New International Version
Colossians 1:20
20and 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.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his 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 and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 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. 21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—
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 1:21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
- Leviticus 6:30But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up.
- Psalms 85:10Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
- Isaiah 9:6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Ezekiel 45:17It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths—at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.
- Daniel 9:24“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
- Micah 5:2“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
- Zechariah 9:9Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Luke 2:14“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
- Acts 10:30Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me
- Romans 5:1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
- 2 Corinthians 5:19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
- Ephesians 2:13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
- Hebrews 13:20Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
- 1 John 4:9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
- 2 Corinthians 5:18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ 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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