English Standard Version
Colossians 1:20
20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
- New International Version (NIV)and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
- New Living Translation (NLT)and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Context of Colossians 1:20
18And 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. 19For 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. 21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
Read all of Colossians 1Colossians 1:20 word by word
καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα εἰς αὐτόν, εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ, δι᾽ αὐτοῦ εἴτε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἴτε τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- having made peaceεἰρηνοποιέωeirēnopoieō · to make peaceG1517
- throughδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
- the bloodαἷμαaima · bloodG129
- of hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- crossσταυρόςstauros · crossG4716
- to reconcileἀποκαταλλάσσωapokatallassō · to reconcileG604
- all thingsπᾶςpas · allG3956
- untoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- whetherεἴτεeite · whetherG1535
- inἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
Cross-references for Colossians 1:20
- Colossians 1:21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
- Leviticus 6:30But no sin offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it shall be burned up with fire.
- Psalms 85:10Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
- Isaiah 9:6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Ezekiel 45:17It shall be the prince's duty to furnish the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.
- Daniel 9:24"Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
- Micah 5:2But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
- Zechariah 9:9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Luke 2:14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
- Acts 10:30And Cornelius said, "Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing
- Romans 5:1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 5:19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
- Ephesians 2:13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
- Hebrews 13:20Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
- 1 John 4:9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
- 2 Corinthians 5:18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
Commentaries on Colossians 1:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross - Peace between God and man; for man being in a sinful state, and there being no peace to the wicked, it required a reconciliation to be made to restore peace between heaven and earth; but peace could not be made without an atonement for sin, and the consequence shows that the blood of Christ shed on the cross was necessary to make this atonement. To reconcile all things unto himself - The enmity was…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20And having made peace - Margin, “making.” The Greek will bear either. The meaning is, that by his atonement he produces reconciliation between those who were alienated from each other; see the notes at Ephesians 2:14. It does not mean here that he had actually effected peace by his death, but that he had laid the foundation for it; he had done that which would secure it. By the blood of his cross - By his blood shed on the cross. That blood, making…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 Christ in his human nature, is the visible discovery of the invisible God, and he that hath seen Him hath seen the Father. Let us adore these mysteries in humble faith, and behold the glory of the Lord in Christ Jesus. He was born or begotten before all the creation, before any creature was made; which is the Scripture way of representing eternity, and by which the eternity of God is represented to us. All things being created by Him, were…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Through Jesus Christ, God has made peace with everything. He has restored his control over all creation, in the spiritual places and on earth.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. The Greek order is, "And through Him (Christ) to reconcile again completely (see on Ep 2:16) all things (Greek, 'the whole universe of things') unto Himself (unto God the Father, 2Co 5:19), having made peace (God the Father having made peace) through the blood of His (Christ's) cross," that is, shed by Christ on the cross: the price and pledge of our reconciliation with God. The Scripture phrase, "God reconciles man to Himself," implies that He takes…Read the comment
Topics related to Colossians 1:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Colossians 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries