes. Yf he come vnto you receave him: & Iesus which is called Iustus / which are of the circumcision. These only are my workefelowes vnto the kyngdome of God / which were vnto my consolacion. Epaphras the serva

t of Christ / which is one of you / saluteth you / and all wayes laboreth fervently for you in prayers / that ye maye stonde perfect & full in all that is the will of God. I beare him recorde
that he hath a ferv

t mynde towarde you
24.C and towarde them of Laodicia & them of Hierapolis. Deare Lucas the Phisicion greteth you / and Demas.
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Salute the brethren which are of Laodicia / and salute Nymphas and the congregaci

which is in his housse. And wh

the pistle is reed of you / make that it be reed in the congregacion of the Laodicians also: & that ye lyke wyse reade þ
e epistle of Laodicia. And saye to Archippus: take hede to the office that thou hast receaved in the Lorde / that thou fulfill it. The salutacion by the honde of me Paul. Remember my bondes. Grace be with you. Amen.
Sent from Rome by Tichicus / and Onesimus.